Huddersfield’s hopes of a second Carnegie Challenge Cup final appearance in three years were dashed as Hull KR ran in eight tries to book their place in the quarter-finals.

While the Giants’ fate was rarely in doubt, the same cannot now be said of Jon Sharp, their coach. Huddersfield have stuttered to just two wins from their last 11 fixtures and they conspired to throw away their second commanding lead in eight days after last week’s capitulation against Warrington.

Yesterday they managed to produce another error-strewn display that meant their early thrust into a 12-0 lead was never likely to be enough. Referring to his own players, Sharp admitted: “A couple of individuals hurt us today. They didn’t have the best day and they didn’t handle the errors they came up with, and ultimately we paid the price for that.”

Paul Whatuira and Ryan Hudson touched down during the Giants’ early dominance but Scott Murrell gave Rovers hope. The hosts then produced three tries in 11 minutes to establish a 22-12 half time buffer when Daniel Fitzhenry, Peter Fox and Shaun Briscoe all found the line. Even when Whatuira collected his second try and Martin Aspinwall squeezed over to bring Huddersfield level, few believed they would kick on for victory.

Instead, Tom Hemingway’s knock-on allowed Paul Cooke, Clint Newton and Chev Walker to send Fox clear for his brace before Mick Vella burst through Andy Raleigh’s loose tackle to put the tie beyond Huddersfield’s reach. Newton’s inside ball set Chris Chester free and Ben Fisher completed the scoring in a comprehensive victory.

“We’re getting there slowly but surely,” Justin Morgan, the Rovers coach, said. “We’re not the finished article yet but we scored 42 points and probably could have had a few more.”

Huddersfield: Tries: Whatuira 2, Hudson, Aspinwall. Goals: Robinson 2, Hemingway 1.

Hull KR: S Briscoe; P Fox, C Walker, J Webster, D Fitzhenry; P Cooke, S Murrell; M Vella, B Fisher, D Mills, C Newton, S Gene, B Galea. Interchange: G Crossman, C Chester, K Netherton, B Cockayne.

Huddersfield: R Jensen; M Aspinwall, M Lawrence, P Whatuira, S Elford; K Brown, L Robinson; D Griffin, R Hudson, J Skandalis, E Crabtree, A Raleigh, S Snitch. Interchange: S Jones, P Jackson, K Mason, T Hemingway.

Referee: P Bentham.

Scorers:

Hull KR: Tries: Murrell, Fitzhenry, Fox 2, Briscoe, Vella, Chester, Fisher. Goals: Cooke 5.