Super League: Widnes Vikings 28-38 Leeds Rhinos

Kevin Sinfield scored 14 points as Leeds beat Widnes to go second

A clinical second-half display from Leeds Rhinos saw them come from behind to beat Widnes Vikings.

Experienced half-back Danny McGuire scored once in each half and captain Kevin Sinfield added 14 points to help Rhinos climb into second place.

The Vikings had come from 10 points down to lead 16-10 at half-time thanks to three quick tries from Chris Dean, Rhys Hanbury and Patrick Ah Van.

But five second-half Rhinos tries gave them an ultimately comfortable win.

The result leaves Widnes without a win in five league matches.

Leeds started the stronger, Kallum Watkins squeezing in at the corner to open the scoring after three minutes before McGuire added a second. Sinfield converted from directly under the posts to give Rhinos a 10-0 lead.

Vikings fought their way back into the match and led at the interval thanks to tries from Dean, Hanbury and Ah Van, who converted two out of the three to give the home side a six-point advantage.

But the visitors dominated the play after the break and four scores without reply put them in control.

Sinfield converted a try of his own to bring the game level, before Liam Sutcliffe and Tom Briscoe both touched down and McGuire grabbed his second of the day.

Josh Walters added a seventh try for Leeds in the closing stages, in between converted scores from Vikings duo Grant Gore and Joe Mellor, the latter of which saw Mellor run in from 80 metres.

Widnes coach Denis Betts:

"Considering this was our third game in a week I thought it was a pretty good effort.

"There are a lot of positives to take from it. The lads coming back from injury - Pat Ah Van and Joe Mellor - did well.

"We dropped off a bit in terms of focus and concentration and we got caught out a bit and we just couldn't get ourselves back into it. We have to learn.

"Overall there's positives and the most pleasing aspect is that we are getting back into ourselves and the way we hit in the tackle. We are getting that back and we needed to."

Leeds coach Brian McDermott:

"It was a good game. At half-time we weren't panicking. We knew Widnes were in front but we didn't panic. It was a real contest in the end.

"Credit to Widnes for their effort, especially down with some personnel. They had a few players missing from their first team and in the past that can prove to be pretty tough, but today I thought Widnes did well.

"I was pleased to get the win in the end. Widnes have had two tough games and sometimes when teams have a few players missing it can cause a few problems, as the people who come in look to step it up."

Sunday's line-ups

Widnes: Hanbury; Flynn, Dean, Marsh, Ah Van; Mellor, Craven; Kavanagh, White, Gerrard, Lawton, Allen, Leuluai.

Replacements: Johnson, Joseph, Isa, Gore.

Leeds: Jones-Bishop; Briscoe, Watkins, Moon, Hall; Sinfield, McGuire; Bailey, R Ward, Singleton, Delaney, Ablett, Sutcliffe.

Replacements: Kirke, Jones-Buchanan, Aiton, Walters.

Referee: Ben Thaler

Attendance: 5,543