Leeds Rhinos were forced to show all their champion credentials to make a winning start to the defence of their engage Super League title.

The Rhinos were staring at a shock defeat when they trailed 12-8 with 15 minutes left to a new-look and fired-up Hull KR but they scored three late tries to secure a 20-12 victory.

New Zealand international Jake Webster, who was given his Test debut by Brian McClennan in 2005, did his best to spoil the champions’ party with a glorious try double on his Super League debut.

The 25-year-old centre, one of nine new faces in the Rovers line-up, touched down in each half as the visitors stunned the bulk of the 18,467 crowd at a bitterly cold Headingley.

They were good value for their lead but the Rhinos eventually found their scoring touch in a late flurry in which prop Ryan Bailey had two tries disallowed.

The Robins, who defied expectations by surviving in their first season in Super League, had virtually a new side - including former Leeds favourite Chev Walker, back in league after a brief stint in rugby union with Bath.

It took the champions some time to get into their stride but they took the lead on 15 minutes with a sweetly-worked try, Kevin Sinfield and Keith Senior working the ball out for winger Scott Donald to register the first try of engage Super League XIII.

Sinfield, who has a scoring run stretching back to June 2006, failed with the difficult conversion, and the visitors drew level on 27 minutes thanks to a move honed on the training pitch.

Substitute Ben Cockayne, playing at hooker in the absence of the injured Ben Fisher, worked a run-around with loose forward Scott Murrell and got Webster crashing through Bailey’s attempted tackle for the try.

Murrell’s conversion struck the outside of the left-hand upright but the visitors edged ahead two minutes before half-time when Webster put over a penalty after Leeds had been caught offside in front of their own posts.

Matt Diskin and Danny McGuire both went within inches of the line and Rovers suffered a blow when the outstanding Shaun Briscoe was forced to leave the field on 51 minutes with a facial injury.

But coach Justin Morgan reshuffled his side and watched them extend their lead six minutes later when Leeds' passing broke down on halfway and stand-off Chris Chester got Webster racing clear. Murrell added the conversion to open up an eight-point lead.

Bailey thought he has sparked the fightback when he reached the line on 63 minutes, only to be denied by a double movement, but two minutes later winger Lee Smith grabbed the first of two tries after smart work from his centre Clinton Toopi.

But Leeds regained the lead eight minutes from the end when Ben Galea fumbled McGuire’s kick to the line and Smith was on hand to get the crucial touch.

Sinfield kicked his first goal to stretch his scoring run to 42 successive matches and, after Bailey had a second try disallowed by the video referee, McGuire piled on the agony for the visitors by jinking his way over for his side’s fourth touchdown.