Tony Smith praises Hull KR debutant Will Tate

Hull KR coach Tony Smith praised debutant Will Tate following their defeat to Leeds.

The Robins fell to a 41-16 defeat to the Rhinos on Thursday – but the highlight for Hull KR was the promising debut of 18-year-old full-back Will Tate, who was brought in by Smith as one of 11 changes to the team that lost 48-18 to the Rhinos in the Challenge Cup a week earlier.

REPORT: Hull KR 16-41 Leeds: Rhinos too strong for Robins

Smith said: “There are some similarities to last week with the way we started. You look up at the scoreboard and it’s a bit demoralising.

“We didn’t throw in the towel no matter what, there is a good spirit, we’ve just got to learn some lessons about how to start games.

“There were too many missed tackles and we’re not playing the ball quick enough. But we can fix that up.

“I thought Will Tate was good. It wasn’t a perfect start but he’s come out of it on the positive side. He showed some real maturity at different stages and some pieces of class at different stages as well.

“The disappointment was that his parents weren’t allowed to be here to see his first game.”

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