Wigan Warriors vs Hull KR Prediction: George is backing the Robins to defend their crown

British rugby league's two heavyweights jump into the ring again at Wembley on Saturday afternoon, as holders Hull Kingston Rovers take on the competition's most successful side Wigan Warriors in the sport's much-anticipated Betfred Challenge Cup Final. (Kick-off 3pm, Live on BBC One)

It is a repeat of last year's Grand Final, a meeting of the Challenge Cup's two most recent winners and a platform for the sport's superstars to showcase their talents to a huge global audience. 

Wigan Warriors vs Hull KR Odds

The Warriors are a 6/5 bet to prevail in regulation time, while Rovers are the 4/5 favourites. The draw can be covered at 14/1.

Team News

These two sides met in the Betfred Super League only last week, but Warriors head coach Matt Peet opted to play a youthful side to keep his senior stars fresh for the trip to Wembley. Rovers ran riot with a 62-4 victory, but will Peet's gamble pay off with a win when it matters most on Saturday afternoon?

The headline team news does come from the Wigan camp with one of the sport's star names a surprise inclusion.

Bevan French has been sidelined for three months with a torn hamstring but is named in Wigan's initial 21-man squad for the biggest game of the year so far.

French had been ruled out for four months, and although I'm told the half-back has been well ahead of schedule in his rehabilitation, his inclusion is somewhere between a shock and an almighty gamble.

French is named along with all the big-name players who were given the night off last week at Sewell Group Craven Park. That includes captain Liam Farrell who has missed the last two games with a calf injury. I'm told Farrell has been given the all-clear and is set to start the game.

Rovers have included key forward Dean Hadley despite suffering a hamstring issue which forced him off against Wigan last week. Scans confirmed a problem, head coach Willie Peters admits he is a doubt, and yet Hadley has still been named. This may well be just to keep Wigan guessing, unless Hadley has herculean powers of recovery or last week's withdrawal was more precautionary.

James Batchelor has missed the last two games through concussion protocols but is now available to return and is included in the squad as expected.

As expected winger Joe Burgess and half-back Tyrone May are both back in after being rested last week as a precaution. Rhyse Martin is also set to play after the surprise announcement this week that he will retire at the end of the season to take up a role with PNG Chiefs in the NRL.

Handicap 3-way Alternative 1 Hull KR -6 @ 6/4

I can't wait for this game. Wigan and Hull KR have contested the last two Betfred Super League Grand Finals but this will be their first ever meeting in the Challenge Cup Final.

Over 60 thousand will be at Wembley for the latest showdown between the two, with Wigan in the unusual position of being underdogs having relinquished all of their domestic honours to Rovers last season.

So can they win one of them back?

The Robins are favourites in the outright betting at 5/6 with Betfred to successfully retain their trophy. Wigan are 11/10 outright to wrestle back the crown, and a draw in 80 minutes is priced at 12/1.

The handicap is tight, with Wigan given just a two-point start. The market underlines how tough to call this one is.

Hull KR have the form and the recent pedigree. They will want to send departing head coach Willie Peters off with another Challenge Cup win on his CV too. Wigan may have been uncharacteristically erratic so far in 2026 - nobody would have had them lying 6th in the Super League table after a dozen games - but they have the undoubted and proven big-game mentality to win these finals regardless of form.

And in Jai Field and Bevan French they have the two hottest players in the British game. The big question might just be whether French actually plays.

Disregarding last week's mismatch between Rovers and a Wigan reserve/academy side, it is nonetheless KR who are in the midst of a purple patch.

Peters' men are on a nine-match winning run dating back to the middle of March. To put that into perspective, Rovers have won every single match since French has been out injured for Wigan.

The Warriors on the other hand have been blowing hot and cold while struggling to field a consistent side. For that same recent period of nine games that has seen KR go 100%, Wigan have won only four and lost five.

However it is worth noting that there was a three-match winning streak ahead of last week's game in Hull in which Peet chose to field an understrength team. So Wigan are hardly as out of form as that run might suggest.

Nevertheless I have Rovers as the team to beat here. Usually when I ask Wigan fans for predictions ahead of games like this I get very confident replies. This week I have got a lot of "If X and Y happens then we have a chance". I'm not convinced that that trademark Wigan confidence is there right now.

With a fully-fit Field and French under the Wembley sun then I may well be backing a Wigan win here. But even if French is named to start - which I just feel could backfire spectacularly for the rest of the season - he won't be anywhere near fit enough to influence a game of this magnitude in the manner that he would usually.

Rovers have been flying and their maverick half-back has been key to that, Mikey Lewis loves proving people wrong, and he is running hot. The England man has scored 12 tries in this nine-match winning run and he will again be key to victory at Wembley.

In each of the last two Grand Finals, Wigan have been kept to very low scores. Hull KR won 24-6 at Old Trafford last season, with Wigan winning 9-2 in their triumph over the Robins in 2024. So the Warriors will have their work cut out to break down this stubborn Rovers defence and that edges it for me in favour of the men from Hull.

Harry Smith, on his 200th career appearance, will need to be at his best to guide Wigan around the park. But my instinct is that KR can do it again, and I am backing them as such to deny the Warriors a record-extending 22nd Challenge Cup win.

Tyrone May Anytime Tryscorer @ 7/1

We are running Challenge Cup Double Delight & Hat-Trick Heaven in this fixture, so if your First Tryscorer selection scores the opening try and goes on to score again we will double your price, or treble it if they complete the hat-trick!

Good options here would be Rovers' flying winger Joe Burgess and playmaker Mikey Lewis. An 8/1 Burgess or 8/1 Lewis first try would return you 16/1 odds if your pick goes on to grab another - and considering how many points KR have been scoring this might be worth a look.

Tom Davies was the hero last year, when his 78th-minute try proved the winner against a heart-broken Warrington. The former Catalans man is 2/1 to score again this year.

Rovers have played three games so far in May and scored 114 points at an average of 38 points per game. I am not expecting that kind of scoring at Wembley but the firepower is certainly there.

Prior to last week's write off, Wigan had been going along pretty nicely too, winning three in a row against Leeds, St Helens and Bradford, scoring 94 and conceding just 18 - an average scoreline of around 32-6. So if both of these two sides maintain their scoring form you will not want to miss this.

Warriors players to consider in the anytime market include star full-back Jai Field (11/5) who has returned more than he has let us down so far this season, and the competition's leading scorer in winger Zach Eckersley (2/1).

I think this could be really tight and would therefore be looking at the main protagonists from either side rather than a wider range of scorers.

That protagonist list for KR this term would include Tyrone May who is producing some of his very best form. The former NRL man has emerged as the perfect foil to the enigmatic Lewis in the halves, and although more a try creator than scorer he has weighed in with some crucial tries already this season.

A bit of a punt perhaps, but at 7/1 with Betfred to score in 80 minutes, May could prove the flavour of the month at Wembley.