
PETA HIKU admitted the nerves got to him in Hull KR’s opening Super League win at rivals Hull FC.
The Robins comfortably won 22-0 on Thursday night, meaning that debutant fullback Hiku’s performance with the boot – kicking one goal from five attempts – did not prove costly.
Hull KR don’t have an experienced kicker in their squad but Hiku was given the duty after several candidates worked through pre-season with Joe Ford, the former Premiership rugby union player.
And former Kiwi star Hiku – who had only previously kicked three goals in his career – put his inaccuracy down to nerves playing in front of over 20,000 fans at the MKM Stadium for his first Super League game.
“I was one of the first to run out (to warm-up) and just hearing the crowd go, there were only four of us out and they went off (loud). The nerves got going, it came down like a ton of bricks,” he said.
“I think I got caught up in the emotion of the game a little bit. With the hostility, it was hard to not be caught up in the emotion.
“My game was alright; I didn’t think about it whatsoever. But as soon as the kicking tee came, the nerves all hit at once.
“When I first ran out I felt all the nerves and every kick after that I felt the same way.
“We’ve got a kicking coach so I’ll talk to Fordy about how to get rid of that.
“It’s something I’ll work on and put a bit more focus on.”
The message from his head coach, Willie Peters, was similar: “I don’t have to lay the boot into Peta for his kicking.
“He was good for us tonight in other areas. We’ll focus on that more than his kicking. He’s just got to keep practicing.”
Of the Robins’ general performance after keeping Hull FC, who had two players sent off, scoreless, Hiku added: “We did really well to come back into playing our kind of footy.
“We’ve got a bit more to work on with our attack but I thought our defence was really good.”
Meanwhile, prop Sam Luckley has signed a new contract which runs until the end of 2027.