Wigan secure Challenge Cup with dominant win over Hull KR at Wembley

Bevan French marked his comeback from hamstring surgery to steal the show at Wembley as Wigan gained emphatic revenge for last season’s Grand Final defeat by summoning a 40-10 demolition of Hull KR in the Betfred Challenge Cup final at Wembley.

Named in Matt Peet’s 21-man final squad six weeks earlier than expected after sustaining the injury in March, French needed less than three minutes after being introduced on the hour mark to skip over for his side’s sixth try.

That French had been afforded the luxury of a cameo role was due in large part to the performance of his understudy, Jack Farrimond, who helped himself to Wigan’s first two tries and orchestrated an emphatic start from which Rovers never recovered.

https://x.com/TheChallengeCup/status/2060754697560920188?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

It added up to the biggest winning margin in a final since the Robins were hammered 50-0 by Leeds in 2015, and vindicated Peet’s decision to name a team stacked with debutants for their 62-4 Super League loss at Craven Park just 10 days ago.

Questions over French’s potential involvement had gripped the build-up to the tie, and the sight of the Australian going through the motions in the warm-up suggested his name on the team sheet was little more than a diversionary tactic.

Either way, it enabled Farrimond to grasp centre stage. He made all the difference in an attritional first period in which Wigan were excellent defensively and Rovers somewhat inhibited, as if lacking the spark that drove them to end 40 years of trophy-less hurt at the same venue 12 months ago.

It added up to a nightmare start for Rovers, who lost prop Dean Hadley to a game-ending head injury with just three minutes on the clock, and two minutes later Wigan were in