Hull KR 42-0 Salford Red Devils: Willie Peters’ side overcome Niall Evalds and Rhyse Martin injuries to thrash Salford

Danny Richardson kicks 12 points at scrum-half while Jai Whitbread scores two of seven Hull KR tries as Willie Peters’ team overcame injuries to beat Salford in style; Sky Sports is the only place to watch every Super League game live this year

Hull KR’s Kelepi Tanginoa is congratulated by team-mates scoring a try against Salford

Hull KR defied a mounting injury crisis to sweep aside woeful Salford 42-0 at Craven Park and extend their winning start to the new Betfred Super League season to three matches.

Rovers shrugged off the absence of regular half-backs Mikey Lewis and Tyrone May due to injury as they ran in seven tries, while replacement scrum-half Danny Richardson built on Rhyse Martin’s opening conversion to add 12 more points with the boot.

But Rovers’ victory appeared to have come at a price, having lost full-back Niall Evalds to a concussion assessment within two minutes of the start, and Martin also limping from the field before the end of the first period.

The patched-up hosts still proved far too good for Paul Rowley’s visitors, who have now shipped 156 points from three straight losses, starting with their record-breaking 82-0 drubbing by St Helens on the opening day of the season.

It was tempting to suggest some of the young players controversially blooded by Rowley against Saints due to a salary cap row would have been a significant improvement to his error-strewn side, whose indiscipline also saw Jayden Nikorima and Chris Hill sent to the sin-bin.

Already counting the cost of injuries sustained in close opening wins over Castleford and Wakefield, Rovers boss Willie Peters must have feared the worst when Evalds fell awkwardly under the challenge of Nikorima with less than two minutes played.

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After Evalds was helped from the field – followed closely by the yellow-carded Nikorima – his replacement Kelepi Tanginoa pushed through the Salford defence to open the scoring, before Oliver Gildart scampered over with less than eight minutes on the clock.

It continued to be business as usual for the Robins after Martin limped off, as Tom Davies crossed for a third then Richardson proved a more than adequate replacement kicker, nailing the tough conversion and two subsequent penalties as Rovers reached half-time with a 20-0 lead.

Salford had next to nothing to offer in the opening period, their evening summed up by Nene Macdonald’s failure to grasp the simplest of passes on his own 20 moments before the half-time hooter, and it would get worse after the break.

Jack Broadbent ghosted past the hapless Nikorima, then Jai Whitbread bulled over twice – for the first double of his top-level career – as Rovers continued to carve through the Salford rearguard with ridiculous ease.

Jez Litten, who had set up both of Whitbread’s tries, helped himself to his side’s seventh on the last before Salford’s misery was completed by the simultaneous loss of Tim Lafai and Tiaki Chan due to injury, and Hill’s yellow for holding in the tackle.

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