In this N F P match played on 02 Apr 2000 at New Craven Park , the referee was Ian Smith (Oldham), and 2155 people watched. In cold wet and muddy weather, the half time score was 6- 0, and Hull received 9 penalties to Widnes's 5.		GAMESTAR Paul Mansson
Hull KR	24
Widnes Vikings	10

LUCKY ROBINS TAKE IT

In conditions like this, which were reminiscent of Rugby League in the seventies, it was always going to be the team that enjoyed the most look that would take the spoils. It was always going to be a game dominated by forward runs and tough defence, with perhaps the occasional glimpse of football.
And so it was...
For the first quarter of an hour, Widnes and Hull KR exchanged sets of six in which forwards took the ball up the middle, and defenders were helped by the muddy conditions. From a Widnes point of view, David Hulme led the way, with Eccles and Hill making good yards. Hull KR enjoyed slightly the better territorial advantage, mainly due to the superiority of Hewitt's kicking.
But the first lucky break came to Hull KR. On 17 minutes, they were camped on the Widnes line, but were unable to break through. They attempted a kick through, which ricocheted off a muddy Widnes shirt, straight into the arms of Leroy Joe, who scored under the posts. Two ice ages later, Mark Hewitt kicked the conversion to put the home side 6-0 up.
For the next half an hour, both sides attempted to break the line, but solid defence dictated the proceedings, with both sides reflecting their high position in the defence league. Liam Jones slipped while attempting a penalty kick, but it was Rob Nolan who was next to score, after the break.
Paul Mansson tried to get the centres involved in an attacking move 30 yards from the Rovers line, but his pass was intercepted by Nolan who began the long sprint to the line. Simon Verbickas gave an heroic effort to reach the centre, making up a ten yard head-start. But by the time Bing caught him, Nolan had reached the line and got the try.
This was extremely unfortunate for Mansson, because he had a tremendous game. Chances were obviously limited in the conditions, but he almost broke the line several times, was eager to support his forwards, and made obvious efforts to close down the kicker. When dryer conditions return, this ploy will pay off to our benefit.
The next try came to Widnes. On 58 minutes, Esene Faimalo released the ball in the tackle. Paul Mansson took play upfield and then some neat passing between a couple of unknown and very muddy Widnes players resulted in Damien Munro lunging over the line. Jones was wide with the kick, but Widnes were back to 14-4, with 22 minutes left on the clock.
However, try as they did, with George Mann improving on his recent disappointing form, Widnes couldn't break through, despite a delightful 40-20 effort from Mansson. Dixon and Wray found their way through later on, and a consolation try from Afi Leuila (who, I thought in the mud, was Faimalo, but the papers gave it to Afi) brought the game to an end.

I remember last season, when Widnes came to Craven Park and improved side, but didn't win. They then embarked on that glorious run of victories. History does have a habit of repeating itself...

WIDNES

1. Damien Munro
2. Liam Jones
3. Chris Percival
4. Afi Leuila
5. Simon Verbickas
6. Paul Mansson
7. Karl Fitzpatrick
8. Lee Hansen
9. Phil Cantillon
10. Cliff Eccles
11. Dave Smith
12. Mick Hill
13. David Hulme
14. Jason Donohue
15. George Mann
16. Tommy Hodgkinson
17. Esene Faimalo