Photo fournie par Swpix.com. Pe 9 aprilie, 103. York Knights coach Mark Applegarth insists there’s “not an ounce of pressure” on his team for Saturday’s Challenge Cup quarter-final away to defending champions Hull KR. The Knights face last season’s treble winners at 13:30 BST, with the match live on BBC Two. Willie Peters’ side has experienced an inconsistent Super League start, including a surprise loss at York on the opening night, and Applegarth believes the Robins are burdened by the fallout from their achievements. “Look at what they’ve had to handle—the Las Vegas trip, peaking for the World Club Challenge, and everything that entails.” “They’ve faced a lot of challenges,” he said. “They’ve also had to handle the shift in expectations placed on them—winning every trophy brings that. I don’t think we have any pressure on us for Saturday; it’s all on them.” So we can focus solely on ourselves while they’re burdened with all that. The Knights kicked off their inaugural Super League campaign with a memorable 19-18 victory against the defending champions, the week prior to KR’s triumph over the Brisbane Broncos in the World Club Challenge. York has since managed only one win in their next six Super League matches, suffering a 34-14 defeat at Huddersfield last week. Applegarth stated that his top focus is addressing the problems from the Giants loss. “We weren’t satisfied with our performance last week, and our main goal is to fix that so we can face each other knowing we’ve given our all,” he told BBC Radio York. “It’s cup rugby—it’s about who executes perfectly over those 80 minutes.” We’ll be throwing everything we’ve got at it. “We’re no fools—we know Hull KR will be out for revenge after that round one loss, and they’ve got their own ambitions.” Hull KR’s success is ‘a testament to sticking to the plan’.
