Leeds Rhinos 30 Crusaders 20: Leeds hit by triple injury woe against Crusaders

The Rhinos lost full-back Brent Webb after just two minutes with a leg injury while stand-off Danny McGuire, who went on to replace him, hobbled off 11 minutes later with a quad muscle injury.

McGuire is just three games back from a knee re-construction which forced him to sit out the opening three months of the season and is now facing another enforced lay-off. Leeds also lost second rower Chris Clarkson with an ankle injury nine minutes into the second half but they had managed to get themselves into a winning position by then and any prospect of a Crusaders comeback was ended with the 59th-minute dismissal of second-rower Hep Cahill.

The New Zealander, who had scored the game’s opening try, was shown the red card by referee Steve Ganson for kicking out at Leeds scrum-half Rob Burrow.

It was routine in the end for the Rhinos but their place in yesterday’s fifth-round draw had looked in some doubt after their early injury blows caused widespread disruption.

They were trailing 10-0 at that stage and, with just two substitutes available to coach Brian McDermott for the last hour, the small but vociferous band of Crusaders fans were understandably in high spirits.

Iestyn Harris’s men, who lost 34-16 to Leeds in the Super League at Headingley on Easter Monday, threatened to cause an upset with two tries in the first 12 minutes.

Cahill pounced for the first after Michael Witt’s high kick eluded both wingers, Ryan Hall (Leeds) and Stuart Reardon (Crusaders), while scrum-half Rhys Hanbury got the second following a clever kick ahead from impressive winger Elliott Kear.

But, inspired particularly by Jamie Peacock and Burrow, Leeds gradually got on top and scored three unanswered tries to establish an 18-10 lead by half-time.

Unheralded second-rower Jay Pitts produced a storming break to set up the position for lively replacement hooker Paul McShane to go over from dummy half and then took a pass from Burrow to race over himself.

The pivotal moment came after half-an-hour when Hall raced back to pull off a stunning trysaving tackle on Crusaders full-back Clinton Schifcofske following a break out of defence by Kear.

Leeds made the most of the escape, working their way to the other end of the field, where prop Luke Burgess’s offload from the tackle enabled Burrow to scoot away for a trademark try.

With Sinfield adding all three conversions, the Rhinos led by eight points and they made it 24-10 within two minutes of the re-start when Hall took Lee Smith’s long pass to cross at the corner.

Kear gave the visitors renewed hope when he took Frank Winterstein’s cut-out pass to score his first try for the Wrexham club but Cahill’s sending-off effectively sealed the outcome.

Loose forward Peter Lupton added a fourth try for the Welsh side on 69 minutes but Leeds had the last say when the hard-working Danny Buderus’s efforts were rewarded with a try, with Kevin Sinfield kicking his fifth goal from as many attempts.

“We are talking weeks,” said Leeds coach Brian McDermott, when he gave his verdict on McGuire. “I don’t know what’s going through his head at the moment. He’s been in a dark place for months and months and months.

“Let’s hope it’s just a couple of weeks but he said he felt a pop and that usually means a tear.”

Leeds also lost second rower Clarkson with a suspected broken ankle. “There was a point in time when we weren’t sure who to play where,” admitted McDermott, who sang the praises of Buderus for his defensive stint.

Replacement Paul McShane took over the hooking duties, leaving Buderus with a roving role.

“I thought defensively Danny was outstanding for us,” added McDermott. “He was all over the field for us and came up one or two try-savers that would have changed the face of the game.

“I asked him where he was playing towards the back end and he said he thinks he’s made a position up. He called it rover.

“I just kept seeing his body fall in front of their surges near our tryline. I also thought Jay Pitts was outstanding. He came up with one of those try-savers that you think is impossible to do.

“He hasn’t played for a while but I think I’m right in saying he did 80 minutes and we needed some blokes to do 80 minutes. For the major of the second half we had one rotation.

“Crusaders have got some player that scare the death out of you. Add to fact it’s the Challenge Cup and we had three blokes missing for most of the game and it amounts to a big win.”

Leeds: Webb, Smith, Delaney, Senior, Hall, Sinfield, Burrow, Leuluai, Buderus, Peacock, Pitts, Clarkson, Ablett. Substitutes: McGuire, Burgess, Kirke, McShane.

Crusaders: Schifcofske, Reardon, Mellars, Thomas, Kear, Witt, Hanbury, O’Hara, White, Moore, Cahill, Winternstein, Lupton. Substitutes: Bryant, Flower, Dudson, Sammut.

Referee: S Ganson (St Helens).