Challenge Cup: Wigan Warriors far too strong for Hull KR
Wigan cruised into the last eight of the Tetley's Challenge Cup with a 46-14 victory over Hull KR at MS3 Craven Park.
Last Updated: 12/05/13 5:56pm
One day after the town's football side won the FA Cup in sensational style, the Warriors took another step towards a Wembley appearance of their own with a crushing win.
Sam Tomkins was the star of the show, running in four tries, while Pat Richards, Josh Charnley, Iain Thornley and Liam Farrell also crossed the whitewash.
The eventual walkover seemed a distant prospect in the opening half-hour, however, as Rovers started well and opened the scoring when David Hodgson touched down Michael Dobson's early kick on.
But the visitors managed to limit the damage to a solitary try and got on top following two tries in as many minutes from Tomkins.
Gift
His first was a simple dart under the posts, while his second was gifted to him when Greg Eden failed to deal with his kick through and Tomkins needed no second invitation to dot down again.
Richards converted both scores and Wigan headed to into the interval 12-4 ahead, with the lead extended soon after the restart when Tomkins completed his hat-trick after a break from Richards.
Two minutes later they swapped roles, with Tomkins kicking through for the waiting Richards, who converted seven of his side's eight tries, to touch down.
By the time Charnley scored in the corner three minutes later some of the home fans had rounded on coach Craig Sandercock, whose contract situation is going to be reviewed in the coming weeks.
And the home side's woes continued when Thornley went past two defenders to go the length of the field for a sixth score, although Craig Hall did manage to dot down a loose ball in response for Rovers.
But Wigan quickly got back into their stride as Farrell pushed his way through with 14 minutes left, with Tomkins and Hull KR's Hall adding the final tries in the dying moments.