York Knights head coach Mark Applegarth has given his verdict after his side were knocked out of the Challenge Cup by holders Hull KR.
The Knights saw their hopes of making it to Wembley end as Hull KR defeated them 48-10 in windy conditions at Craven Park with the Robins taking the lead early and not offering Mark Applegarth’s side much hope to get back into the game.
Speaking post-match on the BBC, Applegarth showed class as he gave his verdict: “First and foremost, congratulations to Hull KR. I thought they showed exactly why they were a champion team today.
“It was a disappointing start obviously. That left us chasing our tail a little bit, but if there’s one thing I can understand, it’s the disconnect slightly in how we played with the changes that you mentioned.”
Injuries meant York had a much-changed side with Joe Law and Myles Harrison both loaned in from Newcastle and starting in the back line, with Applegarth happy how his side fought on despite that adversity.
The Knights coach said: “One thing that I am pleased with is that we kept on fighting until the end. I thought Joe Law and Myles Harrison stood up really well, so it’s a valuable experience for them.
“Congratulations to KR but we’ll be alright, we’ll stick together. There are some pretty harsh lessons there, but as long as we are learning, we’ll move forward.”
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It now makes it four games in a row that York have lost whilst it’s the second consecutive game that saw them ship six or more tries, however, Applegarth offered a pinch of reality.
He explained: “We weren’t naive enough to know that there wouldn’t be a few scorelines such as that this year, especially if we lost some of our key members.
“There’s a lot of lads hurting in there and my job as coach now is to make sure we do stay together and no one starts turning on each other. Sometimes you’ve just got to tip your hat and say that you were outplayed and I thought we got outplayed today by Hull KR.”
He called on his players and staff to learn from the result, positing: “If you’re a player and a coach, you get valuable experience in these sort of moments, don’t you?
“There’s a lot of young lads that are learning the craft still, so they’ll be a lot better for that. There’s a lot of senior lads that are hurting and it’s really important that we keep them together.
“Ultimately, it’s a lesson learned for us, just in terms of concentration. They haven’t scored on anything that we didn’t plan for, but obviously planning for it and stopping it are two different things. As long as you do learn them lessons, I can’t ask for more, can I?”
⚔️ 𝗙𝗨𝗟𝗟 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘
The Knights’ Challenge Cup journey ends.#OurEra | #ThisIsYork ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/I6Lq9lRbL8
— York RLFC Knights (@YorkRLFC) April 11, 2026
