Hull KR survived a late comeback from Leigh Leopards to hang on and secure another two valuable Super League points, however, they lost full-back Arthur Mourgue to what looks like a recurrence of the pec injury that ruled him out for almost three months.
The Robins started slowly with Leigh 6-2 up approaching the half-hour mark, which is when Hull KR clicked into gear, scoring three tries before the half-time hooter. From there, they had to cling on with Leigh almost doing enough to complete an impressive comeback, but for try-saving tackles from the likes of Joe Burgess as the Robins won 20-16.
It was a game that was reminiscent of the World Club Challenge, where Hull KR were incredible in the first half and then had to cling on in the second 40 and another parallel to that game was the fact that full-back Arthur Mourgue went off in agony.
In his first game back since that pectoral injury, it looked like the Frenchman suffered the same injury and that was something Willie Peters addressed when he spoke on Sky Sports post-match.
The Australian said: “I’m hoping it’s not (as bad as it looks). He’s going to go for scan. We’re just going to wait and see.
“I’m devastated if it is (as bad as it looks) for him. Obviously, he’s gone through a really hard rehab and the time away and then got himself right.
“Fingers crossed, we’re just hoping for the best.”
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As for the actual performance, Peters was delighted that his side managed to see the game out and explained that there are a number of lessons to learn, mainly not to attempt to defend leads but instead keep the foot on the gas.
Peters said: “I thought we controlled that second half well, and then once they got that drive, they had some momentum.
“There’s a lot of learning from that game, but it’s always good to learn. People say you learn when you lose, but we’ll get a lot of learning from that and getting two points, which is pleasing.”
In terms of lessons, he said: “I just think trying not to defend the lead. I think you put the foot on the pedal at the end to try and score more points. We didn’t really look like scoring a point in that second half, and we didn’t have to score a point, but we let too many in.
“We put ourselves under pressure in that back end, so I really like the scramble. It was similar to the World Club Challenge, that had the same sort of feel, but on both occasions we found a way.”
As for next week’s Super League fixture against Wigan Warriors, which comes a week before the Challenge Cup Final against the same opponents, Peters confirmed it’s not likely he’ll rest players unless they need.
He said: “We’re going to have a look at it. It’s going to be a short turnaround. It’s five days but I always try to keep momentum.
“I sort of learned that a few years ago. We rested players, and it didn’t work for us. So what I’m going to do is just see how we are after this, and then just see if anyone needs a rest. If they don’t, we’ll keep going.”
Job DONE in Leigh 😁#UpTheRobins🔴⚪️ pic.twitter.com/4pZzl2WQz3
— Hull KR (@hullkrofficial) May 16, 2026
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