Challenge Cup: Hull KR progress but London Broncos beaten

Hull KR 14-10 Leigh Centurions

Hull KR had a lucky escape in the fifth round of the Challenge Cup after beating Championship side Leigh 14-10 at KCOM Craven Park.

Jimmy Keinhorst, Craig Hall and Ryan Shaw scored the tries and Shaw added a conversion which saw the Super League side just make it through to the sixth round.

Leigh had led through first-half tries from Jonny Pownall and former Rovers forward Joe Cator but Keinhorsts' score before the break gave the sparse home crowd hope.

Leigh, fifth in the Championship table, were well marshalled by experienced former St Helens, Wigan and Warrington hooker Mickey Higham but tired towards the end.

Leigh opened the scoring inside the first five minutes when winger Pownall went in at the right corner following a cut-out pass.

The home side tried to respond but were guilty of handling errors which relieved any pressure they built up on the Leigh defence.

The away side went further in front after 22 minutes when Cator crossed against his former club and with Martyn Ridyard adding the extras, the visitors led 10-0 with over a quarter of the game gone.

The home side were finally on the board four minutes before the break when Keinhorst twisted out of a tackle to touch down.

Hall had been stopped short in the corner but did well to offload back inside to the centre, making the score 10-4 to the visitors for an advantage they held at the interval.

Rovers started the second half better than the first but some resolute defending by Leigh kept them out for 10 minutes, with the closest the home side came to crossing again when Joel Tomkins was held just short of the line on the final tackle.

Weller Hauraki was then unlucky as his juggle spilled the ball over the dead-ball line after he took a pass just short of the Leigh try line.

The visitors were denied a third score as Cator was held up on the final tackle and valiant Leigh defending then stopped Kane Linnett short of the line with a little over 20 minutes remaining as they held on to their six-point lead.

Ridyard went for a long-distance penalty when Rovers were penalised just inside their own half with 15 minutes remaining but his effort was just wide.

Shaw grabbed Rovers' second try in the left corner when Hall loped the ball our wide after Josh Drinkwater's kick had been flicked on. But Hall's touchline kick was well off target and Rovers still trailed by two points with eight minutes remaining.

The home side led for the first time shortly after when Keinhorst broke through the middle and gave Hall the simple job of touching down under the posts.

Shaw converted to put Rovers 14-10 in front with five minutes to go and their lucky escape was complete.

Shaw took the shine off the victory when he was sent to the sinbin in the last minute for fighting but his side had already done enough to progress.

Halifax RLFC 24-16 London Broncos

Injury weakened part-timers Halifax made it into the sixth round of the Coral Challenge Cup for the third time in four years by stunning Super League's newest side London Broncos 24-16 at the MBi Shay.

Opening half tries from Ed Barber and Ben Kaye helped Fax, who were without half a dozen first-choice regulars, to a 12-6 half time advantage with Mark Ioane replying for the Londoners.

Although the full-time Broncos levelled matters again through Jacob Ogden early in the second half, further scores from Reece Chapman-Smith and Quentin Lalau-Togaga'e, plus four goals from Steve Tyrer, saw the battling West Yorkshire side home.

Ogden claimed another try with nine minutes remaining but Halifax held on for a famous victory.

London showed their Championship hosts plenty of respect by making just four changes to the side beaten heavily at fellow Super League outfit Warrington last time out but proved clumsy in the early stages, with several good chances coming to nothing due to the ball either going to ground or into touch.

Fax took advantage to go in front when Barber outjumped his opposite number to take a towering kick from James Woodburn-Hall and score by the posts with captain for the night Tyrer converting.

Only a last gasp try-saving tackle from Tyrer on Ryan Morgan kept the hosts' lead in tact but, moments later, Ed Battye popped the ball up for Ioane to crash over with Morgan Smith levelling the scores with his subsequent kick.

Still wayward finishing plagued the Broncos as they attempted to push on and three minutes before half time they were punished for their sloppiness as James Saltonstall and Ben White combined to expose the visitors' defence and put Ben Kaye over and regain the lead fro Fax, Tyrer's second goal giving the Blue and Whites a 12-6 lead.

After the break still little went right for the Broncos as substitute James Cunningham's last-tackle kick went out on the full but persistence was finally rewarded when a long, cut-out pass from Matthew Fleming sent Ogden diving in at the corner.

Smith landed a fine touchline conversion to square things up once more but it did little to dent the home team's confidence.

They took the lead for the third time 15 minutes into the half when Lalau Togaga'e sent young winger Chapman-Smith free to score his first try for Halifax.

Again the lead was taken up to six points by another fine kick from out wide by Tyrer.

A clean break down centre field from Saltonstall enabled supporting Lalau-Togaga'e to race in beside the posts to put two scores between the sides for the first time with Tyrer's fourth conversion extending the lead to 12 points.

Woodburn-Hall refused the chance of a drop goal to put three scores between the teams before Ogden claimed his second try in the right-hand corner.

But Smith's kick drifted just wide leaving the Broncos still needing to score twice more

Ogden looked certain to grab his hat-trick but a magnificent try-saving tackle from Shaun Robinson maintained Fax's lead and helped them into Monday's draw.