Leeds Rhinos cruised in to the last eight of the Powergen Challenge Cup with a 12-try demolition of an outclassed Rochdale Hornets outfit at Headingley Carnegie.

Rhinos wingers Scott Donald and Danny Williams scored five tries between them, as their National Division One opponents had no answer to the pace and power of the Superleague giants.

Rhinos welcomed back captain Kevin Sinfield to the starting line-up following a six-week absence for the Great Britain loose forward with knee and ankle damage.

Sinfield had a quietly assured evening, distributing with assurance and kicking tidily from hand, although he will have more challenging days in front of him as the season unfolds.

The captain's return gave coach Tony Smith the chance to rest Jamie Peacock, who stood in as skipper during Sinfield's enforced spell on the sidelines.

The tone of the evening was set with the Rhinos' very first attack when full-back Lee Smith placed a delightfully weighted grubber kick into the corner which Williams only had to fall on to score. Rob Burrow was unable to convert.

Williams added his second of the night eight minutes later after a neat outside break from Willie Poching gave him a simple run to the line. Burrow's conversion made it 10-0.

The Hornets initially refused to buckle under the Leeds onslaught however, defending valiantly and kicking long at every opportunity. Scrum-half Matt Firth led the way for the visitors with a succession of gutsy follow-up tackles which belied his diminutive physique.

It was only a matter of time before the Rhinos struck again though, and it came as no surprise when Shane Millard ghosted in under posts after a classy show-and-go. Burrow's conversion made it 16-0 after 32 minutes.

Donald and Carl Ablett both added tries before the break as the Rhinos went in 26-0 up at the break.

Donald added his second try of the night, and Leeds' sixth, when he crashed over from close range two minutes into the second half, and he completed his hat-trick five minutes later as the rout continued. Burrow's fourth conversion of the night made it 36-0.

Danny McGuire added another in the 51st minute which Sinfield converted after Burrows was subbed off, before Chev Walker went over for his first of the night as Rhinos stretched the lead to 48 points.

Nick Scruton took the Rhinos past the half-century with his first try of the season in the 71st minute. Sinfield converted before he was substituted after a job well done.

Chris Feather scored Rhinos' 11th try of the evening, converted by Burrow, before Ablett added his second as the drubbing was completed.