Wigan Warriors 8 Hull KR 18: Tony Smith’s side pull off stunning upset

Wigan dominated the first half and were camped on Hull KR’s line for most of it, but the last pass was not good enough and they found themselves trailing at the break as Ben Crooks grabbed the opener just before the interval following great work from Brad Takairangi.

Defences were on top inside the first 20 minutes with not many clear scoring opportunities. Liam Farrell and Jackson Hastings both went close for the Warriors, while Rovers hooker Matt Parcell was brought down inches short of the line.

The visitors looked to have done enough when Ryan Hall went over in the corner to extend Hull KR’s lead to 12-0, but a brace of tries in three minutes from Gildart gave Wigan a chance heading into the final 10 minutes.

The Warriors were not at their best, but they were in the ascendancy and looked like winning the game. The Robins had other ideas and they made the game safe with five minutes to go as Adam Quinlan crossed for their third try of the evening.

Wigan’s inability to score despite their constant pressure came back to haunt them as Takairangi produced a sublime long ball for Crooks to score in the corner just moments after intercepting a ball from Hastings to lead 6-0 at half-time.

Hull KR could sense an upset and they extended their lead in the 62nd minute when leading try scorer Hall jumped higher than Jake Bibby to collect the ball and touch down from Mikey Lewis’ towering bomb. After Gildart’s double it looked like Wigan would go on and win the game, but Rovers made the game safe when Lewis’ cute kick back inside saw Quinlan scoop it up and touch down under the posts. Crooks’ third conversion sealed the victory.