Smith proud of Rovers players

Hull KR Head C0ach Tony Smith has said he was proud of his players following their 18-8 win over Wigan Warriors.

The Robins were hit with COVID setbacks. A positive test in the squad saw a further three players stood down as close contacts.

On top of that, they faced further disruption with halfback Jordan Abdull struggling to recover from a head knock picked up in last week’s win over Salford Red Devils.

That led to a halfback combination of Brad Takairangi and Mikey Lewis, who had not played together before this match.

Lewis did not know he was playing in the match until this morning, when Smith finalised his team.

Smith said: “Jordan (Abdull) didn’t pass his test yesterday or today. He had an opportunity today to pass his test, and he failed.

“Rowan (Milnes) is one of the four players from last week we have had in isolation after a positive COVID test. That meant we had to alter our combination of halfbacks.

“We didn’t finalise the team until this morning. There was some playing today, that only found out they were playing this morning.

“I’m really proud of them, proud of their efforts. They took it in their stride and really applied themselves. They’ve deserved their weekend off this weekend.”