A CONVINCING 46-14 victory over struggling Leigh saw Hull joining Leeds in the semi-finals of the Powergen Challenge Cup.
Richard Horne, the Hull captain, put his side in the driving seat early on with two tries in quick succession.
It was all part of an inspired performance by Hull who did much of the hard work in the first half, scoring 34 points without reply against the Super League’s basement side.
Leigh fought back in the second half, running in three tries, but the result was never in doubt.
Hull’s Paul Cooke, who signed a new three-year-deal with the club earlier this week, added another try in the second half and also kicked seven goals.
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Motorcycling
VALENTINO ROSSI won his sixth grand prix of the season — his fifth in succession — in the Dutch TT at Assen, The Netherlands.
The world champion finished ahead of fellow Italian Marco Melandri, with Colin Edwards, of America, third.
RYUICHI KIYONARI smashed the Knockhill lap record to claim pole for the double-race seventh round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship in Scotland.
The Japanese rider’s new mark of 49.351sec was only a 10th of a second faster than teammate Michael Rutter.
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RUNAWAY championship leader Troy Corser has claimed pole for today’s two-race World Superbike round in Misano.
Australian compatriot Chris Vermeulen was second, with Regis Laconi third.
Motor sport
TOM KRISTENSEN followed up his record-breaking seventh Le Mans win with pole position for the DTM race in Germany, finishing ahead of Martin Tomczyk.
The second row features an all-English line-up of Gary Paffett and teammate Jamie Green.
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WORLD champion Sebastien Loeb won all the Acropolis Rally’s eight stages yesterday to extend his lead in a bid for an unprecedented fifth successive victory this season. He is 1min 24.6sec clear of Toni Gardemeister, with Carlos Sainz, third.
Rugby Union
WINGER Lote Tuqiri scored four tries as Australia beat Italy 69-21 in in Melbourne yesterday.
Golf
EDUARDO ROMERO kept alive his hopes of becoming the oldest winner on the European Tour, finishing the third round of the French Open in a three-way tie for the lead with Frenchmen Jean Van de Velde and defending champion Jean-Francois Remesy at nine-under 204.
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ENGLAND’S Carl Mason had a course-record nine-under 63 to lead by five shots in the PGA European Tour’s Northumberland Seniors Classic at Slaley Hall.
SWIMMER Karen Pickering, former Arsenal footballer Lee Dixon, snooker player Steve Davis and Olympic athlete Kriss Akabusi are among the competitors in the PGA Europro Tour Pro-Am at Stoke by Nayland Golf Club on the Essex-Suffolk border today, which starts at 1.30pm. It is a curtain-raiser to the PGA Europro Tour Championship, staged at the club’s Gainsborough course from Tuesday to Thursday.
Admission to both events is free. Further information from 01206 262836.
Cycling
COMMONWEALTH champion Nicole Cooke won her sixth British Road Race Championship in seven years at Helmsley, North Yorkshire. Rachel Heal took silver, while Emma Davies was third.
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Hockey
ENGLAND defender Richard Mantell marked his international comeback with a hat-trick of penalty corners in a 3-0 defeat of Wales.