RUGBY LEAGUE: Leeds bounce back with eight-try rout of Huddersfield

Leeds 46 Huddersfield 8

The engage Super League champions re-discovered their scoring touch after suffering three defeats in their previous four matches, with full-back Brent Webb marking his 50th appearance with his 37th try.

One-man show: Jamie Jones-Buchanan

But the Rhinos were hardly tested by a poor Giants side and they will need to find further improvement if they are to stay ahead of Catalans Dragons in Perpignan next week.  

Great Britain forward Jamie Jones-Buchanan produced a one-man show in the first half to put Leeds in firm control by half-time, scoring one try and creating two others, and the champions ran away with the game in a one-sided second half. 

The return of centre Clinton Toopi from a dislocated shoulder meant the Rhinos were able to field their strongest team for five months but the heavy rain made for difficult handling conditions and it proved something of a leveller.  

Huddersfield, boosted by the return of winger Martin Aspinwall and scrum-half Luke Robinson, were looking for their first win at Leeds for almost 50 years and their first at any away ground since August.  

They gave themselves hope of pulling off a shock by taking a fourth-minute lead when French referee Thierry Alibert pulled the Rhinos up for offside and Chris Thorman kicked the penalty.  

But Leeds always looked the more dangerous side and scored the game's first try after a neat offload by Jones-Buchanan got full-back Webb into space and winger Scott Donald followed up to get the touchdown, his 19th the season.  

Jones-Buchanan was also the architect of the Rhinos' second try scored by stand-off Danny McGuire and skipper Kevin Sinfield, fit after his knee-injury scare, kicked his second conversion to make it 12-2.  

Toopi had a try disallowed after 24 minutes but it only delayed the inevitable and there was no stopping Jones-Buchanan when he was put into a gap by Rob Burrow.  

Webb also had a score ruled out for obstruction and the home side had to settle for a 16-point lead at the break.  

Leeds continued to dominate in the second half and snuffed out any threat of fightback by their lowly visitors by scoring three more tries within 12 minutes of the re-start.

  McGuire pounced for his second after young full-back Leroy Cudjoe fumbled Sinfield's high kick and then second rower Gareth Ellis squeezed a pass out of the tackle for winger Ryan Hall to touch down.  

Sinfield lost his 100% record with the boot but he was back on target with a fifth goal after Webb scored his landmark try, latching onto a perfectly-judged grubber kick by McGuire.  

Huddersfield were simply outclassed and it was no surprise when the champions extended their lead in the 58th minute when veteran centre Keith Senior proved unstoppable on a 10-metre charge for the line.  

The Giants pulled a try back through Aspinwall on the hour but Leeds had the final say when Toopi sent Hall over for his second try and Sinfield kicked his seventh goal from eight attempts.

Leeds coach Brian McClennan admitted they are still well below par. 'We played pretty well in the first half but I thought the second half was really poor,' said McClennan.

'Both teams were really poor. We coughed up the ball eight times and Huddersfield spilled it even more. We have still got a lot of work to do.

'We need to improve on that if we are to stay in big games and compete at the top level of the game.'

Leeds lost hooker Matt Diskin in the opening stages with an elbow injury but McClennan was encouraged by the comeback of centre Clinton Toopi.

'That was a positive,' he said. 'It was good to see Toops back out there. He looked good on his feet.'  

Huddersfield took an early lead with Chris Thorman's penalty but rarely threatened the Leeds line and trailed 40-2 before winger Martin Aspinwall scored their solitary try.

Asked if he was able to draw any positives from his side's display, joint caretaker coach Keiron Purtill, said: 'They didn't get 50!'

The Giants have won their last three home matches but have not taken maximum points on their travels for almost 12 months and never looked remotely capable of pulling off their first win at Headingley since 1960.

'Obviously, we are disappointed with the result,' added Purtill. 'I thought Leeds were very good. They were very clinical and had a point to prove after losing at Wigan.

'These are tough times for us at the moment. We've just got to keep working hard and come through the other side.

'Consistency has been a problem for us this year. We are giving away too many penalties and making too many errors. We've got to have a look at ourselves and put things right.'