Willie Peters discusses his history with the Challenge Cup ahead of the semi-final tie between Hull KR and Wigan Warriors

His Hull KR side take on Wigan at Headingley on Sunday afternoon, with a place in next month’s final at Wembley up for grabs (K.O. 5pm).

Peters, who spent a season with the Warriors during his playing days, admits he’s always had an interest in English rugby league’s cup competition.

The Australian coach explained: “It’s something looked at and watched as a kid.

“Coming over here, we unfortunately got beat early on when I was with Wigan so didn’t have a great experience playing, but it’s certainly a competition that has so much history and it’s something we take very seriously.

“As a coach it’s a privilege to be a part of it and facing a club who have arguably been the best team in the comp for many years.

“Every time we’ve played Wigan this season, I’ve said my time there was one of the best years of my life.

“We had an exceptional team, but got beat in the Grand Final, which still burns away.

“The people there are great, and the culture has been the same for many years.

“It’s a club I admire as a coach and they just get it right.”

Peters admits the way he has approached game hasn’t differed too much for Challenge Cup ties.

“The way I’ve looked at it is, you’re just playing each week,” he added.

“Even though there are two separate competitions, it’s about your performance.

“This week we’re playing in a semi but our approach won’t be any different to what we did against Leeds.

“We’ve had some great games against Wigan this season, I’ve got a lot of respect for the club- Matty has done a good job there and they’ve got a quality team.

“Hopefully the spectacle will be similar to what the players have produced in the last two games.

“There’s a little healthy rivalry there.”

The men’s semi-final at Headingley is the second part of a double-header on Sunday afternoon.

Proceedings start with the women’s tie between Leeds Rhinos and Wigan- which gets underway at 2.15pm.