A late rally from Dewsbury Rams could not prevent Welsh side Celtic Crusaders from securing a 14-12 victory in their first ever Co-operative National League One match in Bridgend.
The Crusaders led 12-2 at half-time and looked to be heading towards victory as centre Josh Hannay and scrum-half Jace van Dijk went over for tries, which were converted by wing Mark Lennon.
However, Dewsbury, whose only first-half points came from a Patrick Walker penalty, capitalised on some poor Crusaders play in the second half to launch a comeback.
Lennon added another penalty for the home team but Rams full-back Mark Field crossed for a try, which Liam Finn converted.
A late Alex Bretherton try set up a thrilling finale as the Welshmen just managed to hang on.
Elsewhere, loose forward Tommy Haughey grabbed three tries to help newly-promoted Featherstone Rovers make a winning start with a 28-6 home victory over Whitehaven.
Lee Lingard, Richard Blakeway and Paul Handforth also touched down for Rovers, while former Featherstone winger Ade Adebisi scored Whitehaven's solitary try.
Widnes Vikings clinched a dramatic 28-23 win over Batley Bulldogs in their opening match at Mount Pleasant.
Francis Maloney pushed his side into a 23-22 lead with a drop goal but Shane Grady touched down for a converted try in the dying seconds to give the Vikings the three points.
In the first round of Co-operative National League Two games, Barrow Raiders claimed a comprehensive 26-10 victory over Cumbria rivals Workington Town at Derwent Park.
Adam Hughes and James Nixon both scored two tries for the visitors with one from Andy Ellis, while Pat Weisner was on target three times with the boot.
Phil Joseph and Marcus St-Hilaire both touched down twice as title favourites Oldham ended a run of six straight defeats at Spotland with a 46-32 win over Rochdale.
Liam McGovern scored a try and struck five times with the boot to help Swinton Lions open their account with a hard-fought 44-30 win over Blackpool Panthers at Park Lane.
York City Knights' Danny Ratcliffe went over the try line twice but it was not enough as his side were beaten 26-20 by Gateshead Thunder at the Huntington Stadium.
Doncaster thrashed London Skolars 56-0 at the Keepmoat Stadium to go top of the table thanks to a hat-trick of tries from Luke Gale, while Kyle Briggs confidently struck eight times with the boot.
Keighley Cougars eased to a 26-0 win over Hunslet Hawks thanks to Richard Knight, who kicked three goals and ran over one of his side's five tries without reply at the South Leeds Stadium.
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