Hull KR assistant coach Ian Watson has thrown his hat in the ring to replace Willie Peters at the end of the season.
Watson returned to rugby league ahead of the 2026 season after spending a few years as an assistant coach in rugby union with the Seattle Seahawks.
His last rugby league role before KR was the head coach job at Huddersfield Giants, where he was until July 2024.
Coming back to the 13-man code, he has big ambitions to return to the helm at some point, and he could do that as early as next year, should the Robins appoint him as their new boss.
However, Watson isn’t confident he will get the reins this time around, something he is fine with given he “loves” being an assistant coach at Craven Park.
Speaking on The Bench podcast, he revealed a bit of an update in regards to where Hull KR are at in terms of appointing Peters’ successor.
Asked if he was in the running for the job, Watson said: “I don’t think so. I think the one thing they’re really good at, Hull KR, is having a bit of a succession plan.
“I think there’s been somebody in mind who they’ve got, whether that works out or not, they’ll be able to tell you that, I wouldn’t be able to tell you that.”
A conversation has been had, however, between the former Salford boss and the Robins’ higher-ups, should they look to go in a different direction.
“If it was a case of having some consistency in the way that they train, the way that they prepare, it’s very similar in the set-ups [to Watson’s style of coaching],” he revealed.
“If they want that kind of consistency, then I would be willing to look at that and step forward if I was needed to be, and they thought I was the right person to do it.
“My ambition is to get back into head coaching at some point. Whether it’s here, we don’t know. Nobody ever knows. Everything’s timing.”
In early April, Hull KR CEO Paul Lakin revealed that the club hoped to announce their new head coach in May, giving them ample time to prepare for the 2027 season.
With just a few days of the month remaining and a full focus on the Challenge Cup Final, it seems unlikely that they will stick to that time-frame however, the sooner that the Robins confirm Peters’ replacement, the better.
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