Aussie coach steers Hull KR to Challenge Cup joy
Australian coach Willie Peters has seen his Hull KR team end 40 years of hurt in a dramatic finish to the English Challenge Cup final as they beat Warrington Wolves 8-6 at a rain-lashed Wembley Stadium.
Mikey Lewis held his nerve to kick the winning conversion after Tom Davies had flopped onto Australian playmaker Tyrone May's kick to haul the Robins level against Warrington with just minutes to spare.
Lewis then stepped up to boot his side into the history books, completing a win that erased the memory of their last-gasp agony against Leigh in 2023.
Largely out-muscled by a Wire side orchestrated by the imperious Marc Sneyd, Rovers looked set for more Wembley agony as the underdogs entered the final three minutes with a four-point advantage.
But after Tom Davies stretched to touch down following an error from Aaron Lindop, it was left to Lewis - handed kicking duties in the absence of the Cup-tied Arthur Mourgue, to nail the two-pointer that sparked raucous celebrations among the red and white hordes behind the post.
"That was probably the moment when I was the most calm," insisted Sydneysider Peters, who celebrated wildly with his players - many of whom had been part of their agonising 2023 golden-point defeat to Leigh - at the final hooter less than one and a half minutes after his side had nudged back ahead.
"It was a massive moment and I believed he was going to get it because of the belief he has in himself. He's not our number one kicker but I felt really comfortable and confident when he had the ball in his hands because that was his moment."
Lewis' early penalty looked set to give Rover a slender halftime advantage before Josh Thewlis took advantage of a ricochet to give his side the lead.
Sneyd, who added a superb two points from the touchline in the second half and won the Lance Todd Trophy for man of the match, continued to dominate after the break until May's clever kick led to the late, late drama.
"It wasn't the best performance but it was gritty and that's all you need in a Cup final," added Peters.
"You need to have grit and you need to enjoy discomfort, and they certainly did that."
Deflated Warrington coach and former South Sydney NRL star Sam Burgess said he could not have asked any more from his side, who were on the verge of securing their first Wembley triumph since 2019.
Burgess, whose side were also beaten by Wigan in last year's final, said: "You don't always get what you deserve and I don't think we deserved to lose today.
"We controlled the game very well and executed the plan. Unfortunately these things can happen, we were just on the wrong side of things today."
Burgess also revealed that Australian winger Matt Dufty suffered a facial fracture which will now see him miss a chunk of the Super League season.
"Matt Dufty broke his cheek or eye socket with about 25 minutes to go and was trying to get to the end of the game, but it just popped out," said Burgess.
"We'll be without Duft for a little while but it was outstanding to try to play through the pain. It's just unfortunate we didn't get the job done for him."
Australian coach Willie Peters has seen his Hull KR team end 40 years of hurt in a dramatic finish to the English Challenge Cup final as they beat Warrington Wolves 8-6 at a rain-lashed Wembley Stadium.
Mikey Lewis held his nerve to kick the winning conversion after Tom Davies had flopped onto Australian playmaker Tyrone May's kick to haul the Robins level against Warrington with just minutes to spare.
Lewis then stepped up to boot his side into the history books, completing a win that erased the memory of their last-gasp agony against Leigh in 2023.
Largely out-muscled by a Wire side orchestrated by the imperious Marc Sneyd, Rovers looked set for more Wembley agony as the underdogs entered the final three minutes with a four-point advantage.
But after Tom Davies stretched to touch down following an error from Aaron Lindop, it was left to Lewis - handed kicking duties in the absence of the Cup-tied Arthur Mourgue, to nail the two-pointer that sparked raucous celebrations among the red and white hordes behind the post.
"That was probably the moment when I was the most calm," insisted Sydneysider Peters, who celebrated wildly with his players - many of whom had been part of their agonising 2023 golden-point defeat to Leigh - at the final hooter less than one and a half minutes after his side had nudged back ahead.
"It was a massive moment and I believed he was going to get it because of the belief he has in himself. He's not our number one kicker but I felt really comfortable and confident when he had the ball in his hands because that was his moment."
Lewis' early penalty looked set to give Rover a slender halftime advantage before Josh Thewlis took advantage of a ricochet to give his side the lead.
Sneyd, who added a superb two points from the touchline in the second half and won the Lance Todd Trophy for man of the match, continued to dominate after the break until May's clever kick led to the late, late drama.
"It wasn't the best performance but it was gritty and that's all you need in a Cup final," added Peters.
"You need to have grit and you need to enjoy discomfort, and they certainly did that."
Deflated Warrington coach and former South Sydney NRL star Sam Burgess said he could not have asked any more from his side, who were on the verge of securing their first Wembley triumph since 2019.
Burgess, whose side were also beaten by Wigan in last year's final, said: "You don't always get what you deserve and I don't think we deserved to lose today.
"We controlled the game very well and executed the plan. Unfortunately these things can happen, we were just on the wrong side of things today."
Burgess also revealed that Australian winger Matt Dufty suffered a facial fracture which will now see him miss a chunk of the Super League season.
"Matt Dufty broke his cheek or eye socket with about 25 minutes to go and was trying to get to the end of the game, but it just popped out," said Burgess.
"We'll be without Duft for a little while but it was outstanding to try to play through the pain. It's just unfortunate we didn't get the job done for him."
Australian coach Willie Peters has seen his Hull KR team end 40 years of hurt in a dramatic finish to the English Challenge Cup final as they beat Warrington Wolves 8-6 at a rain-lashed Wembley Stadium.
Mikey Lewis held his nerve to kick the winning conversion after Tom Davies had flopped onto Australian playmaker Tyrone May's kick to haul the Robins level against Warrington with just minutes to spare.
Lewis then stepped up to boot his side into the history books, completing a win that erased the memory of their last-gasp agony against Leigh in 2023.
Largely out-muscled by a Wire side orchestrated by the imperious Marc Sneyd, Rovers looked set for more Wembley agony as the underdogs entered the final three minutes with a four-point advantage.
But after Tom Davies stretched to touch down following an error from Aaron Lindop, it was left to Lewis - handed kicking duties in the absence of the Cup-tied Arthur Mourgue, to nail the two-pointer that sparked raucous celebrations among the red and white hordes behind the post.
"That was probably the moment when I was the most calm," insisted Sydneysider Peters, who celebrated wildly with his players - many of whom had been part of their agonising 2023 golden-point defeat to Leigh - at the final hooter less than one and a half minutes after his side had nudged back ahead.
"It was a massive moment and I believed he was going to get it because of the belief he has in himself. He's not our number one kicker but I felt really comfortable and confident when he had the ball in his hands because that was his moment."
Lewis' early penalty looked set to give Rover a slender halftime advantage before Josh Thewlis took advantage of a ricochet to give his side the lead.
Sneyd, who added a superb two points from the touchline in the second half and won the Lance Todd Trophy for man of the match, continued to dominate after the break until May's clever kick led to the late, late drama.
"It wasn't the best performance but it was gritty and that's all you need in a Cup final," added Peters.
"You need to have grit and you need to enjoy discomfort, and they certainly did that."
Deflated Warrington coach and former South Sydney NRL star Sam Burgess said he could not have asked any more from his side, who were on the verge of securing their first Wembley triumph since 2019.
Burgess, whose side were also beaten by Wigan in last year's final, said: "You don't always get what you deserve and I don't think we deserved to lose today.
"We controlled the game very well and executed the plan. Unfortunately these things can happen, we were just on the wrong side of things today."
Burgess also revealed that Australian winger Matt Dufty suffered a facial fracture which will now see him miss a chunk of the Super League season.
"Matt Dufty broke his cheek or eye socket with about 25 minutes to go and was trying to get to the end of the game, but it just popped out," said Burgess.
"We'll be without Duft for a little while but it was outstanding to try to play through the pain. It's just unfortunate we didn't get the job done for him."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
West Australian
40 minutes ago
- West Australian
Brumbies better prepared for Super title push: Hooper
Tom Hooper says the ACT Brumbies' push for the Super Rugby Pacific title has been years in the making and the team feels "far more prepared" than in previous semi-finals. The Brumbies will tackle the Chiefs in Hamilton on Saturday looking to end an Australian team hoodoo in New Zealand, where no side has ever won a Super knock-out game. The ACT side has now made the semis the last four seasons, since the competition added the Pacific element, but haven't been able to crack a place in the final and haven't won the title since 2004. Hooper, who has starred at both lock and blindside flanker, said the current crop of Brumbies faced this challenge with confidence after their seasons together. "It's all been building to a head for a long time now so we're very keen to take it one step further, take the learnings from the last three years and then take the learnings from games we've played this year," the 24-year-old said. "We're far more prepared, this group's been together for a long time and having the nucleus together for a fair chunk of this season has been really beneficial." The teams met in round three at FMG Stadium Waikato with the home side triumphant 49-34, however both scored six tries with the Chiefs' goal-kicking the difference. The Brumbies only trailed by five points before Anton Lienert-Brown locked down the result with a converted try in the 79th minute. The visitors were missing first-choice players Hooper, Noah Lolesio, Rob Valetini, Tuaina Taii Tualima and David Feliua from that starting line-up. The Brumbies eliminated the Hurricanes to advance to the final four, with four of their five tries scored by their front-row, backing themselves to score each time they entered the 22m zone. "It's a huge advantage and we really pride ourselves on our 'A-zone' and I think we 100 per cent rate on the weekend and if we can do that against the Chiefs, it would be really great," Hooper said. "If I look back two years (2023 semi-final against the Chiefs), our conversion rate in A-zone was what lost us that game, ultimately." But Hooper said they weren't "one-trick ponies". "At the moment, we've been doing really well in our pick and go, but that doesn't mean we can't swing it out wide to Corey Toole and he can gas one over. "Any team that's going to win this competition has to have a few different weapons to their arsenal and we're definitely not a one-trick pony. "But that trick at the moment is working very well for us ... we'll keep going back to it, but we've got a few different weapons up our sleeve." Hooper is shifting his career to the UK, but he said he wasn't thinking this could be his last match in Brumbies colours. "We've got two grand finals left and we're going to pour absolutely everything into it as we fell short the last three years because we didn't," he said. "We're pouring everything into this one and then we'll pour everything into the next one and then after that we'll pour beers into the cup and drink out of it."
Perth Now
an hour ago
- Perth Now
Brumbies better prepared for Super title push: Hooper
Tom Hooper says the ACT Brumbies' push for the Super Rugby Pacific title has been years in the making and the team feels "far more prepared" than in previous semi-finals. The Brumbies will tackle the Chiefs in Hamilton on Saturday looking to end an Australian team hoodoo in New Zealand, where no side has ever won a Super knock-out game. The ACT side has now made the semis the last four seasons, since the competition added the Pacific element, but haven't been able to crack a place in the final and haven't won the title since 2004. Hooper, who has starred at both lock and blindside flanker, said the current crop of Brumbies faced this challenge with confidence after their seasons together. "It's all been building to a head for a long time now so we're very keen to take it one step further, take the learnings from the last three years and then take the learnings from games we've played this year," the 24-year-old said. "We're far more prepared, this group's been together for a long time and having the nucleus together for a fair chunk of this season has been really beneficial." The teams met in round three at FMG Stadium Waikato with the home side triumphant 49-34, however both scored six tries with the Chiefs' goal-kicking the difference. The Brumbies only trailed by five points before Anton Lienert-Brown locked down the result with a converted try in the 79th minute. The visitors were missing first-choice players Hooper, Noah Lolesio, Rob Valetini, Tuaina Taii Tualima and David Feliua from that starting line-up. The Brumbies eliminated the Hurricanes to advance to the final four, with four of their five tries scored by their front-row, backing themselves to score each time they entered the 22m zone. "It's a huge advantage and we really pride ourselves on our 'A-zone' and I think we 100 per cent rate on the weekend and if we can do that against the Chiefs, it would be really great," Hooper said. "If I look back two years (2023 semi-final against the Chiefs), our conversion rate in A-zone was what lost us that game, ultimately." But Hooper said they weren't "one-trick ponies". "At the moment, we've been doing really well in our pick and go, but that doesn't mean we can't swing it out wide to Corey Toole and he can gas one over. "Any team that's going to win this competition has to have a few different weapons to their arsenal and we're definitely not a one-trick pony. "But that trick at the moment is working very well for us ... we'll keep going back to it, but we've got a few different weapons up our sleeve." Hooper is shifting his career to the UK, but he said he wasn't thinking this could be his last match in Brumbies colours. "We've got two grand finals left and we're going to pour absolutely everything into it as we fell short the last three years because we didn't," he said. "We're pouring everything into this one and then we'll pour everything into the next one and then after that we'll pour beers into the cup and drink out of it."
The Advertiser
an hour ago
- The Advertiser
Afridi, Shamar Joseph headline list of BBL nominees
Pakistan superstar Shaheen Afridi is poised to play in the Big Bash League for the first time, after headlining a list of first nominees for next week's draft. Afridi was one of several Paksitan stars to be unveiled on Tuesday, along with Mohammad Rizwan, Haris Rauf and Shadab Khan. The quartet are expected to be available for the entire season, with Pakistan having a sizeable gap in their schedule across the Australian summer. Brisbane Heat will become immediate favourites for Shaheen's signature, after winning the first spot in the June 19 overseas player draft. West Indies phenomenon Shamar Joseph has also nominated again after going unsold last season, when he could not play the full tournament. This year, he should be available for the entire campaign. England duo Alex Hales and Sam Curran are also available, and will be cleared to play the majority of the season plus finals if they are picked. A similar scenario applies for New Zealand pacemen Tim Southee and Lockie Ferguson, while Sri Lanka entertainer Kusal Perera is another nominee. English pair Heather Knight and Sophie Ecclestone are the biggest names to nominate for the WBBL, with Lauren Bell, Shabnim Ismail and Deandra Dotton also available. Pakistan superstar Shaheen Afridi is poised to play in the Big Bash League for the first time, after headlining a list of first nominees for next week's draft. Afridi was one of several Paksitan stars to be unveiled on Tuesday, along with Mohammad Rizwan, Haris Rauf and Shadab Khan. The quartet are expected to be available for the entire season, with Pakistan having a sizeable gap in their schedule across the Australian summer. Brisbane Heat will become immediate favourites for Shaheen's signature, after winning the first spot in the June 19 overseas player draft. West Indies phenomenon Shamar Joseph has also nominated again after going unsold last season, when he could not play the full tournament. This year, he should be available for the entire campaign. England duo Alex Hales and Sam Curran are also available, and will be cleared to play the majority of the season plus finals if they are picked. A similar scenario applies for New Zealand pacemen Tim Southee and Lockie Ferguson, while Sri Lanka entertainer Kusal Perera is another nominee. English pair Heather Knight and Sophie Ecclestone are the biggest names to nominate for the WBBL, with Lauren Bell, Shabnim Ismail and Deandra Dotton also available. Pakistan superstar Shaheen Afridi is poised to play in the Big Bash League for the first time, after headlining a list of first nominees for next week's draft. Afridi was one of several Paksitan stars to be unveiled on Tuesday, along with Mohammad Rizwan, Haris Rauf and Shadab Khan. The quartet are expected to be available for the entire season, with Pakistan having a sizeable gap in their schedule across the Australian summer. Brisbane Heat will become immediate favourites for Shaheen's signature, after winning the first spot in the June 19 overseas player draft. West Indies phenomenon Shamar Joseph has also nominated again after going unsold last season, when he could not play the full tournament. This year, he should be available for the entire campaign. England duo Alex Hales and Sam Curran are also available, and will be cleared to play the majority of the season plus finals if they are picked. A similar scenario applies for New Zealand pacemen Tim Southee and Lockie Ferguson, while Sri Lanka entertainer Kusal Perera is another nominee. English pair Heather Knight and Sophie Ecclestone are the biggest names to nominate for the WBBL, with Lauren Bell, Shabnim Ismail and Deandra Dotton also available.
