ST HELENS 78 LONDON BRONCOS 0
STEPHEN IBBETSON, Totally Wicked Stadium, Saturday
HOLDERS St Helens roll on to the Women’s Challenge Cup semi-finals after a third successive clean sheet.
After progressing from the group stage with 102-0 and 54-0 wins over Warrington and Cardiff respectively, Saints again ran up a big score without being breached once in defence.
London’s task was a virtually impossible one, but they can take great pride in their first run to the quarter-finals – achieved after winning at Super League side Barrow – as they prepare for their Championship campaign.
As for Saints, they look as keen as ever to keep their crown a fifth successive year and look as well prepared as they can be for the real tests that come next.
They scored 15 tries here, four of them to Phoebe Hook with hat-tricks also being registered by both Shona Hoyle and Amy Hardcastle, who now has eight for the campaign, while Faye Gaskin converted nine.
It proved the ideal game in which to give their 18-year-old hooker Caitlin Maylor, newly promoted to the first-team squad this season, a senior debut off the bench late in the first half, with St Helens in full control of the game and the scoreboard.
Hook had her first two tries inside seven minutes, Beri Salihi passing wide for the opener before slick work through the hands for the second.
Hoyle made a powerful break for her first try, followed by scores for prop Chantelle Crowl and a third for Hook with only a quarter of the game gone.
With London struggling for any possession, space was worked for two Hardcastle tries either side of Zoe Harris score virtually from the kick-off.
Georgia Sutherland’s long-range try and Hoyle’s second made it 52-0 at the break, at which point their tally against the Wolves two weeks earlier was under threat.
But the Broncos commendably made a more competitive game of it in a second half which saw only five further tries scored.
Hardcastle and Hook completed their totals, then Vicky Whitfield charged down the middle in devastating fashion.
And after Salihi scored her first try of the year, Hoyle completed the rout six minutes from time.
SAINTS: 1 Beri Salihi, 2 Phoebe Hook, 3 Erin Stott, 4 Amy Hardcastle, 25 Dani McGifford, 6 Zoe Harris, 7 Faye Gaskin, 20 Erin McDonald, 9 Katie Mottershead, 10 Chantelle Crowl, 11 Shona Hoyle, 12 Emily Rudge, 17 Caitlin Casey. Subs (all used): 8 Vicky Whitfield, 15 Georgia Sutherland, 19 Caitlin Maylor, 23 Luci McColm
Tries: Hook (4, 7, 20, 48), Hoyle (11, 37, 75), Crowl (15), Hardcastle (24, 31, 45), Harris (27), Sutherland (34), Whitfield (57), Salihi (63); Goals: Gaskin 9/15
BRONCOS: 1 Lauren Mueller, 2 Emily Bell, 3 Nicole Kennedy, 4 Beck Smart, 5 Erin Richards, 6 Kathryn Salter, 7 Jade Walker, 8 Ellie Hunt-Pain, 9 Polly Roberts, 10 Chloe Allcorn, 11 Katie Wallis, 12 Tamsin Barber, 13 Emily Hughes. Subs (all used): 14 Jay Badland-Shaw, 15 Jade Coleman, 16 Gianna Noble-Cunningham, 17 Elle Trezise
SCORING SEQUENCE: 4-0, 8-0, 14-0, 20-0, 24-0, 28-0, 34-0, 40-0, 46-0, 52-0; 56-0, 60-0, 66-0, 72-0, 78-0
Half-time: 52-0
