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Hull Kingston Rovers 10 Harlequins 40: Depleted Hull KR find no answer to worrying slump
HULL Kingston Rovers' mid-season slump took an unfortunate turn for the worse as Harlequins turned on the style to send the Robins to their heaviest defeat of the season.
The hosts, who have now lost their last three matches, including a Challenge Cup quarter-final against Warrington, were way off the pace against opponents whose honest endeavour was rewarded with seven tries.
The stunned silence from the stands was overwhelming throughout, especially in a surprisingly one-sided first half which ended with the visitors holding a commanding 24-4 lead.
Harlequins scarcely put a foot wrong as they scored four tries to the one of Rovers who conversely could do little right throughout the opening 40 minutes.
Even the one try Hull KR did score in the first half should not have been allowed with referee Phil Bentham awarding a touchdown to Stanley Gene despite the Papuan clearly spilling the ball as he tumbled over the line under pressure from Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook.
The London-born prop had earlier cast off his disappointment at failing to make the England squad for tonight's international against France by romping through for a
10th-minute try from a pass by Chad Randall.
Paris preyed heavily on the minds of the home team five minutes before that when Randall marked his 100th appearance for Quins by darting through to regather a low kick by Matt Gafa and score by the posts without the full-back in sight. Whether that would have been the case had Shaun Briscoe not been in the French capital with England is highly doubtful.
Rovers' first scoring chance of the half came on 21 minutes but after Ben Galea, Michael Dobson, Daniel Fitzhenry and Jake Webster combined to open up Harlequins down the right, winger James Haynes overran the final try-making pass.
Haynes, a 19-year-old making his debut in place of England winger Peter Fox, endured more misery at the other end where his opposite number Will Sharp held him off to squeeze over in the left corner.
The loss of Nick Fozzard with an ankle ligament injury was a blow Hull KR could have done without but Gene immediately lifted spirits by brushing aside two defenders to claim his questionable try.
Unfortunately the revival proved short-lived for on the stroke of half-time a hanging, high kick by former Doncaster half-back Luke Gale saw David Howell gather the ball with an athletic leap and score for Danny Orr to land his third goal.
Rovers did improve following the restart and their enterprise was rewarded with a good try by Scott Wheeldon, the former Hull prop who swept in past two would-be tacklers after racing on to a tight pass from Ben Fisher.
The hooker went close to snatching a try himself on 65 minutes as he chased through a speculative low kick to the corner by Paul Cooke. With Quins full-back Jon Wells ushering the ball out of play Fisher nipped in to slap it down only for video replays to show he did so on the dead-ball line.
Harlequins also went close on 69 minutes when Chris Melling lost the ball as he dived for the line with Cooke wrapped around him.
Unfortunately for Rovers Melling failed to repeat the mistake five minutes later when he broke through some weak tackles to accelerate away from 40 metres out and score between the posts before converting himself.
Before then Nigerian-born Sharp dived low to score his second try in an audacious move on the last tackle while Rovers' misery was completed in the closing seconds as Randall picked up a loose ball deep inside his own half and sent Howell away to the posts from 60 metres out.
"That was a lethargic performance," said Rovers coach Justin Morgan.
"The changes we made before the game and the ones we were forced to make during it did little to restore the confidence we have lost.
"We have faith in the fundamentals that have got us to where we are: we just need to execute them as well as we used to. It's disappointing but we are not too far away from where we need to be."
Hull Kingston Rovers: Fitzhenry; I'anson, Webster, Welham, Haynes; Cooke, Dobson; Fozzard, Murrell, Wheeldon, Newton, Walker, Galea. Substitutes: Gene, Fisher, Aizue, Netherton.
Harlequins: Wells; Melling, Gafa, Howell, Sharp; Orr, Gale; Temata, Randall, McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Golden, Williamson, Purdham. Substitutes: Kaye, Heckenberg, Thompson, Gardner.
Referee: P Bentham (Warrington).
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Saturday 11 February 2012
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