Ade
Gardner's clinical hat-trick took his season's tally to 21 as St Helens
destroyed Hull Kingston Rovers with a nine-try 52-10 blitz at Knowsley
Road.
The prolific Cumbrian winger ended some fierce early resistance from
the visitors with well-taken scores in the 15th and 19th minutes before
completing his treble with 10 minutes remaining.
Australian centre Matt Gidley also claimed a first-half brace to
sandwich a touchdown from giant Samoan forward Maurie Fa'asavalu as
Saints took their try count to five before the interval whistle had
blown.
Sean Long converted every one of them to put his side 30-0 ahead at the break to effectively kill the game as a contest.
A sixth score was added after the break by the hugely influential
Leon Pryce before Gardner claimed his third and Willie Talau and Paul
Wellens also got on the scoresheet.
Rovers restored some semblance of pride with second-half tries from
Mick Vella and Shaun Briscoe but they were largely a pale shadow of the
side that pushed Daniel Anderson's men so hard in last weekend's
Carnegie Challenge Cup quarter-final.
Saints escaped from Craven Park with a 24-18 success but this was a wholly more comfortable affair for the Merseysiders.
The only negative for Anderson was the loss of Chris Flannery and
Jason Cayless to first-half injuries but the Saints coach will take
great satisfaction at his side's typically expansive play, which tore
Rovers apart at times.
Anderson was boosted by the return after injury of former Great
Britain skipper Paul Sculthorpe, who was influential in Saints'
first-half dominance on only his fourth start of the season.
Sculthorpe was the victim of a high tackle from Chev Walker in the
fifth minute that went unpunished and set the tone for a niggling and
at times overly-physical approach from Justin Morgan's men, but Saints
gradually made their quality tell.
After Flannery was forced off with a leg injury in the 12th minute
and replaced by youngster Paul Clough, they quickly forged ahead.
A delightful array of inter-passing saw hooker Keiron Cunningham
feed Long in a move that also involved Pryce and Gidley before Gardner
applied the finishing touch in the right corner.
The winger needed only four minutes to double his tally, Sculthorpe
finding Gidley, who ushered Gardner over the line from close range.
Moments later, Rovers forward Clint Newton was placed on report for
a high challenge on Cayless after a challenge that saw the Kiwi prop
carried off on a stretcher after falling awkwardly.
The momentum remained firmly with St Helens, however, and
Sculthorpe's clever pass put Gidley over shortly before the half-hour
mark and Fa'asavalu quickly added a third after he simply overpowered
the beleaguered visiting defence.
The influential Gidley then claimed a fifth score - again down the
right flank - and Long added another superb conversion to put Saints
30-0 ahead at the break.
Saints continued to probe after the restart and Jon Wilkin showed
excellent awareness to charge down Michael Dobson's kick on halfway
before racing clear and sending Pryce clear for an outstanding
breakaway score in the 48th minute.
Yet again Long added the extras but Rovers began to enjoy a period
of pressure and they crossed the line in the 60th minute when Vella
crashed over the line.
Paul Cooke failed to convert but then added the extras from a more
difficult angle near the left touchline after Briscoe had touched down.
However, Gardner went on to complete his hat-trick and Talau and
Wellens added further tries as Long ended the night with seven goals
and Wellens one.
Sport 
