Hull KR take a 32-12 victory over Warrington Wolves in their Challenge Cup semi-final; Robins were forced to ride out a rocky period either side of half-time; two tries each for Joe Burgess and James Batchelor saw them ease home; Hull KR meet Wigan in Wembley Stadium final on May 30
Last Updated: 10/05/26 6:57pm
Oliver Gildart celebrates Hull KR’s victory
Hull KR sealed their third Wembley appearance in four years after a five-try show saw off Warrington and earned a 32-12 win for Willie Peters’ men in their Betfred Challenge Cup semi-final in Doncaster.
Three second-half efforts effectively confirmed victory for Rovers in a much more straightforward replay of last year’s nerve-jangling final in London, when Mikey Lewis’ last-ditch kick ended a 40-year barren spell for the red-and-white half of Humberside.
Twelve months on Rovers are world champions and treble winners, and despite being forced to ride out a rocky period either side of half-time, two tries each for Joe Burgess and James Batchelor saw them ease home to secure their first Wembley clash with Wigan later this month.
If Lewis was integral to their late charge it was his half-back partner Tyrone May who was at the centre of Rovers’ lightning start, as they started befitting of a side who had rustled up over 40 points in five of their last six matches.
May dispatched Batchelor through a gap to open the scoring in the third minute, and after Lewis converted it should have got worse for Wire, with only a combination of Josh Thewlis and Josh Smith preventing Burgess from barging over in the corner.
Joe Burgess scores Hull KR’s second try
Lewis duly added a penalty after being hampered by James Bentley, and Rovers ratcheted up double figures before the half-hour when Burgess again burst clear, this time on the end of a sweeping move involving May and Lewis, and downed it acrobatically.
But from a position of strength Rovers went off the boil in the latter stages of the half, Joe Philbin central to a period of pummelling pressure that ended with Rovers misjudging Marc Sneyd’s clever kick and allowing Ben Currie to get the Wolves on the scoresheet.
Warrington survived a scare on the hooter when Tom Davies and Jai Whitbread bulled within inches and Rhyse Martin’s effort was ruled out for an earlier infringement, and – bolstered by Sneyd’s conversion – Warrington found themselves a mere eight points adrift at the interval.
Lewis almost reignited Rovers in the 50th minute when he shrugged off Toff Sipley and careered to the edge of the Warrington 10, but he was hauled down by Thewlis after opting to go it alone rather than offload to the lurking Burgess.
Peta Hiku celebrates after the final whistle
Warrington ought to have made them pay in the subsequent period in which they dominated territory but found the door to a second try firmly latched on both flanks.
Instead, it was Rovers who pushed a step closer to Wembley when Oliver Gildart darted over just before the hour after May’s pass following a successful Captain’s Challenge for a Warrington knock-on.
Martin kicked Rovers into three-score territory after Sneyd was penalised for a push, and Rovers sealed it in gleeful fashion seven minutes from time when Warrington failed to gather Lewis’s high kick and Burgess somersaulted over for his second.
Sam Stone ran onto Matty Ashton’s bobbling kick to score a consolation try in the closing stages. But Batchelor still had time to score his second with Martin putting the gloss on a convincing win.
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