Hull beat Broncos to be crowned World Club Challenge champions
Hull KR have claimed the World Club Challenge crown, holding off a furious late surge from the Brisbane Broncos to secure a dramatic 30-24 victory at MKM Stadium.
The match brought together the reigning Super League and NRL champions, continuing rugby league’s long-standing tradition of determining the world’s premier club side.
The victory comes despite the heavy favouritism of the Australian rugby league champions, who were priced as short as 1.17 with some betting sites, while Hull were as long as 5.50, and written off many pundits.
Hull coach Willie Robbins was all smiles after the match, despite the Broncos, who famously stormed home to win their three finals last year, making a late charge. His team now stands at the pinnacle of English rugby league, having won the Super League major and minor premiership, the Challenge Cup and World Club Challenge.
“We were beaten fair and square last week. The disappointing part when you lose is if you’re not yourself for 80 minutes, and we weren’t,” he said post-match.
“Tonight, we still were. They’re a very, very good team and we knew they’d come back. I just wanted to see us again tonight, and I’m really happy that we produced that.
“We used last week as motivation because York didn’t fear us. I’m sure they respected what we did last year, but they felt like they could win and they went out and did that.
“We spoke about that this week. We were the underdogs and not many people thought we could win, so we wanted to use what they did against us.”
In freezing conditions in Hull, the Robins controlled much of the contest, surging to a commanding 30-4 lead midway through the second half. Peta Hiku’s try in the 57th minute, following a clever Tyrone May grubber, appeared to have sealed the result as Brisbane struggled to generate sustained pressure.
Yet the Broncos, renowned for their resilience during last season’s finals series, mounted a stunning comeback. Ben Talty’s powerful burst created space for Pat Carrigan before Deine Mariner crossed soon after. Reece Walsh then delivered a superb cut-out pass to send Gehamat Shibasaki over, with Brisbane scoring three tries in a frantic five-minute spell.
Conversion difficulties proved costly, however, with Adam Reynolds landing just two from five attempts as Hull KR’s lead narrowed but held firm.
A late opportunity emerged when Mikey Lewis failed to find touch from a penalty, allowing Brisbane to race the length through Kotoni Staggs and set up a tense finish. Despite relentless pressure, Michael Maguire’s side were unable to complete the recovery.
Hull KR now go to the US, to take on Leeds in next weekend’s Rugby League in Las Vegas festival, with the NRL season opening double-header between the Cowboys and Knights, and Bulldogs and Dragons.
