Weakened Wigan thrashed by Hull KR in final tune-up

Hull Kingston Rovers moved up to second in Super League as the champions thrashed a weakened Wigan Warriors side. Wigan head coach Matt Peet left out all his regulars before the Challenge Cup final against the same opponents at Wembley on 30 May. The Warriors side included 10 debutants - seven in the starting line-up and three interchanges - and they were no match for a strong Hull KR side.

The champions ran in seven unopposed tries in the first half and four more after the break, while winger Nathan Lowe's score in his first game was Wigan's sole try. Willie Peters' side went above Leeds Rhinos and Warrington Wolves on points difference, and are now only two adrift of leaders St Helens. Wigan remain sixth after this fifth defeat of their Super League season.

After three months of the season, the fixture list had kept apart last season's top two until this, the 12th round of the competition. With the Challenge Cup immediately after, this had looked like two intriguing games in quick succession - in a burgeoning rivalry that has included the past two Grand Finals, with Wigan sweeping all before them in 2024 and Hull KR doing likewise last year. But the news on Tuesday of Peet's squad for this game effectively sacrificed two league points and dampened the prospect of a rip-roaring encounter.

Only veteran prop Patrick Mago was involved from the matchday squad in the win over Leeds last time out and he began on the bench. The starting line-up had a combined 67 Super League appearances between them and an average age of 20. 18, with 19-year-old loose forward Taylor Kerr captaining the side.