Nine-try Saints hammer Broncos to return to top

Betfred Super League

London (0) 6

Tries: Kershaw Goals: O Leyland

St Helens (24) 52

Tries: Blake 2, Dodd, Mbye, Clark 3, Hurrell, Percival Goals: Percival 8

St Helens eased back to the top of Super League as they ran in nine tries to hammer London Broncos at The Stoop.

Despite the loss of England winger Tommy Makinson with a third-minute injury, Saints had the game effectively won with a blitz of four tries in the space of 18 first-half minutes - the first two from Waqa Blake, then further efforts from Lewis Dodd and Moses Mbye.

At 24-0 up after 25 minutes, it looked like they might be rewriting the record books on London's well supported first return to The Stoop in 11 years.

But the Broncos could find no further way through for the rest of the first half - and it took a burst of three tries in eight second-half minutes all from Saints skipper Daryl Clark to close out the contest.

Konrad Hurrell and Mark Percival then also crossed to make it 52-0 with two minutes left as Saints homed in on their record margin of victory against London in their various guises down the years, 54-0 in 2008.

But instead Broncos finished strongly, breaking downfield to get their first try of the game from winger Lee Kershaw, duly converted by half-back Oli Leyland.

Playing in their first game at their old Twickenham home ground since 2013 due to the unavailability of their current home at Plough Lane, Wimbledon, Broncos needed a good start if they were to enjoy a a repeat of their three home wins in recent years over Saints - two at Ealing and one at The Stoop.

But in front of a boisterous home crowd it was Saints who got on top after Australian winger Blake scored an early try and then went in for his second from a long Mbye bullet pass.

Sione Mata'utia proved too strong in a break down the middle to set up Dodd for try number three before Mbye then got in on the act.

Percival kicked the first four of his eight successful conversions out of nine and it looked like there would be a lot more points on offer.

London held on until early in the second half when James Bell cleverly offloaded to Clark - and the captain did not have to wait long for his second try on 50 minutes, once again set up by Bell, before completing his proper hat-trick when he found space in midfield and showed the pace to race clear and touch down.

But the visitors only crossed twice more, through Hurrell and Percival, before Broncos at least had the final word with that late try.

London: Walker; Kershaw, Storey, Bassett, Miloudi; O Leyland, Meadows; Bienek, Tison, Kennedy, Lovell, Natoli, Jones.

Interchanges: Adebiyi, Williams, Stock, Waine.

St Helens: Welsby; Makinson, Hurrell, Percival, Blake; Dodd, Mbye; Delaney, Clark, Lees, Bell, Sironen, Mata'utia.

Interchanges: Pa'asi, Davies, Royle, Stephens.

Referee: James Vella.