Hull KR 0-40 Catalans Dragons: Visitors score seven tries in rout
Last Updated: 08/04/16 9:54am
Catalans Dragons climbed to second in Super League with a 40-0 demolition of Hull Kingston Rovers at the KC Lightstream Stadium on Thursday.
The visitors ran in seven tries - five of which came in the first half - as they recorded their fifth win in succession and fourth on the road this season.
The defeat was Rovers' fourth at home this year and sees them stay third bottom on five points, having still only won twice in 2016.
Rovers were without injured skipper Terry Campese, but that was no excuse for a nightmare opening five minutes in which they conceded two tries.
A sublime 40-20 kick from the outstanding Richie Myler laid the platform for Jodie Broughton to run in Catalans' first try after two minutes, while another fine kick, this time from Thomas Bosc, set up Vincent Duport for the second just three minutes later.
It was almost 10 and a half minutes before Rovers finally got their first possession and they were the better side for the next 10 minutes, but they then surrendered the ball cheaply in the 22nd minute and were duly punished by Catalans' rampant attack.
After Myler intercepted on his own 10-metre line and ran to halfway, the Dragons worked it wide to the right for Broughton to claim his second try of the night and take the score to 16-0.
Rovers appeared certain to get back into the game when James Greenwood ran at Tony Gigot one on one, but the superb Catalans full-back produced a magnificent try-saving tackle.
And it proved to be pivotal, because the visitors immediately went up the other end and made it 22-0 when Krisnan Inu plucked another perfectly measured Myler kick from out of the arms of Rovers' Kieran Dixon and touched down.
Catalans were celebrating again after 35 minutes, when Julien Bosquet laid off for Gregory Mounis to run in the fifth try and hand the visitors a 28-0 half-time lead.
Rovers head coach James Webster moved to the touchline for the second period, but his presence had little impact, because Catalans ran in their sixth try through Myler in the 49th minute after Greenwood had been stripped of possession.
Rovers' plight then worsened when Ben Cockayne was sin-binned, and his absence was key for Catalans' seventh and final try, which was scored by former Hull KR player Willie Mason from close range in the 54th minute.
Rovers threatened to rescue a consolation in the final three minutes, but two knock-ons thwarted their hopes and summed up an inept performance.
