‘Rock bottom’ Robins want no more knocks
Tim Sheens admits Hull KR are at ‘rock bottom’ in terms of fit bodies for tomorrow’s clash against Toulouse – but believes his squad have more than enough to clinch victory.
Rovers welcome back key men such as Danny Mcguire and Mose Masoe for the Qualifiers clash in France, with Maurice Blair the only change this weekend.
However, Sheens has pointed towards the vast amount of experience lost over the course of the last few weeks, with Adam Quinlan, Justin Carney, Lee Jewitt and Ryan Shaw all recently ruled out for the remainder of the season who would otherwise be shoo-ins for selection.
Confident in the 19 he has picked for the trip, Sheens is hopeful of no further knocks against Sylvain Houles’ Championship outfit.
“We’ve lost players with a lot of experience,” Sheens told the Mail.
“In many ways, we’re hanging on by our fingernails in terms of numbers. I’m down to my last 19 players and 18/19 are very young. I don’t have much behind that.
“Touch wood there’s no disaster this week as I certainly don’t want to play in that Million Pound Game in a fortnight’s time. We are right at rock bottom from the point of numbers that we have left.”
KR have named Ben Crooks in their team despite the centre picking up a concussion against London six days ago.
Hopeful that he’ll pass the respective head assessments, Sheens is crossing his fingers that Crooks can take part against what he calls a ‘well-drilled’ Toulouse spine, whilst also touching on why the travelling aspect will have no bearing on the result.
“We want Ben to play. He’s very strong but with those protocols, we have to be careful. We’re fairly comfortable Mose and Danny will be OK too,” he added.
“Toulouse’s spine, 1, 6, 7 and 9 are very good in that division. They make each other better, they’re a strong unit, there are no issues there. Whereas I’ve got half my starting spine missing.
“It is very much a worry for us, the brains of their outfit. They’re very well drilled, a very good coach. It’s a step up from the last few games, to be honest. I think they’re as good if not better than London, especially at home. We’ve got ourselves a game.
“It’s a seven-day turnaround so it’s not bad at all. We’re on the plane this morning from Manchester – as we are on the other end of the planet when it comes to rugby league in this country.
“We train this afternoon and then play tomorrow so it is an issue. But London last week flew back from Canada and bussed up here on the day, and put in a great performance against us. There’s no excuses from us.” Junior Vaivai, Danny Mcguire, Nick Scruton, Shaun Lunt, Mose Masoe, James Greenwood, Ben Kavanagh, James Donaldson, Chris Clarkson, Tommy Lee, Robbie Mulhern, Liam Salter, Chris Atkin, Will Oakes, Danny Tickle, Joel Tomkins, Todd Carney, Craig Hall, Ben Crooks.