Hull KR facing 'grim review' after 'horrific' defeat as Robins left 'looking over their shoulder' in play-off race
Love Rugby League · Louis Chapman Coombe · 2026-08-22T18:56:03+00:00 · nguồn gốc
Hull KR facing ‘grim review’ after ‘horrific’ defeat as Robins left ‘looking over their shoulder’ in play-off race
Hull KR fell to a horrific 32-12 defeat to Toulouse Olympique at Craven Park, which keeps them sitting sixth in the Super League table.
The French side were the better side across the 80 minutes in East Hull, scoring through Mathieu Jussaum, Romeo Tropis (two), Anthony Marion, Paul Ulberg and Luke Polselli, but the Robins did make a dent on the scoreboard courtesy of Elliot Minchella and Louix Gorman.
Here are our key takeaways from the round 24 clash.
Tough day out
There is no doubt that Hull KR will be in for a grim review session come Monday morning, after a defeat that probably serves as a metaphor for where they are right now.
You do have the obvious caveat of this being their third game in nine days, and even with rotation between games that is a tiring block for any player to deal with, but still, this was an eye-opening defeat and one that probably serves as a wake-up call for them.
Simply put, they were comfortably second-best today in pretty much every department.
Their attack just seemed to lack their traditional threat, bite and even invention about it. Toulouse’s defence does deserve some credit for that, forcing them inside and often rushing up towards the first two carriers to shut it down, but you felt KR just couldn’t find a way around that and adapt their system accordingly.
When they did get around the defence, they also couldn’t quite take the chances presented to them. This is so uncharacteristically Hull KR, who have won titles on the back of their ability to just suffocate teams and grind out a victory.
That is put even more under a spotlight by the fact Toulouse’s attack was flamboyant, exciting and outright creative. The French outfit have made that a habit this season, granted, but it was almost the perfect juxtaposition for this game; the team that threw the ball around and tried things out won and the team that didn’t lost.
What will worry Peters the most is their defensive errors, notably the 60 missed tackles, which is again just so uncharacteristic. There were just consistent little pockets of space within the defensive line, only small ones but there nonetheless, and that’s when Toulouse came into their own. It was almost an invitation to let the visitors just charge through and attack broken field, something they do so, so well. In the tight, too, it just seemed like the Robins were second-best, with Toulouse’s unit getting the better.
To say they have been outplayed would be an understatement; they were blown out of the water.
It will leave the Robins with a very tough review session next week, and you probably don’t want to be in that room.
Looking over their shoulder
This defeat, coupled with St Helens’ win over Castleford Tigers earlier in the day, will leave the Robins looking over their shoulder heading into the final few rounds of the season.
KR now sit just two points above the Saints in the table, and they no longer have that precious game-in-hand now either. What makes this even more interesting is the fact St Helens have now won two on the spin compared to KR’s run of two successive defeats.
The rest of the run-in is even more interesting for both sides. St Helens have Leeds Rhinos and Leigh Leopards in rounds 25 and 26, while KR play Wigan Warriors and Huddersfield Giants. Round 27 then sees the sides go head-to-head, in what could be a play-off shoot-out.
The Robins could have really done with a win today, but this defeat sees them dragged back into a dogfight that they wouldn’t have been expecting just a few weeks ago.
Away days
Toulouse often go under the radar in Super League, but they are quickly becoming the kings of the away day.
Across the 2026 season to date, Toulouse have now won six of their 12 games on the road, putting them ninth in the overall away table in Super League and on par with the likes of St Helens and even KR on that front. Interestingly, that is also the bulk of their wins this season, with the French side tasting victory just twice at home. In that run, they have also beaten Catalans Dragons, St Helens, Huddersfield Giants, Wakefield Trinity and now Hull KR.
Toulouse deserve a lot of praise for a lot of their play, but the fact they are turning up away from home and doing the business is a