Chester ‘rocket’ fired up Hull KR

Hull KR coach Chris Chester was pleased with the way that his team responded to some fiery half-time words from him, to win at Leigh on Saturday.

The Robins recovered from a 24-6 half-time deficit to win 36-26, with an assured and competent second-half performance.

 “This just shows the character of the boys and the belief we have in the group,” he told reporters after the game.

“We controlled the ball a lot better in the second half and we were steelier and more aggressive when we didn’t have it.

“Credit to the boys, at half time I put a rocket up them but they responded well. I think Leigh could have scored more tries on us that first half and we had too many blokes low on energy and feeling sorry for themselves.

“It’s been a tough few weeks and we looked very ordinary in the first half. I had a few choice words to say at ahalf time and the boys responded. It was a gutsy win; I’m proud of the boys to get over the line.”

Meanwhile, talismanic scrum-half Albert Kelly could miss the Robins’ trip to Wembley at the end of the month for the Challenge Cup final.

“He hurt his lateral ligament in his knee in a late tackle as he kicked the ball last week and it’s not looking good for the Challenge Cup final,” Chester explained.

“We’re not ruling him out yet but he’ll do well to be back in time. We’re hoping to have him back for the end of the Qualifiers but we’ll monitor him closely and see how he comes through.”