Challenge Cup: Josh Charnley stars in Wigan's 54-4 win at Dewsbury
By PA Sport
Last Updated: 08/05/16 6:30pm
Josh Charnley scored 22 points as Super League giants Wigan won 54-4 at Dewsbury to reach the Ladbrokes Challenge Cup quarter-finals.
Charnley scored two of Wigan's 10 tries and landed seven goals, while Oliver Gildart and John Bateman also each grabbed a pair of touchdowns for the rampant Warriors.
Dewsbury, who went out to the same opponents 58-6 in 2014, managed just one try from former Bradford, London and Wakefield star Paul Sykes after 23 minutes, but the tie was almost over as a contest by then.
The record 19-times winners of the trophy effectively sealed their passage into the last eight in the opening quarter, touching down five times without reply before adding to their tally at regular intervals.
The recently injury-troubled Warriors were still without a number of big names but were boosted by the return of captain Sean O'Loughlin, along with Dom Manfredi and Dom Crosby.
Their previous two away games had ended in heavy defeats, 40-10 at fellow title chasers Warrington and 62-0 at rejuvenated Wakefield, but few expected then to have too much trouble against a Dewsbury outfit who had lost their last four Kingstone Press Championship games.
The Rams, who squandered a 20-point lead at Sheffield in their last league outing, had accounted for Bradford and York in previous rounds but Super League opposition presented a completely different challenge.
The travelling supporters had to wait barely two minutes for their side to go ahead as Charnley scored in the corner from a long cut-out pass from O'Loughlin.
Charnley then turned provider for George Williams to double their lead with another try in the identical place.
Dewsbury, who went out at the same stage of the competition 52-10 to Warrington last year, made valiant efforts to respond.
Jack Teanby was held just short as Wigan were forced to defend successive sets, but as soon as the Warriors regained the ball they scored again.
Once more the Warriors exploited Dewsbury's right-hand flank, where debutant Donald Kudangirana was to endure a torrid baptism, with O'Loughlin again creating the space for Charnley to claim his 150th try in only 154 appearances for the Cherry and Whites.
Gildart and Dan Sarginson both scored by exploiting defensive frailties on the same side and, with Charnley taking over the kicking after Matty Smith had missed the first two attempts, the visitors were 24-0 ahead after barely 18 minutes.
Kudangirana just failed to ground the ball before being pushed into touch and it needed the Rams man with the most Super League experience, Sykes, to step his way across the whitewash and temporarily check the Warriors' progress.
Bateman set the Wigan side of the scoreboard rolling again while continuing his recent run with a fifth touchdown in the last four games, and almost immediately made it six with a blistering diagonal run to make it 36-4 at half-time.
Ryan Sutton went over within two minutes of the restart and Geldart, with a blistering 50-metre break, then claimed his second try.
Lewis Tierney dived over for Wigan's 10th try before the game fizzled out into a scrappy ending.
