A 76th-minute score by Mark Calderwood helped Wigan banish the memory of the Good Friday mauling at St Helens by wrapping up a hard-fought 18-12 victory over Hull KR at the JJB Stadium.

Liam Colbon's early try was the difference at the halfway mark, as good defence, handling errors and the whistle of referee Ben Thaler was the order of the day.

Colbon added his second try to put Wigan 10-0 up early in the second period before two tries in three minutes from Chev Walker and Clint Newton briefly put the visitors on top going into the final quarter.

However, the boot of Pat Richards brought the Warriors back on level terms, before Calderwood's late intervention sealed the points in front of a bumper Easter Monday crowd of 16,457.

Wigan coach Brian Noble had drafted young hooker Mike McIlorum into the starting line-up to replace Mickey Higham, although Pat Richards was passed fit after overcoming an eye injury picked up at Knowsley Road.

Rovers coach Justin Morgan left playmaker Paul Cooke on the bench, starting with Ben Galea and James Webster at half-back, with former Warrior Shaun Briscoe facing his home-town club at full-back.

And Briscoe was soon making his presence felt as, after Trent Barrett put Richards through a gap, the supporting Calderwood was smashed into touch by the Rovers last line of defence a couple of yards short.

The Warriors were not to be denied, however, and on the next set a long cut-out ball from Barrett found Colbon who showed neat footwork to evade Jon Steel and score in the left-hand corner.

Colbon was denied a second try in the 14th minute for a foot in touch and then, after Stuart Fielden immediately conceded a cheap penalty for a flop, Richards had to clean up a clever kick from Scott Murrell at the expense of a drop-out with Ben Cockayne sniffing around.

Richards narrowly failed to extend the Wigan lead after 25 minutes following a high shot from Stanley Gene on Darrell Goulding, his penalty attempt sliding past the upright.

The Warriors were denied a second try five minutes before the interval when a crossfield kick from Barrett was taken by Colbon, who could not get a pass out to the supporting George Carmont because of a super ball-and-all tackle from Steel.

And then, three minutes from the hooter, Joel Tomkins was pulled back for a borderline forward pass as he scooted under the posts.

The Warriors showed their mettle right on half-time by defending four sets in a row on their own tryline as they held on for a much-needed hooter with the Robins throwing everything at the line but to no avail.

Wigan took full advantage by going further ahead nine minutes into the second half, Barrett releasing Carmont, who drew the full-back and put Colbon in for his second try.

Richards converted to make it 10-0, but two quick scores by the visitors either side of the hour mark turned the game on its head.

First, after 58 minutes, Galea broke to send Walker over by the posts, before James Webster repeated the trick three minutes later to offload to the supporting Clint Newton to score despite the best efforts of Calderwood to get back and stop him.

Cooke converted both to edge Rovers in front at 12-10, although Richards levelled the scores within five minutes with a penalty from 35 yards out after Gene went high on Thomas Leuluai.

Another high tackle, this time Cockayne on Fielden, put Wigan back on the attack, and Briscoe twice had to concede drop-outs after Barrett kicks through.

But the pressure eventually told when, with just four minutes remaining, Barrett shunned the chance of a drop goal to fire the ball out to the right.

After a good bust from Sean O'Loughlin, Calderwood cut in to claim the winning score, Richards making no mistake with the extras.