Hull KR end 40 years of agony to stun Warrington in breathtaking fashion
Warrington Wolves 6 Hull Kingston Rovers 8
On the east side of Hull, they will talk about the day that Hull KR finally won a major trophy again to end 40 years of heartache, for decades to come.
The hope now for the Robins will be that this victory, secured by Tom Davies' dramatic 77th-minute try which reigning Man of Steel Mikey Lewis calmly converted, can kickstart of a new era of success.
Not since 1985 had Rovers lifted a major trophy and you had to go back to 1980 for their only previous Challenge Cup success during the club's halcyon days. Now the good times are back after Willie Peters' side conjured the late score to secure rugby league's oldest and most famous trophy.
At the final hooter, head coach Peters and his rain-soaked players leapt in the air like wild men as the magnitude of their achievement became clear.
'There was a lot of pressure on the group, but we had spoken about it being our time,' said Peters, whose players will parade the Challenge Cup in an open-top bus parade in Hull on Sunday.
'There are a lot of people who have contributed to this today. Our chairman, Neil Hudgell, has put so much money and time into the club and we wanted to do it for him. But in terms of the playing group, we wanted to do it for each other.'
WHAT A MOMENT! ❤️🏆 #UpTheRobins 🔴⚪️ pic.twitter.com/PJnvVlGeYk
— Hull KR (@hullkrofficial) June 7, 2025
Hull KR had lost their last four Challenge Cup final appearances, including the 2023 final to Leigh in Peters' first season as head coach, but they are losers no more.
An upwardly mobile club with a vibrant, ambitious ownership, Rovers appear well placed to kick on now and push for a maiden Super League title.
You had to sympathise with Warrington coach Sam Burgess, whose injury-hit side fought gallantly and looked set for an against-the-odds victory until Davies struck late on.
Burgess, whose full-back Matt Dufty was forced off late on with a broken eye socket, said: 'I don't think we deserved to lose. We controlled the game for large parts and I'm just upset for the players. But suffering, pain and loss are really crucial to the development and growth of the group.'
In drizzly conditions, Warrington's wily playmaker Marc Sneyd delivered an imperious display as his educated left boot guided them around the park quite superbly.
Sneyd won the Lance Todd Trophy as man of the match for the third time in his career, having claimed it when helping Hull FC to wins in the 2016 and 2017 Challenge Cup final.
With chances scarce throughout, Hull KR led with a penalty from Lewis but Warrington scored the game's first try on the stroke of half-time when Sneyd's grubber kick bounced kindly for Josh Thewlis to ground the ball in the right corner.
Sneyd converted and his influence grew as the game wore on during the second half with Rovers penned back towards their own line. But with time running out, the ball ran loose in the right corner and Davies touched down, levelling matters at 6-6 after being checked by the video referee before Lewis converted to send the massed ranks of Robins fans into ecstasy.
Match details
Warrington: M Dufty; J Thewlis, R Tai, T King, A Lindop; G Williams, M Sneyd; L Yates, S Powell, P Vaughan, A Holroyd, L Fitzgibbon, B Currie.
Subs: J Harrison, J Philbin, J Crowther, S Ratchford.
Hull KR: J Broadbent; T Davies, P Hiku, J Batchelor, J Burgess; M Lewis, T May; S Sue, M McIlorum, J Waerea-Hargreaves, D Hadley, J Whitbread, E Minchella.
J Litten, S Luckley, K Tanginoa, J Brown.
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