St Helens (30) 54
Tries: Eastmond, Wellens, Armstrong, Clough, Flannery, Roby, Graham, Ashurst, Foster, Gardner 2 Goals: Foster 2, Eastmond 3

Hull KR (0) 0

By Ged Scott BBC Sport at Murrayfield

Two Hull KR defenders can only watch as Chris Flannery touches down as St Helens run riot at Murrayfield

St Helens ran in 11 tries to remain in touch with North West rivals Wigan and Warrington in what is starting to look a three-way Super League title battle.

Ten different Saints players got on the scoresheet as Rovers were 'nilled'.

Paul Wellens, Kyle Eastmond, Tom Armstrong, Paul Clough, Chris Flannery and James Roby scored before the break.

James Graham, Matty Ashurst, Jamie Foster, who also landed two of Saints' five kicks, and two-try winger Ade Gardner then completed the slaughter.

It was the biggest winning margin in the final game of Murrayfield's Magic Weekend - and thanks to their fourth round Challenge Cup exit, Rovers now have an extra week off to lick their wounds before they take on Crusaders at Craven Park on 16 May.

But they must be itching to get back on home soil, after three straight defeats on their travels.

Since beating title-chasing Warrington on 11 April, Rovers have now succumbed to three heavy defeats in which they have shipped 40 points or more.

Their 40-12 Challenge Cup defeat was followed by last weekend's 40-4 loss at Bradford. And, in this one, they could not have got off to a worse start, conceding two tries in the first seven minutes - the first of them coming in the first 60 seconds.

Rovers full-back Shaun Briscoe made a mess of an attempt to pounce on a loose ball behind his own line - and opposite number Wellens cashed in.

Exciting young scrum-half Eastmond then ran in his 11th try of the season.

And, on 20 minutes, Saints scored their third try from stand-off Leon Pryce's high kick.

Rovers winger Peter Fox was outjumped by Foster, the loose ball rolled backwards and Armstrong seized on it to score.

Within five minutes, the Robins, already looking a beaten side, had shipped a fourth try, second row Clough battling his way through a sea of hands and bodies to ground the ball, Eastmond adding the goal.

Centre Flannery and hooker Roby then ran in two more in the space of three minutes to complete Saints' haul of six first-half tries.

But there was no let-up for poor battered Rovers as the barrage of Saints tries continued unabated.

Prop Graham, substitute Ashurst and left winger Foster all scored in the space of eight early second-half minutes.

And the only respite Rovers enjoyed was video referee James Child chalking one off when Armstrong appeared to have got the ball down for what would have been a second try, only for it to be ruled that he had been held up by Jake Webster with a tackle so fierce that it forced the young Saints centre off.

Webster's tackle seemed to sting Rovers into action, Justin Morgan's side managing to go a whole 20 minutes without conceding.

Rovers even came close to scoring themselves when loose forward Mick Vella crossed, only for it to be ruled out by referee Phil Bentham for a forward pass.

Instead, it was Saints who scored again, right winger Gardner going in at the corner for his side's 10th try, Foster slotting from the right touchline to bring up the Saints' half-century of points.

And, two minutes later, Gardner added another, almost a replica, after being fed in by Eastmond.

St Helens coach Mick Potter:
"It was a very good performance by our players, probably the most complete this year. To keep the other team to zero is very satisfying for the guys.

"We've had a tough time against Hull KR in general the last year and a half so it was satisfying in more ways than one.

"The players should be happy with themselves and I'm very happy with them.

On being third behind Wigan and Warrington:
"We're sitting there. We're in the right position, just waiting for one of those two to slip up a couple of times."

Hull KR coach Justin Morgan:
"Nobody likes to get beaten but to get beaten by 50 points is obviously a huge kick in the guts.

"We looked very fragile defensively. We've lost some of that steeliness that we built up over time.

"I'm determined to fix it and the players will do it by hard work.

"It doesn't make today easier to swallow, but in sport you have to take the good with the bad.

"If you like the good you have to take the bad and today was one of the bad ones."

St Helens: Wellens, Gardner, Flannery, Armstrong, Foster, Pryce, Eastmond, Graham, Roby, Hargreaves, Dixon, Clough, Puletua.
Replacements: Fozzard, Cunningham, Moore, Ashurst.

Hull KR: Briscoe, Fox, Ratu, Webster, Cockayne, I'Anson, Dobson, Lovegrove, Murrell, Clinton, Netherton, Newton, Vella.
Replacements: Fisher, Watts, Wheeldon, Cook.

Referee: Phil Bentham (Warrington).

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