Hull Kingston Rovers 40

Warrington Wolves 36

DEFEATS are rarely as painful and humiliating as the one Wolves suffered at Craven Park on Sunday.

Brimming with confidence after winning six of their last seven games, Paul Cullen's men had avoided Super League opposition for the third time in this year's Powergen Challenge Cup and supporters were starting to smell a first cup win since 1974.

Even a showpiece semi final would have been something to look forward to but Wolves capitulated against the National League One leaders.

The quarter-final tie was always a potential banana skin, with the Robins seeking an 18th successive victory in front of a partisan home crowd, but Wolves should have had enough quality to win.

That they did not showed that they still have problems in two key areas - maintaining consistency against the lesser lights and performing without Lee Briers.

Briers pulled out on the day of the game with a hamstring injury and no-one came close to replacing him.

It is asking a lot for anyone to match his creativity but Chris Bridge was not at his best on his return from an ankle injury - he will want to forget two kick-offs that sailed directly out of play - while Michael Sullivan rarely stamped his authority on the game.

Wolves may have got away with that had it not been for a fragile defence that conceded eight tries and never looked capable of holding out Rovers' spirited and inventive attack.

Henry Fa'afili was at fault for three tries in a nightmare brightened only by two tries at the other end, while Stuart Reardon had problems with Rovers' kicking game before a dead leg forced him off in the last 20 minutes.

Field position and possession were controlled by the home side as a result of a series of penalties and knock ons, with Sullivan and Ben Westwood both dropping the ball in the dying minutes as Wolves desperately chased the try that would have saved their bacon.

They had twice led by 10 points before Rovers took control but 1,500 Wolves fans, confined to a terrace some distance from the pitch and drowned out by the home support, were left to shuffle off at the end as rapturous scenes and a mini pitch invasion greeted KR's win.

Coach Justin Morgan, who led Toulouse to the semis last year, was fted like a god while Cullen was left to angrily chastise his players.

He said: "We had guys who simply did not turn up for work.

"The defeat was disappointing and the performance was even more so. We carried far too many players. We have to sit down and think about how we move on from here with one or two bodies."

Match facts

Powergen Challenge Cup

Quarter final, June 4, 2006

Hull Kingston Rovers 40

Warrington Wolves 36

Hull KR: Ben Cockayne; Jon Steel, Gareth Morton, Jon Goddard, Byron Ford; Scott Murrell, James Webster; Makali Aizue, Ben Fisher, David Tangata-Toa, Iain Morrison, Michael Smith, Tommy Gallagher. Subs used: Sebastien Martins, Gareth Price, Dwayne Barker, Jason Netherton.

Wolves: Stuart Reardon; Henry Fa'afili, Martin Gleeson, Brent Grose, Richie Barnett; Chris Bridge, Michael Sullivan; Chris Leikvoll, Jon Clarke, Paul Wood, Logan Swann, Mike Wainwright, Simon Grix. Subs used: Ben Westwood, Mark Gleeson, Mark Hilton, Toa Kohe-Love.

Referee: Steve Ganson

Scoring: Swann runs from dummy half and twists past three players, 3mins, Bridge converts, 0-6; Swann receives Bridge's pass and surges past Murrell, 13mins, 0-10; Cockayne is fed by Murrell before beating Wood, 17mins, Morton goals, 6-10; Murrell's grubber strikes the post and Aizue is the grateful recipient of the loose ball, 21mins, Morton adds the extras, 12-10; Reardon darts past Fisher and Cockayne after collecting a pass from Bridge, 27mins, Bridge lands goal, 12-16; Clarke surges through a gap and the skipper sets up the supporting Martin Gleeson, 30mins, Bridge converts, 12-22; Morton kicks a penalty after Swann's high tackle, 34mins, 14-22; Goddard charges through Fa'afili's tackle, 36mins, 18-22; Fa'afili is deceived by the bounce of the ball and Goddard supplies Ford, 39mins, Morton goals, 24-22; Morton touches down Fisher's grubber, 44mins, 28-22; Fa'afili beats Ford to Bridge's bomb, 48mins, 28-26; Ford collects Murrell's chip after Fa'afili had misjudged the flight, 53mins, Morton kicks conversion, 32-26; Ford beats Bridge in the corner to complete his hat-trick, 56mins, 36-26; Netherton evades Leikvoll and Reardon to score, 59mins, 40-26; Fa'afili cuts inside Murrell to score, 64mins, 40-30; Sullivan exchanges passes with Wainwright before scrambling over, 67mins, Bridge goals, 40-36.

Pens: Hull KR 8 Wolves 5

Scrums: Hull KR 5 Wolves 4

Attendance: 7,012

Warrington Guardian top men: Swann 3pts, Martin Gleeson 2pts, Wainwright 1pt.

Interesting note: Hull KR are the first lower division side to reach the semi finals since Widnes in 1996.