St Helens 52-26 Sheffield Eagles

St Helens (22) 52
Tries: Foster 2, Soliola, Meli 2, Shenton, Wilkin, Eastmond, Flannery
Goals: Foster 8
Sheffield Eagles (6) 26
Tries: Szostak 2, Laulu-Togagae 3 Goals: Brown 3

St Helens winger Jamie Foster missed just one of his nine kicks at goal

Jamie Foster clocked up a personal 24-point haul as St Helens enjoyed a comfortable passage to the fifth round of the Challenge Cup.

Foster ran in two tries, kicking seven goals, as the 12-times winners saw off 1998 Wembley heroes Sheffield Eagles.

Eagles full-back Quentin Laulu-Togagae added some gloss to the scoreline by running in a late six-minute hat-trick.

But Francis Meli (2), Michael Shenton, Sia Soliola, Jon Wilkin, Kyle Eastmond and Chris Flannery scored for Saints.

Eagles forward Alex Szostak got the visitors' other two tries, either side of the break, Simon Brown kicking three of his five conversion attempts.

Meli impressed again in particular, sending Foster in for his two touchdowns, as well as adding a brace of his own.

But Saints' safe passage to the fifth round was not without further cost on the injury front.

The already depleted Saints, who went into the game without eight first teamers, have now also lost Andrew Dixon (hip), Nathan Ashe (knee) and Kyle Eastmond (groin).

All three are doubtful for next Saturday's table-topping tussle against Huddersfield.

St Helens coach Royce Simmons:

"Andrew Dixon got a bruised hip and could not go back on, Nathan Ashe had already had a knee problem but played with it and then Kyle Eastmond suffered a groin strain late on and had to be brought off.

"Sheffield were good. We knew they could play some good footy and run the ball. But, once we got a comfortable lead, it seemed as though we started thinking about Huddersfield next week and not getting hurt. If you do that a side like Sheffield can score some points.

"But Franny Meli did some good things. You know your centre is playing well when your winger is scoring tries and Jamie Foster crossed for a couple."

Sheffield Eagles coach Mark Aston:

"Quality teams score points quick points and teams like St Helens can blast you away.

"They had a lot of ball but we showed a lot of character. They scored three tries off three mistakes, but we showed some attitude and stuck in there towards the end.

"We asked a lot of questions and scored some good tries towards the end. I can take a lot of positives, particularly with us being part-time, yet we still stuck in there and went to the final minutes.

"The players don't know when to give in and get together collectively. They have come off the game today feeling proud with their heads held high."

St Helens: Ashe; Gardner, Shenton, Meli, Foster; Wilkin, Eastmond; Graham, Roby, Perry, Soliola, Flannery, Magennis.

Replacements: McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Ashurst, Dixon, Armstrong.

Sheffield: Laulu-Togagae; Mills, Yere, Hanson, Bergin; McDonald, Brown; Howieson, Henderson, Stringer, Szostak, Green, Hirst.

Replacements: Rowe, Hepworth, Battye, Scott.

Referee: Ben Thaler (Wakefield).