Brad Schneider’s dramatic golden point drop goal in extra time saw Hull Kingston Rovers dethrone holders Wigan Warriors in the Betfred Challenge Cup semi-final at Headingley on Sunday. The Robins won the match 11-10 to reach their first final in eight years, where they will be out to make amends for their humiliating defeat against Leeds Rhinos on that occasion.
Hull KR started this box office game of rugby league brilliantly. They were organised, disciplined and showed that they would not roll over for the reigning champions. Louis Senior put the Robins ahead just after the 10-minute mark when Louis Senior capped off an impressive move which was largely down to the excellent work of Mikey Lewis. Rowan Milnes wasn’t on hand to add the extras however.
This got the Hull KR contingent in Headingley bouncing. They started to believe that this was their time and with the way that they were limiting Warriors, they had just cause. For a period they were in a relatively comfortable position on the pitch despite the slender lead. However, they were more than aware of how Wigan could switch on within a second.
And that is exactly what happened at the midway point of the half as Jai Field levelled the score with a dazzling solo run to cross the line. Harry Smith added the two to put Wigan in front. Smith stepped up right at the end of the half to convert a penalty to double Wigan’s lead following a ball steal from Hull KR.
The frantic contest continued in the second half and a twist occurred early on. Wigan’s Joe Shorrocks was shown a red card by referee Liam Moore for a shoulder challenge on Lewis as the Warriors were down to 12. For many teams this would be a crushing blow, not for Wigan.
This spurred on the players and their fans as the record Challenge Cup champions knew what was on the line. The drama continued as minutes later Hull KR’s Shaun Kenny-Dowall was sin-binned for a professional foul on Bevan French to level the playing field for a short period.
Wigan received a penalty as a result and Smith just about got it through to hand his team a six-point lead. The Warriors were beginning to take control of the match as they began to thrive off the pressure of the red card. But the return of Kenny-Dowall soon changed things.
Hull KR started to build some momentum of their own once they regained their one-man advantage. Kenny-Dowall drove into a wall of Wigan players, passed the ball onto Matt Parcell who squeezed the ball through to Ethan Ryan who crossed to bring the Robins back into it. Schneider did his job with the subsequent kick to level the tie with just over 15 minutes to play.
The Robins were piling the pressure on in the closing stages and you felt that they were going to snatch the victory without the need for golden point.
Hull KR’s late momentum saw them book their place in next month’s final as Schneider’s audacious kick landed in between the posts to send the travelling Robins fans wild. They have a chance of redemption inside the national stadium and right now you can’t bet against them claiming their second Challenge Cup title when they meet Leigh Leopards in a few weeks’ time.
