Challenge Cup fifth round: Wigan Warriors brush aside Hunslet Hawks
Wigan safely made it through to the quarter-finals of the Challenge Cup with a comfortable 52-8 success over Hunslet.
Last Updated: 27/04/14 11:08pm
The Warriors made a blistering start at the DW Stadium with early scores from George Williams, Matt Bowen and Matty Smith putting Shaun Wane's men in firm control of the tie.
Wigan ran in seven tries in the first half, killing the contest, to lead 42-8 and make the second half largely a question of playing out time.
The Hawks to their credit did score through Danny Grimshaw and Lee Mapals although the home side were always at arm's length with second-half scores from Dan Sarginson and Jordan James wrapping up the win.
The Challenge Cup holders made a number of changes to his side with captain Sean O'Loughlin, Blake Green, Darrell Goulding and Michael McIlorum all taking a break.
Despite the changes, it took the Cherry and Whites Wigan under three minutes to open the scoring as Scott Taylor burst through the middle with the supporting Williams on his shoulder there to finish the break off.
They extended their lead when the ball was spread wide to Joe Burgess who outpaced the Hawks defence before sending the returning Bowen over.
A third try quickly followed, John Bateman making the initial burst down the right before sending Smith under the sticks. When Liam Farrell soon crossed for Wigan's fourth, the score was 24-0 after 11 minutes.
Credit
To their credit Hunslet hit back in the 13th minute when Grimshaw intercepted a Wigan offload to race 35 metres to score.
Bowen pounced for his second try before Hunslet crossed again when winger Mapals touched down a kick to the corner.
A dummy from Smith allowed him to walk over for his second try in the 24th minute and Bowen completed his hat-trick before the break as Wigan looked on course for a huge score.
However, the Hawks once again responded. They held out their hosts for the rest of the first half and although Sarginson forced his way over eight minutes after the break, Wigan had to wait until the closing stages to add further points.
Indeed, Hunslet launched a number of attacks of their own but struggled to break down the Warriors defensive line.
Wigan managed to go over for their ninth try of the afternoon with James crashing over from a flat Smith ball, and scrum-half Smith converted for a 52-8 advantage.
The Hawks almost grabbed a third try but veteran forward David March was held up over the line.