LEEDS RHINOS 72 LONDON BRONCOS 0
LORRAINE MARSDEN, West Park, Sunday
EVIE COUSINS ran in four tries as Leeds kept a second clean sheet in two games and secured a home quarter-final against Championship outfit Cardiff.
A fortnight after crossing for 15 tries against Leigh in their first group game, the Rhinos almost matched that with another 13 against a London side who have also made the knockout stages as runners up of Group B.
The opening half saw the Rhinos score at an average of more than a point a minute, with the tie essentially over after the opening 22. By then Ebony Stead, Cousins (twice), Ruby Enright, Lucy Murray and Connie Boyd had all scored to make it 34-0, with Mel Howard successful with five of the conversion attempts.
Grace Short added Rhinos’ seventh just after the half-hour mark, before Murray’s second of the afternoon, along with a sixth goal from Howard, saw Leeds go in 44-0 up at the break.
Less than a minute after the restart Cousins broke down the right, before cutting inside to complete her hat-trick with a try under the posts.
Her fourth came ten minutes later, with Stead and Enright both getting their second tries as the half went on.
The rout was completed when Boyd broke through a tackle on her own 20-metre line to race away for her second.
Four further conversions in the second half for Howard saw it finish 72-0 to the Super League outfit.
RHINOS: 1 Ruby Enright, 2 Ebony Stead, 15 Connie Boyd, 4 Evie Cousins, 5 Liv Whitehead, 6 Mel Howard, 18 Tally Bryer, 26 Georgia Elliston, 14 Ruby Bruce, 10 Kaiya Glynn, 17 Grace Short, 12 Lucy Murray, 8 Ella Donnelly. Subs (all used): 7 Ruby Walker, 19 Grace Field, 20 Jess Sharp, 21 Frankie Blakey
Tries: Stead (3, 66), Cousins (6, 18, 41, 51), Enright (9, 71), Murray (14, 36), Boyd (22, 79), Short (32); Goals: Howard 10/13
BRONCOS: 1 Becky Smart, 2 Perri Newman, 3 Hermonie Titcombe, 4 Iona McCusker, 5 Jodie Mills, 6 Jade Walker, 7 Jade Mullen, 8 Emily Hughes, 9 Polly Roberts, 10 Jess Valentine, 11 Sian McLaughlin, 12 Tamsin Barber, 13 Kathryn Salter. Subs (all used): 14 Carys Biston, 15 Dannyelle Shobanjo, 16 Tia Tandy, 17 Lilly Hart
SCORING SEQUENCE: 6-0, 12-0, 18-0, 24-0, 28-0, 34-0, 38-0, 44-0; 50-0, 54-0, 60-0, 66-0, 72-0
Half-time: 44-0