Milestone man Tony Smith celebrates 500th game with a gutsy win

Hull KR coach Tony Smith won his 500th game as a Super League coach as they produced a gutsy display to beat Toulouse 28-24 in the south of France.

The Robins trailed 18-4 at one point before they scored four tries to snatch a win across the Channel.

The win seals a good Easter weekend for Hull KR following a Good Friday derby win over rivals Hull FC.

Tony Smith said: “I’m not really into celebrating milestones but it’s not a bad way to mark my 500th game.

“The players showed great character, even though they were clearly fatigued from what was a very tough derby against Hull.

“But they overcame that and they believed in themselves, maybe even more than I did.

“They weren’t spectacular but they found ways to win that game. It wasn’t a high quality game but that isn’t down to the players, or Toulouse, it’s simply down to the scheduling of fixtures.”

Toulouse can stay up, says coach Sylvain Houles

Meanwhile, Toulouse coach Sylvain Houles is confident his side can avoid relegation this season.

He said: “We made some improvements from our game against Catalans but at the end of the day it is the same mistakes that keep costing us, we keep giving the opposition too much.

“We did some good things but we have to be a whole lot better. We need to look after the ball better.

“The players know we need points and we need them quickly but we have to take that pressure away from them and allow them to play.

“It’s do-able, we can compete at Super League level, we have shown it. But we have to prepare well and trust our processes and stick to our principles.”

Toulouse have been dealt a blow to Guy Armitage. The centre will be out for two months after suffering a broken larynx during the French derby on Thursday.

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