Category: Rugby League

• Warrington 32-18 St Helens
• Wolves run in seven tries to move up to seventh

Sam Burgess has made it his business to keep his emotions in check for most of his tenure as Warrington Wolves coach – which made his reaction to Rodrick Tai’s crucial try here in the final quarter of a compelling contest leave no doubt about what this result would have meant to him and his players.

To be clear, it is still far too early in proceedings to be suggesting there is any form of early-season pressure on Warrington. But Burgess set the bar so high in his first season as a head coach last year by reaching both major finals that the very sight of the Wolves being as low as ninth with a third of the Super League season gone suggests something is not quite right.

With the clubs occupying first and second spot in the standings, the stakes are high for their Good Friday derby

Nestled at the eastern tip of the M62, the city of Hull may sit on the very tip of British rugby league’s geographical landscape but, right now, it is the epicentre of Super League.

Few cities are driven by a passion for rugby league quite like it. Both of the city’s clubs – Hull FC and Hull KR – have enjoyed spells in the upper echelons of Super League over the past 30 years but not since the early 80s, long before the advent of summer rugby, was there a time when both East Riding clubs were simultaneously competing for honours.

Hull lost their unbeaten record on Friday but they are building something special and trophies will surely come

By No Helmets Required

To say Hull Kingston Rovers are a club on the up would be a huge understatement. Eight years ago they were playing Championship games against Batley, Swinton and Dewsbury. Now they are Super League leaders, aspiring to overthrow Wigan. They are inspiring other mid-sized clubs, showing what can be done with a bit of money, a lot of hard work and many good decisions. They were beaten 28-12 by Wigan but Friday night at Craven Park was more evidence of dreams manifest.

Forty years after they last lifted a major trophy, Hull KR fans are desperate to see this current wave of success be crowned with silverware. They sold their 4,000 tickets for the Hull derby in 12 minutes, their 6,000 Challenge Cup semi-final allocation in two hours. Craven Park is sold out most games, seats only left empty by absent season-ticket holders or folk enjoying the food and drinks area on Craven Streat, the dilapidated southern terrace replaced by a fortnightly festival. It was busy from two hours before kickoff on Friday, with local musician Tom A Smith playing on the pitch before the game and on the Craven Streat stage at half-time. Fireworks went off randomly. It was the Super Bowl brought to you on a budget.

• Warrington 16-14 Leeds
• Visitors squander eight-point lead in second half

Almost 29 years to the day since Super League kicked off in Paris amid a flurry of excitement and hysteria, two teams with very different histories in the competition’s biggest games delivered a thriller for the 5,000th match in the history of the league.

The early evidence is still unclear on whether or not Warrington can claim a first Super League title – and first league title since 1955 – this year, or whether Leeds can add to the eight Grand Finals they already have. But they certainly showed enough between them to suggest they will be in the mix when the pressure is on come September and the scramble for Old Trafford reaches boiling point.