Steve McNamara urged his Catalans Dragons to got one step further in the history stakes after making the Grand Final for the first time.
Experienced half-backs Josh Drinkwater and James Maloney steered McNamara’s side to an accomplished win, with young French full-back Arthur Mourgue touching down while deputising for the injured Sam Tomkins.
But rather than basking in a ground-breaking victory, former England boss McNamara immediately turned his attention to next Saturday’s season decider against the winners of St Helens and Leeds.
McNamara said: “We’ve got to go there and win it now. It is massive, it’s an achievement, but it’s only historic if you go there and win it.
“It was hard tonight, a really tough game. We didn’t really find our rhythm but we got enough points on the board to win.”
For Hull KR, this was one step too far after their own memorable campaign. Tony Smith’s side has excited and surprised in making the top six and then stunning Warrington last weekend, becoming one of the stories of the season.
But their adventurous style resulted in too many mistakes and Catalans capitalised to the full.
Smith said: “We’re disappointed - it was well deserved by Catalans, they out-played us tonight. It’s been a good journey for us - we’ll this next year and learn from it.”
Fifteen years after announcing their entry into Super League with an unforgettable opening win over Wigan, the Dragons thrilled another sell-out crowd to reach the competition’s showpiece event.
It comes just four years since their top flight status was at risk in the Million Pound Game at Leigh, three months after McNamara’s appointment.
Having survived that ordeal, Catalans won the Challenge Cup the following year, added the League Leaders’ Shield this season and now stand 80 minutes from the sport’s biggest prize in the northern hemisphere.
The French side led 12-4 after a frantic but at times error-strewn first half. When Robins full-back Will Dagger couldn’t deal with a spiralling Drinkwater kick, Ben Garcia pounced to score.
The visitors were looking to respond when they fell further behind. Hull KR were on the attack only for Jordan Abdull’s pass to be intercepted by Drinkwater, who sprinted 80 metres to score.
Abdull made amends just before the break, his smart pass allowing Shaun Kenny-Dowall to reduce the deficit.
But crucially Rovers then fell further behind within a minute of the restart when Mourgue swooped on a second Dagger error.
Further tries from Fouad Yaha and Joe Chan sealed the win before Ryan Hall’s consolation - and Catalans now head to the Theatre of Dreams.
