YORK City Knights cranked up the pressure on Bradford Bulls at the top of Betfred League One – thanks to another world record win.

The Knights had set the biggest-ever scoreline in professional rugby league when hammering a ragtag West Wales Raiders outfit 144-0 at Bootham Crescent in April.

This time, in the reverse fixture in Llanelli, they walloped the Welsh whipping boys 130-0 to set a new world mark for the biggest-ever away win, smashing the previous best of 106-0 set by Castleford at Rochdale in the 2007 Championship.

Ash Robson set the scoreboard rolling with a rapid hat-trick inside 13 minutes, finishing with four tries, while there were notable trebles too for debutant Perry Whiteley and former York Acorn full-back Matt Chilton.

Connor Robinson, already the biggest goal- and point-scorer in League One, finished with another 21 goals, plus a try, for a personal haul of 46 points.

With 21, he set a new York RL record for most goals in a match, falling just one short of the all-time rugby league record off 22 set by the great Jim Sullivan for Wigan in 1925.

The Knights would probably swap those record stats for promotion, though, and this result not only put York top of the table ahead of Bradford’s game at North Wales Crusaders but, importantly, at least temporarily wiped out the Bulls’ points-difference advantage which had stood at 92 before kick-off.

The destiny of the title remained in Bradford’s hands - apart from anything else, they go to Llanelli soon - but if York are to finish above them, this cricket score was what they needed.

The Raiders had shipped on average 78.4 points per match and topping that figure was the minimum requirement.

Cancelling out Bradford’s points-difference advantage was the next box to be ticked.

Setting a world record was a bonus.

They did so thanks to 22 tries in all, plus Robinson’s accuracy with the boot, several of his conversions being crackers from the touchline despite awful conditions.

And they got them thanks to a desire to play as quickly as possible, including sprinting to every scrum, and a professionalism which manifested itself, in the main, in ruthlessness.

A world record had looked far from likely before kick-off.

The team bus didn’t arrive at Stebonheath Park until an hour before kick-off due to hold-ups on the motorway in Wales.

And there was no nice warm weather for free-flowing rugby to welcome them – the Yorkshire sunshine having turned to non-stop heavy rain and wind in Llanelli.

Head coach James Ford was not involved, too, completing his two-game touchline ban.

Arguably a bigger blow for York’s promotion hopes, meanwhile, came the night before when on-loan prop Colton Roche, due to make his return from a groin injury, was recalled late in the day by parent club Huddersfield.

The fact he played in the Giants’ shock Super 8s win over Super League leaders St Helens effectively ends his loan at York, too, and, with transfer deadline day now passed, it means he won’t be seen in a Knights shirt again this year.

Losing winger Judah Mazive to a hamstring pull in the second half is also a big blow, given the dearth of outside-backs.

Still, York’s issues are minor compared to the Raiders’ problems.

Winless and pointless (in more ways than one according to some cynics), they also for the second week running only had the bare 13 players available, their one sub on the teamsheet not showing up.

They had named a much stronger 19-man squad pre-match, including goalkicking full-back Lewis Reece on loan from Whitehaven, Welsh international hooker Connor Farrer, and Rochdale loanee Callum Mulkeen.

But, of those, only Mulkeen turned out - and he must have wondered why.

Ford made one change in York's backs – Whiteley in for Hey at centre – and a few in the pack, with Dan Hawksworth, Graeme Horne and hooker Harry Carter in for Mike Kelly, Ronan Dixon and Andy Ellis. Horne probably would have had another week’s rest if Roche had been available.

Winger Robson opened the scoring after one minute 43 seconds with the first of three straightforward finishes in the right corner.

Puncturing his 11-minute hat-trick was a try by Sam Scott, half-backs Robinson and Ben Cockayne combining to send him in.

Scott soon fumbled another chance at the try-line and Josh Jordan-Roberts had a touchdown ruled out for a knock-on.

But Will Jubb got over from dummy-half on 19 minutes and, by minute 22, Whiteley had scored two crackers - the first a great finish from a Robinson kick and the second a sprint home from half-way after Joel Edwards’ excellent offload.

Four more tries followed before the break, including an eight-point try.

Chilton started and finished a good move, Joe Porter broke through by himself, and Robinson dummied and delayed his pass to put Jordan-Roberts home.

In between times, Scott offloaded expertly and Harry Carter ignored an overlap to go himself. He was fouled in the act of scoring so Robinson tagged a penalty onto the extras for the eight-pointer.

Already 68-0, the scoring resumed 60 seconds into the second half as Whiteley completed his hat-trick.

Then Cockayne danced home, Robinson did likewise, and Carter darted in straight from a scrum for his second.

When Aussie Edwards scored his first try for his new club, they had wiped out Bradford’s points-difference advantage with a quarter of the game still to go.

Within a minute Hawksworth blasted over from a penalty to bring up the century - with the announcer by now not bothering with English and reading the score out only in Welsh (at least that's what we think she was saying).

Robson’s fourth try made it 106-0 to equal the world record away win - with the conversion setting a new best.

One surprise was that top-scorer Joe Batchelor had not yet scored but he rectified that with two tries in the last nine minutes, either side of a Chilton brace, the full-back stepping in both times to complete his hat-trick.

A spectacular dive into the corner by Robson 10 seconds from time would have capped matters but the try was ruled out for a knock-on.