Hull KR 26-14 Leigh Leopards
Betfred Challenge Cup Sixth Round (Last 8)
Sewell Group Craven Park, Saturday 13 April 2024 (5pm)
Leopards relinquished their hold on the Betfred Challenge Cup but only after a fantastic quarter-final tie against last season’s beaten finalists.
Craven Park has now provided the graveyard for Leigh’s cup hopes in four of the last six seasons, but the visitors’ huge effort went so close to reversing the tide of history.
Rovers came from 8-4 behind at half-time to score four second half tries but the issue was in doubt almost until the final hooter sounded on a classic cup-tie that kept the crowd and television viewers engrossed.
Each side fielded nine players in their 17 who played in last season’s classic Wembley final, but it was a man who only joined Rovers this season that was the game’s key figure.
Flying winger Joe Burgess scored two tries- one a sensational long-distance effort – and made a crucial try-saving tackle on Josh Charnley.
Leopards deserved their hard-earned interval lead, fighting back after Burgess had opened the scoring. From first receiver 15 metres from his own line, Burgess split two defenders as he raced away and stood up Matt Moylan before rounding the fullback for one of the great Challenge Cup tries.
But Leopards hit the front when Lachlan Lam and Moylan cleverly worked the short side on the last tackle and Kai O’Donnell crashed over for Moylan to convert.
Moylan tagged on a penalty just before the interval after Leopards’ outstanding pressure defence stopped Rovers’ normal attacking game slipping into gear.
With Moylan joining the attack on either side and Tom Amone leading the Leopards’ pack from the front on his return from injury, Leopards showed that they will be close to last season’s performance levels once all their injured players return.
Burgess’s cover tackle which denied Charnley near the flag stopped Leopards extending their lead and the visitors went close on another couple of occasions with their refreshing attacking play.
For Rovers, Jai Whitbread was denied a try by video referee Tom Grant, who overturned Chris Kendall’s on-field decision, ruling Frankie Halton had been stripped of the ball behind in own line in a mass tackle. Dean Hadley’s effort was also ruled out, as referee Kendall ruled the Elliot Minchella assist forward.
Rovers came out determined to put right their errors of the first half and hit the ground running, fast hands creating Burgess’s second try in the corner after a Leopards error in possession. Mikey Lewis’s touchline conversion restored the lead at 10-8.
Five minutes later Lewis, now much more prominent with his broken field running, created a try for the supporting Kelepi Tanginoa.
Rovers might have been out of sight had Kendall not gone to the screen after Tyrone May raced over for what would have been Rovers’ third try in nine minutes, correctly spotting that Jez Litten never went back on-side after drifting into the Leigh line from the lead-up play-the-ball.
Leopards spotted a lifeline and Umyla Hanley, again so impressive, provided it, crossing wide out on the right from Moylan’s superb cut-out pass for his ninth try of the season. Moylan’s brilliant conversion made it a two-point ball game going into a frenetic last quarter.
Nine minutes from time Rovers’ Niall Evalds stretched out to score from May’s pass but Lewis’s conversion attempt was off target and the tie was still in the balance.
In Leopards’ last attack Lam’s long pass to Charnley went astray and the home fans could breathe at last. And seconds later they could celebrate as Leopards, in a desperate attempt to keep the ball alive, saw May intercept and provide Rovers skipper Minchella with the route to the try-line and the semi-final draw.
Rovers
2 Niall Evalds; 35 Joe Burgess, 1 Peta Hiku, 3 Tom Opacic, 5 Ryan Hall; 27 Tyrone May, 7 Mikey Lewis; 8 Sauaso Sue, 9 Jez Litten, 16 Jai Whitbread, 11 Dean Hadley, 12 James Batchelor, 13 Elliot Minchella (capt)
Bench:
14 Matt Parcell, 20 Kelepi Tanginoa, 17 Matty Storton, 30 Leo Tennison. 18th player: 19 Yusuf Aydin
Tries: Burgess (8, 46), Tanginoa (51), Evalds (71), Minchella (80)
Goals: Lewis 3/ 5
Leopards
6 Matt Moylan; 24 Umyla Hanley, 3 Zak Hardaker, 4 Ricky Leutele, 5 Josh Charnley; 21 Ben McNamara, 7 Lachlan Lam (capt); 8 Tom Amone, 33 Brad Dwyer, 17 Owen Trout, 11 Kai O’Donnell, 16 Frankie Halton, 12 Jack Hughes
Bench:
15 Matt Davis, 18 Ben Nakubuwai, 19 Ed Chamberlain, 14 Dan Norman. 18th player: 29 Lewis Baxter
Tries: O’Donnell (13), Hanley (56)
Goals: Moylan 3/ 3
Scoring sequence: 4-0, 4-6, 4-8 (ht) 10-8, 16-8, 16-14, 20-14, 26-14
Penalty count: 6-6
Referee: Chris Kendall; Touch-judges: C Worsley & D Bowman; Reserve referee: Liam Rush; Video referee: Tom Grant; MC: T Randerson; TK: M Hawkes
