• James Ticknell returns following life-threatening injuries
• Average of 67 points per game as opening round sees plenty of tries 

The lowest scoring game of last night's opening round of British & Irish Cup action produced the most welcome sight - the return of James Tincknell to a rugby field.

Almost seven months after the car crash that saw him sustain life-threatening injuries, Tincknell returned to action for Leeds Carnegie in the local derby against Rotherham Titans.

Playing on the right wing, Tincknell’s involvement was negligible in a forward-orientated game that Leeds won 17-3 thanks to a brace of first-half tries from No.8 Alex Rieder and the award of a penalty try just before the final whistle.

There were tries galore in the other all-English ties taking place on Wednesday evening, with an average of just under 67 points scored per game.

'Battle of the champions'

In the ‘battle of the champions’, inaugural B&I Cup winners Cornish Pirates ran up a half-century of points against title holders Bristol, with replacement hooker Dave Ward grabbing a second half hat-trick.

Bedford were the highest points scorers on the night, though, as they defeated Esher 62-30.

London Welsh also ran out emphatic winners at London Scottish, despite a tight first half at the Athletic Ground. Leading 13-9 at half-time, Lyn Jones’ side ran in four second-half tries while also keeping their hosts scoreless.

On-loan Leicester No.8 Richard de Carpentier scored a brace of tries for Nottingham in their 33-29 win over Doncaster, while Moseley managed to edge out Plymouth 29-25 after overturning a half- time deficit.