Masterclass by Berwick Bandits' Rory Schlein not enough to stop them slumping to defeat at Poole Pirates

The experienced Australian, who won the double as a Pirates’ rider in 2021, ended the maximum hopes of each of the Pirates’ highly-rated heat leaders on the way to a 14-point haul.

Unfortunately for him, despite a bright start, once again his team-mates could offer only sporadic support, Bandits losing 54-36.

Schlein put down a marker by comfortably winning heat one, the visitors actually providing the winner of the first three races, Jacob Hook triumphing in heat two and skipper Leon Flint somewhat fortuitously in three after Ben Cook shed a chain while leading comfortably.

A fall for Hook when comfortably third in a race won by Thomas Jorgensen meant that the scores were level after six heats, but Poole finally began to pull away with three successive heat advantages to give them an eight-point lead after the Cook brothers Ben and Zach combined for a heat nine 5-1 despite a superb effort by reserve Connor Coles to take second place in heat eight.

Schlein was used as a tactical substitute in heat 10 and played his part to the max, gating and going, but Flint was unable to make any inroads on either Richard Lawson or Great Britain World Team Cup squad member Anders Rowe.

He just had time to catch his breath before heading back out in 11, chopping Kyle Newman back into third place after the reserve had rounded both Schlein and Jye Etheridge.

More good fortune came Berwick’s way in 12 as, with Ben Cook off in the distance, Adam Roynon lost his steel shoe trying to fend off Flint’s outside run and was pipped on the line by no more than a tyre knobble by Hook for third place.

Lawson broke his race win duck in 13 with all the action behind him as Schlein again called on every year of his experience to inflict the first defeat of the night on Steve Worrall.

Jonas Knudsen had struggled all night but finally looked set for some reward by roaring off the line in heat 14, but he kept drifting too wide allowing first Newman and then Zach Cook past.

Poole profited from gate choice in 15 with Worrall and Ben Cook making the jump but Schlein was not finished, picking off his young compatriot on bend two only to inadvertently block the outside run of Flint around Cook, the Bandits’ captain having to throw the anchor out to avoid a high-speed collision which effectively ended his race.

Another disappointing, albeit hardly unexpected, defeat for the Bandits but with Birmingham and Edinburgh also losing heavily it means they can still thrust themselves right back into the mix.

Team manager Scott Courtney said: “We started strongly but, as expected, Poole hit back hard.

“Rory was outstanding, not just on the track but also in the pits, passing on all his experience to the boys and we never gave up the fight even when points were hard to find.”

Saturday’s match against Plymouth was postponed due to the weather.