Super League: Ethan Ryan's double helps Hull KR defeat Wigan Warriors to set up derby thriller
Ethan Ryan scored two tries as Hull Kingston Rovers saw off Wigan Warriors 38-28 at home on Bank Holiday Monday; Will Tate, Ryan Hall, Korban Sims, Matty Storton and Zach Fishwick all crossed for the hosts too
Last Updated: 29/08/22 7:48pm
Hull Kingston Rovers set up a mouth-watering final-day clash with city rivals Hull FC with a 38-28 win over an inexperienced Wigan Warriors at Sewell Group Craven Park in Betfred Super League.
Rovers scored seven tries to the Warriors' five to go level in the table with their eighth-placed rivals ahead of the final day of the regular season next weekend at the MKM Stadium.
Ethan Ryan claimed two tries for Rovers and there were also scores from Will Tate, Ryan Hall, Korban Sims, Matty Storton and Zach Fishwick, as well as five conversions from Rowan Milnes.
- Rugby league news and gossip blog
- Super League fixtures | Standings | Rugby League live on Sky Sports
Wigan's tries came from Oliver Partington, Ben O'Keefe, Jack Bibby, Sam Halsall and Abbas Miski and O'Keefe also kicked four goals.
Story of the game
Wigan gave debuts to three starters and also had a bench made up of four players who had not played in Super League before in a game which had an end-of-season feel about it, with plenty of mistakes from both sides.
Rovers went ahead in only the fourth minute after Hall was stopped just short of the line on the last tackle but Tate was on hand to claim the released ball and touch down.
Hall got in for the second try when he dived in at the corner to score from a pass by Tate after 12 minutes following an offload by Storton.
Hull Kingston Rovers 38-28 Wigan Warriors score summary
Hull Kingston Rovers: Tries - Ethan Ryan (2), Will Tate, Ryan Hall, Korban Sims, Matty Storton, Zach Fishwick; Goals - Rowan Milnes (5).
Wigan Warriors: Tries - Oliver Partington, Ben O'Keefe, Jack Bibby, Sam Halsall, Abbas Miski; Goals - Ben O'Keefe (4).
Wigan lost captain Partington to the sinbin midway through the half for a dangerous tackle on Rovers replacement Connor Barley.
Rovers grabbed a third when Sims, making his final home appearance for the club, dropped onto a grubber kick by Milnes to score, with the latter adding the extras to make it 14-0.
Wigan replied with just under 10 minutes of the half to go as Partington, with his first involvement since returning, finished off some good work by Halsall close to the Rovers line. O'Keefe's kick made it 14-6 to the home side.
Storton forced his way over for Rovers' fourth try, twisting out of the tackle to score by the left post, and Milnes made it 20-6 to the hosts five minutes before the break.
Sims carried Rovers close to the Warriors line and Albert Vete's pass put Fishwick over for try number five, Milnes' extras making it 26-6 with 10 minutes of the second half gone.
A great offload by Sims sent Ryan over as Rovers stretched their lead, Milnes kicking a fourth conversion halfway through the second period.
Wigan replied almost straight away as O'Keefe stretched out of the tackle to touch down wide on the left before converting his own try.
Hall's offload created a simple try number seven as Ryan was on hand to claim his second with 13 to go, Milnes making it five kicks from seven.
Wigan hit straight back with a try for debutant Bibby before late tries by Halsall and Miski made the final score 38-28 to Rovers.
What they said
Hull Kingston Rovers interim head coach Danny McGuire
"I don't think it's a game for the archives, both teams tried hard. We scored some nice tries but conceded some soft ones as well. In the end, the shining light was some of the young players.
"It's an important game [against Hull FC], it's our last one as a group. We want to finish the season well, we want to win and we went to finish higher than FC."
Wigan Warriors head coach Matt Peet
"I'm proud and frustrated in equal measure. We can look back on that performance in two ways, pride we've got some players for the future, frustration we didn't do enough to get the win as it was there for us.
"The major lesson will be when you've got a young team you need to be confident and have that belief. The fact that we continued to compete [to the end of the game] is something you'd expect."
What's next?
Neither of the Hull clubs can make the play-offs, but the local bragging rights are at stake when they face off in the final round of the regular season on Saturday, September 3 (3pm). Wigan, meanwhile, are at home to Catalans Dragons live on Sky Sports the night before (8pm).
