Super League: Bradford Bulls 18-44 Hull KR

Travis Burns scored a try and kicked six goals in Hull KR's victory

Bradford Bulls lost 44-18 to Hull KR in their first match since the dismissal of head coach Francis Cummins.

The Bulls, who remain eight points from safety, failed to recover from conceding three tries in seven minutes either side of the half-time interval.

Craig Hall and Greg Eden both crossed twice for Hull KR, while Travis Burns registered 16 points.

Rovers move above local rivals Hull FC and up to ninth in Super League, just a point outside the play-off places.

Cummins was sacked by the Bulls on Monday after a 21-month spell dominated by the club's off-field financial issues.

Francis Cummins left Bradford after Sunday's heavy defeat by Salford

The six-point deduction they received - and unsuccessfully attempted to overturn - for entering administration has left them in Super League's bottom two for the entire season, and their chances of avoiding relegation remain slim with 10 matches left to play.

With captain Matt Diskin in caretaker charge, Bradford escaped early on when Hull KR's Kris Welham saw a try ruled out for a foot in touch.

But Rovers would not be denied for long, as half-back Burns dummied his way over for the game's first points.

Lee Gaskell set up winger Elliot Kear for an almost immediate response, but the visitors led 18-6 at half-time thanks to Josh Hodgson's close-range try and an effort from Welham after the centre intercepted Adrian Purtell's off-load attempt.

Hall darted through a gap in Bradford's defensive line to touch down in the corner straight after the break and Eden, back with Hull KR after a recent loan spell at Salford, stretched the lead further.

Adam Walker powerfully crossed in between tries from Bradford duo Adam O'Brien and Danny Addy, before Hall took advantage of a handling error to score his second of the match.

Full-back Eden rounded things off in the closing seconds with a length-of-the-field run to touch down for his second and the visitors' eighth score.

Bradford caretaker player-coach Matt Diskin:

"Once again it was really frustrating. I thought we started the game really positively and played some decent rugby early on, but every time we worked our way into the game, we made errors that shouldn't be made at this level of rugby.

"That's the sort of stuff you see by kids on a Sunday morning. We're making those errors week in, week out, which shows that these guys are a bit mentally fatigued, which is understandable.

"I was reluctant to do it [take charge] because you're stepping in on the back of two quality people who held this team together through adversity for the last couple of years.

"But I enjoyed it. I spent many hours in preparation this week. We trained really well but we've got a problem in transferring what we do on the training field into a game."

Hull KR coach Craig Sandercock:

"We were down on troops tonight. It was a really good response from the boys in a good, tough contest.

"We knew there would be a positive reaction from Bradford after what happened this week and they started well. They put us under a lot of pressure but defensively we showed a lot of resolve on our own line.

"We were under the pump but defensively we were much improved."

Friday's line-ups

Bradford Bulls: Gaskell; Kear, Purtell, Blythe, George; Addy, Gale; Baldwinson, Diskin, Sidlow, Pitts, Olbison, Donaldson.

Replacements: Manuokafoa, O'Brien, Fakir, Walker.

Hull KR: Eden; Gardner, Welham, Hall, D. Hodgson; Burns, Keating; Netherton, J. Hodgson, Weyman, Horne, Lovegrove, Costigan.

Replacements: Ollett, Walker, Carlile, Green.

Referee: Robert Hicks

Attendance: 5,601