'Lost for words but unbelievably proud,' says director of rugby
THE way in which Warrington Wolves had Challenge Cup glory snatched away from them left Gary Chambers feeling 'lost for words.'
However, the club's director of rugby declared himself 'unbelievably proud' of how the organisation as a whole handled the occasion despite falling to defeat against Hull KR.
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For the second year in a row, Chambers and The Wire must pick themselves up from Wembley heartbreak although the way in which this game turned against them may make that task even tougher.
Leading 6-2 and having generally enjoyed the better of proceedings, they were just two minutes away from victory when Tom Davies' try chalked off their lead, with Mikey Lewis' conversion snatching an 8-6 victory for the Super League-leading Robins.
Having opted to keep their build-up as relaxed and low-key as possible, their approach was so close to being a masterstroke and Chambers admitted he thought the players had the game in the bag.
But despite the agonising way in which their day ended, he says he cannot find any criticism of how they handled things.
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'You've got to play for 80 minutes, haven't you? But I can't knock anybody in there – they're absolutely devastated,' he said when speaking to the Warrington Guardian post-match.
'They showed what they can do – they applied themselves brilliantly and I'm unbelievably proud of them, but it's just the game.
'I'm literally lost for words – I was sat there thinking we had it.
'The message coming off the pitch was that everybody was feeling good, they were in control and they knew what they had to do.
'It felt like we were in a good place – there was a bit of confusion when Duff (Matt Dufty) had to come off quick because of his injury but up until then, we were focused and the game plan was working.
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'Our prep had been good, but you just never know with this game.'
Warrington are now tasked with turning around an inconsistent Super League season which sees them sit eighth in the table, two points outside of the play-off spots.
They return to league action at Leeds Rhinos on Saturday and once the pain eases, Chambers expects the players to gain confidence from how they attacked the occasion.
'Before the game, the talk outside was 'what was the point in them even turning up?' he said.
'They did turn up and they more than made a spectacle of it.
'They acquitted themselves really well. They'll kick on from this and they will push on.'
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