Match Report – Leigh 34 – 4 Hull K R

The Leigh Leopards scored through Tom Briscoe, Ed Chamberlain, Edwin Ipape, Josh Charnley, Ricky Leutele, and Robbie Mulhern; Mikey Lewis was the only player to cross the whitewash for Hull KR

Six tries for the Leigh Leopards helped them earn a resounding 34-4 victory against Hull KR and move them up to second in the Super League table.

Leigh came out with real intent in the first half and it showed, tries from Tom Briscoe, Ed Chamberlain, Edwin Ipape, and Josh Charnley, plus three conversions from Ben Reynolds gave them a comfortable 22-0 lead at half-time.

A disastrous first half for the visitors was summed up in the third minute as Mikey Lewis was sin binned for a late slide on Briscoe, the Robins then never recovering in the first 40.

The second half continued in the same fashion as the first, Leigh getting on top in the battle and a penalty try for Ricky Leutele and four more points from Robbie Mulhern rounding off a resounding win.

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Leigh Leopards’ Edwin Ipape uses his strength to fend off three players and slide over brilliantly for the try!

Lewis was the last on the scoreboard as he slid over for the Robins but it was all but consolation as Leigh continued their climb up the Super League table.

Story of the game

It was a frantic start at the Leigh Sports Village as Lewis was sent to the sin bin after just three minutes for a late slide on Briscoe and it was Briscoe himself who made the advantage count on the ninth minute, finishing off the miss pass from Gareth O’Brien to dive over in the corner.

Just a set later it was then Ipape’s turn to join in the scoring, Lachlan Lam making the break and sending the hooker sliding over as he fended off three to make it 10-0 after 13 minutes.

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Leigh Leopards’ Josh Charnley scores for the eighth game in a row and gets his 23rd try of the season against Hull KR

From there, Leigh continued to run riot, Chamberlain finishing off a brilliant Lam pass on the 17th minute to increase the deficit to 16-0.

Despite Hull KR then holding out for 20 minutes, a brilliant 40/20 from Reynolds set up the territory perfectly for the home outfit. Some quick hands then sent Charnley walking over in the corner, Reynolds converting to bring the score to 22-0 at half-time.

There were some early opportunities in the second half but Hull KR couldn’t make them count, a penalty try for Leutele on the 49th minute only making their job even harder.

The Leigh skipper was judged to have been pulled back chasing his own grubber kick by Matt Parcell, Reynolds adding the extras to make it 28-0 with 30 minutes to play.

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Ricky Leutele scores a penalty try after he is then tackled without the ball by Matt Parcell

As a battle for territory then ensued Leigh came out on top, Mulhern breaking through the gap on the 65th minute to barrel over, Reynolds converting to make it 34-0.

With just under 10 minutes remaining Lewis showed the dummy and fended off Reynolds to slide over for a consolation try for Hull KR but a 34-4 victory moved the Leopards up to second in the Super League table.

What they said

Hull KR head coach Willie Peters….

“It just wasn’t a good performance, was it?

“It started with kicking out on the full, 10 minutes in the bin early and then we weren’t at the races today.

“We need to have a good look at our preparation because I thought we had a good prep.

“We were off from the start. We were off in every area of the game tonight.”

Leigh Leopards head coach Adrian Lam….

“Second at this point of the season is outstanding for us with two games to go.

“To think, that at the start of the year was a dream.

“I think our big players stood up and took control of it.

“We are working really hard (on our defence).”

What’s next?

The Leigh Leopards next face a visit to the Castleford Tigers on Friday July 7, with kick-off at 8pm. For Hull KR, they have a home derby clash against fierce rivals Hull FC on Sunday July 9. You can watch that derby live on SKy Sports Arena.