The Robins bounced back after their Easter Monday defeat to Huddersfield with their first win in the capital, courtesy of a strong second half performance inspired by the creativity of Paul Cooke.

After a testing Easter period, the Red and Whites welcomed captain Mick Vella back to the side, after his knee injury. However they lost Rhys Lovegrove and Nick Fozzard to injury against the Giants, with Makali Aizue and Stanley Gene coming into side in their place. Daniel Fitzhenry switched to full-back in place of Shaun Briscoe, whose wife was expecting the birth of their child, with Chaz I'Anson moving onto the bench as back-up hooker to Ben Fisher.

In perfect conditions, and in front of a very vocal travelling support, the Robins went behind early, with Danny Orr's kick finding space and Matt Gardner following up to beat Daniel Fitzhenry to the corner. Rob Purdham converted, but the Red and Whites were in no mood for a repeat of Easter Monday, and hit back quickly. Two strong runs from Stanley Gene put his side in prime attacking territory, and from there Paul Cooke's long ball cut out Ben Galea, and put Kris Welham into space. The centre had two defenders in front of him, but did excellently to drive under the attempted tackles of Gardner and Matt Gafa, and touch down. Dobson's conversion was off-target, but the Robins were on the board and looking dangerous.

However at the Twickenham Stoop, and marshalled well by Orr and Chad Randall, the Quins were always going to be tough opponents, and the Randall-Orr combination was soon causing Rovers problems again. Both had a hand in creating a try for Chad Robinson, with the second-rower taking Orr's well-disguised ball to crash over from close range. Purdham was on target again to extend the home side's lead, but again the Robins hit back, and with some style.

Strong runs from the returning Mick Vella and Jake Webster got the Red and Whites on the front foot, and Ben Fisher took full advantage, scooting away from dummy half and through the heart of the Harlequins' defence. The Scottish international was hauled down by full-back Chris Melling, but some great interplay between four different players created a gap for Peter Fox to drive over wide out. Makali Aizue started the move by finding Cooke from dummy half, and after he put Galea into a gap, Aizue was on hand for the inside ball. The move appeared to be coming to an end as two defenders brought the prop down, but as he was falling, Aizue flicked a superb ball out of the back of his hand to Michael Dobson, and he put Fox over.

Unfortunately Dobson's conversion drifted wide again to leave the Robins four points adrift at the break, but with plenty of hope for the second half, so long as they could prevent the offloads which had allowed Randall and Orr to look so dangerous.

Half-Time: Harlequins RL 12      Hull Kingston Rovers 8

The Robins knew the game was there for them to win in the second period, especially without the threat of Danny Orr, who had left the field injured, and they set about the job with plenty of enthusiasm and were rewarded quickly. Luke Gale's loose carry on the edge of the Harlequins' quarter was capitalised on by Jake Webster, who ripped the ball free to put the Red and Whites on the attack. From there, Michael Dobson and Scott Murrell both went close to breaking through the home side's line, before Chaz I'Anson's cut-out ball sent Paul Cooke ploughing in under the posts. Despite the attentions of three defenders, the stand-off still managed to get the ball down for a try that any prop would have been very happy with.

Dobson added his first success with the boot, and a few minutes later he was adding his second as the Robins went in again.

The dummy half running and kick-returns of Peter Fox and Liam Colbon had caused problems for the Quins' defence throughout the contest, and both were involved in the build-up to this score. Strong runs from both wingers, gave the Red and Whites momentum, and after Cooke had almost put Stanley Gene through a hole, the stand-off's perfectly-judged grubber to the corner was touched down by Colbon for a well-deserved try.

Dobson was back to form as he tagged on the extras from the touchline to give the Robins a two-score lead. The points were far from secured though, and the next score was vital for both sides as the half went on. As the Quins carried the ball into Rovers territory, an ill-advised offload in a two-man tackle from Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook, went to ground and Jason Netherton picked it up. Not satisfied with recovering possession, the second-rower spun out of a tackle and broke clear, picking up 35 metres before being hauled down on the Harlequins 30-metre line.

That play put the Robins immediately on the attack, and two tackles later they had clinched the killer score. A powerful drive from Scott Wheeldon took play deep into the Quins' quarter, and his quick play-the-ball allowed Dobson to catch the home side's defence out. The scrum-half ran at the line before sending Ben Galea strolling through a sizeable hole to touch down for the key try. Dobson converted and as the game came to a close, there was still time for some icing to be added to the celebration cake.

As the Twickenham Stoop reverberated to the sound of the singing and chanting of the Rovers' fans, Cooke - who had played a key role in the second half display - sold a dummy and stepped through the Quins' defence for what looked as though it was going to be his second try of the game. But unselfishly, with only the full-back to beat, Cooke popped the ball up for the supporting Galea to touch down again.

Dobson's conversion rounded off the first win by a team from Hull in the capital, and left coach Justin Morgan with nothing but praise for his side.

"You do not coach to tell players what to do, you coach them to make the decisions for themselves, and the selection of plays that they made were the right ones for the appropriate times," Morgan said.

"I thought in the first half we lacked composure, but we came out after the break and played a lot smarter. We took a lot of energy out of them in the first half, and that told in the second period.

"Scott Wheeldon had a great match, his opening stint of 25 minutes was excellent and I thought Jason Netherton was outstanding for us coming off the bench.

"To welcome Mick back is a huge bonus and he showed some good signs in his second stint."

Full-Time: Harlequins RL 12      Hull Kingston Rovers 32

Hull KR: 15. Daniel Fitzhenry; 2. Peter Fox, 4. Jake Webster, 19. Kris Welham, 5. Liam Colbon; 6. Paul Cooke, 7. Michael Dobson; 11. Clint Newton, 9. Ben Fisher, 18. Scott Wheeldon; 14. Stanley Gene, 12. Ben Galea, 13. Scott Murrell.

Replacements: 16. Jason Netherton, 21. Chaz I'Anson, 17. Makali Aizue, 20. Mick Vella.

Harlequins: 1. Chris Melling; 26. Matt Gardner, 3. Matt Gafa, 4. David Howell, 5. Will Sharp; 6. Luke Dorn, 7. Danny Orr; 8. Karl Temata, 9. Chad Randall, 17. Danny Ward; 12. Chad Robinson, 11. Luke Williamson, 13. Rob Purdham.

Replacements: 10. Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook, 23. Daniel Heckenberg, 19. Jason Golden, 21. Luke Gale.