London Broncos’ coach Tony Rea said his side were steamrollered by Wigan Warriors after a 70-0 thrashing in Saturday’s Tetley Challenge Cup semi-final.
The Broncos’ missed out on a first return to Wembley since 1999 after the Warriors handed out the record-breaking beating at the Leigh Sports Village.
The margin of victory is the biggest in Challenge Cup semi-final history, going beyond the previous record set in 1992 when Wigan thumped Bradford 71-10.
Rea’s men also became the first side to finish a semi-final without scoring since Hull KR were beaten by St Helens in 2006.
On Saturday, Wigan ran in 12 unanswered tries, and Pat Richards kicked 11 goals to finish on 30 points – breaking the previous record for an individual score held by Wigan’s Frank Botica (22) in 1992.
No way through: London Broncos were brushed aside by Wigan Warriors on Saturday Picture: Bluepitch Media
Rea said: “We're obviously really shattered, we came here to do what we wanted to do with really high hopes of what we were going to get out of the game.
"We had a ridiculous penalty count, we couldn't get the ball and there was a point in the first half where one team was going to crack and I thought it could be us that made them crack but we lost our discipline, the marker play, and defence.
"Fair play to Wigan they were bigger, fitter and more powerful. They steamrollered us. You've got to be tough in big games and we weren't tough enough today."
Calm before the storm: London Broncos and Wigan Warriors take to the field for the Challenge Cup semi-final Picture: Bluepitch Media
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