added: 26th March 2007

Paul Sculthorpe wears RBK rugby boots

Super League XII 2007
ST HELENS 42 HULL KR 14

Paul Sculthorpe returned from injury wearing his RBK rugby boots to inspire St Helens to a 42-14 victory over Hull KR on Friday night, but they were made to come from behind at Knowsley Road.

Captain Sculthorpe emerged from the bench on 25 minutes following surgery on his knee, and he immediately inspired his men - scoring one try and playing a major role in three others.

The loose forward had to watch from the stands as Saints fell behind to a try from Robins debutant Jon Steel early on, but the reigning champions quickly turned things around to build a 16-4 half-time advantage.

Francis Meli and James Graham both went over before Sculthorpe's introduction, and the Great Britain man was then involved as Maurie Fa'asavalu touched down before the break.

Sculthorpe then got in on the act in a dominant second half showing, scoring one of five further tries along with Leon Price, Matthew Gidley, Lee Gilmour and a second from Meli.

Things started poorly for the Champions, who fell behind to Steel's early try after just 11 minutes.

Scott Murrell, starting at scrum-half in place of injured skipper James Webster, was involved in the score as he fed Luke Dyer, who offloaded superbly out of the tackle for Steel to score.

It was a deserved opener for Rovers, but they were soon overawed as Meli's touchdown launched a Saints fightback.

Paul Wellens deserved a lot of the credit as he powered behind the Rovers rearguard before allowing Sean Long to deliver the perfect kick for Meli to pounce.

Graham soon made it 8-4 with a rampaging charge over the whitewash, and he then turned provider to lay on Fa'asavalu's try - which Sculthorpe converted.

The half-time whistle would have been a welcome sound for Hull KR, but it halted Saints' progress for all of three minutes as they scored one of the tries of the season after the restart.

Once again Sculthorpe was involved wearing his RBK rugby boots as he took a pass from James Roby, who had made a scintillating break from deep inside his own half, and the ball was swiftly moved on to Pryce who raced over from halfway.

Gidley then thought he had added a fourth, but play was brought back for a forward pass.

Byran Ford briefly stopped the Saints bandwagon following a good pass by Ben Cockayne, but Sculthorpe got his men back on track with a powerful close-range finish just three minutes later.

The hosts' skipper then reverted to his role of provider once more to release Gidley for 32-10, before late efforts from Gilmour and Meli polished off a satisfying night for St Helens.

Victory takes them level on points with Hull KR in the Super League table, just two points behind leaders Bradford, who host Catalans Dragons on Sunday.

For full news coverage of Super League XII rugby visit: www.skysport.com


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