Hull Daily Mail

Chester: I still watch the Cup run back on Youtube with pride

FORMER ROVERS COACH REFLECTS ON THE 2015 ROUTE TO WEMBLEY

- By JOE APPLEYARD joe.appleyard@reachplc.com @Appleyardj­oseph

Alot has happened at Hull KR since they last reached a Challenge Cup Final, yet in many ways, it feels like yesterday. The same applies for Chris

Chester, the former Robins coach who navigated Rovers to the Wembley showpiece seven years ago.

Now head of rugby at Championsh­ip outfit Leigh, Chester held the reins in East Hull from July 2014 to February 2016, and also featured as a player for the Robins 36 times in a two-year spell at Craven Park.

Chester still has a great fondness for the club and its supporters as he takes a look back at the famous cup run, and what went wrong leading up to the final against Leeds.

Rovers started their campaign with a 50-30 victory over Championsh­ip outfit Bradford Bulls.

“We had a pretty tough start against Bradford, we went a few tries down, and I was starting to fear the worst but full credit to the lads who crawled back due to a standout performanc­e by Josh Mantellato,” he said.

In the sixth round, KR came up against a star-studded Wigan side who had demolished Chester’s men 60-0 two weeks prior, but Rovers defied the odds and picked up a memorable 16-12 victory.

“The second game against Wigan was the hardest for sure,” he said.

“Campese had gone missing the week before, and we were having some off the field incidents not going our way, and they’d pumped us 60-0 two weeks earlier.

“I think it was down to some gritty work in the forwards led by Dane Tilse, James Green and Jordan Cox but Campo ran the show with his kicking game. It was a wet night, which suited us down to the ground in all honesty with a depleted squad.

“Kenny Sio scoring in the corner summed up the game, a memorable win that is still one of the best I’ve been a part of. The win put us in good stead and gave us the confidence we could beat anyone.”

After two games on the road, KR were drawn to face Catalans Dragons in the quarter-final and Chester knew a strong start was needed as a first-half blitz from the Robins saw them progress into the semi-finals with a 32-26 win after a second-half comeback from the Dragons.

“The first half against Catalans was the best half of rugby I ever saw from that group of players. Albert Kelly and Wello (Welham) were on top form, with the likes of Adam Walker and Shaun Lunt leading from the front against a big powerful Catalans

unit,” Chester said. “We caught them off guard in the early parts of the game and hung on for the win. As a team in the cup that year, we came together on those big occasions, the home quarter-final was very special for both the players and the supporters, and we fancied anybody in the semi.”

Rovers were drawn against Warrington, who were coached at the time by a certain Tony Smith, with Leeds Rhinos and St Helens the other teams left in the competitio­n.

Although the Robins went into the game as underdogs, his players feared no one.

“Leading up to the game, we got legends like Ged Dunn and Mike Smith to come to speak to our players and preach about what Hull KR is all about, which really gave a boost to our overseas players,” explained Chester.

“We went into the semi with some of our best players on top form, and we’d played Warrington a month prior and came out on top. We had done a lot of homework on them. I’d spoken to Daryl Powell and Lee Radford about how to move their pack around early in the half and tire them out. We had the likes of Sio and

Dixon with some great footwork, along with Graeme Horne and Josh Mantellato, who carried well with the big men like Adam Walker and James Green, who came off the bench and made significan­t impacts.

“Collective­ly we played well in the semi-final, and our big game players turned up. The kick to Kenny from Albert Kelly and our execution for our first try was a joy to behold and certainly springs to mind. Lunty had the final say, didn’t he! he made a massive play in the final stages to seal the game. That video referee decision was one of the longest I’ve ever seen!”

Chester remembered the electric atmosphere the Rovers supporters created and still looks back on the aftermath seven years on with a great amount of pride and elation.

“The atmosphere was something I’d never experience­d. The hairs stand up on the back of my neck just thinking about it. But we knew that was the ballgame,” he said.

“At the time, I couldn’t thank the board enough, we had a great week leading up to the game, and you could see that we wanted it more in the players’ eyes. It was such an emotional rollercoas­ter, not just that game but coaching Hull KR throughout my stint as coach.

“Someone from the RFL grabbed me for an interview on the hooter, but I was in tears and told them I’d find it hard to speak for long.

“By the time I’d made my way over to the South Stand, the players had gone around the majority of fans, but I wanted to soak it in. I still had plenty of tears in my eyes. The number of people cheering and singing along to Erasure was something I’ll never experience again, a fantastic day. Seeing Mike Smith, Neil Hudgell, and Phil Lowe in floods of tears probably set me off!

It’d been a long time coming, and I

received some lovely messages from Roger Millward before and after which meant a lot from the greatest ever Robin.”

Although the semi-final was full of jubilation, Chester also reflected on the final, which was one game too far for Rovers, as an experience­d Leeds side led by Kevin Sinfield, Rob Burrow and Danny Mcguire put Rovers to the sword inflicting a 50-0 defeat on the Red and Whites, a moment Chester has gone over a thousand times before.

“The result in the final seems as though we took our eyes off the prize, but after that semi-final, we knew we’d just won another game and still had to come up against a red-hot Leeds outfit,” he said.

“I won’t sugarcoat it, the final was a disaster, and we all know that, but believe me, it wasn’t for the lack of trying. But I always look back on the 2015 cup run with pride, and we proved a lot of people wrong and had a crack at it.

“Unfortunat­ely, we went into the final with no considerab­le “finals” experience on and off the field. If I had my time again, there’s so much I would change during that week leading up to the game, including squad selection and preparatio­n.

“Little things like we trained at Wasps the day before and expected to be on the main pitch, but we got moved to the backfield, which looked like a bog!

“There are also a few players who should have played in the final and I hold my hand up for that. But we all became better people for the experience, and we live and die by our choices. I still watch the cup run back on Youtube with pride.”

Now working with the Leigh Centurions, who also have a chance to reach Tottenham this weekend, Chester spoke about the hope that both the famous red and white of both Leigh and Hull KR will be in North London at the end of May.

“I see Leigh similar to Hull KR, a proper club with proper supporters, it would be great for us to get to the final, and I would, of course, love to see Tottenham filled with the red and whites of both the Robins and the Leythers,” he said.

The former KR boss ended with some kind words to say about current coach Tony Smith, and the legacy he will leave on the club at the end of 2022.

Chester said: “Tony is someone I respect hugely, and you can see the impact he’s had on Hull KR since 2019. I call him a friend. Tony always offers some advice. He was the first guy to message me when I was sacked from KR and Wakey. His departure is a huge loss, but Rovers are in a great place and have the infrastruc­ture to carry on their recent success. Coaching Hull KR is a huge challenge, and Tony can hold his head up high, and I’m sure they’ll replace him with the right man.”

 ?? ?? Hull KR reflect on losing the 2015 Challenge Cup final to Leeds Rhinos
Hull KR reflect on losing the 2015 Challenge Cup final to Leeds Rhinos
 ?? ?? Ken Sio (Getty Images)
Ken Sio (Getty Images)
 ?? ?? Hull KR’S Josh Mantellato celebrates after KR win the Challenge Cup semi-final
Hull KR’S Josh Mantellato celebrates after KR win the Challenge Cup semi-final
 ?? ?? Chris Chester looks wistful at full-time at Wembley
Chris Chester looks wistful at full-time at Wembley

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