Hull KR coach Chris Chester delighted after cup win over Wigan
Last Updated: 16/05/15 12:01am
Hull KR coach Chris Chester was beaming with pride after watching his side dump Wigan out of the Ladbrokes Challenge Cup.
A fortnight after being humiliated 60-0 in Super League, the Robins turned the tables to win 16-12 in a dramatic sixth-round tie at Leigh Sports Village.
The visitors demonstrated a new-found resolve from the kick-off but the game was in the balance until centre Ken Sio pounced on a handling error from Wigan's England international Dan Sarginson eight minutes from the end.
"What a difference a couple of weeks makes," said Chester. "We were obviously humiliated last time. We put that down to a blip and spoke about how it can never happen again.
"I'm really proud of the effort, desire and commitment. At times we were under the pump but we found a way to get to the other end and win the game.
"It's a special victory. A lot of people had written us off but my guys thrive on that. The defensive effort was outstanding from minute one to minute 80.
"I thought we really fronted up. We were aggressive and we needed to be. I thought we frustrated them. We came up with a defensive plan that (assistant coach) Willie Poching put in place."
Hull KR were without scrum-half Albert Kelly after he pulled a hamstring in training but they were inspired by skipper Terry Campese and points machine Josh Mantellato, who both missed the 11-try rout at the DW Stadium.
"Campo guided us around the field," said Chester. "He's a calming influence on the team; he's our captain for a reason."
Wigan went into the tie on a high after five straight wins but they paid the price for a series of handling errors and coach Shaun Wane was also critical of their discipline.
"It's really disappointing," Wane said. "I'm devastated to be out of the cup. It's something I hold dearly and so do players but obviously not dearly enough.
"They came with a game plan to make the ruck really slow and messy and they got away with it. Fair play to them, they were the best team.
"We gave too many penalties away and got burned in the end. We had lots of chances to put that game away and we didn't take them."