However, they landed just two conversions, whereas Robinson ultimately slotted three from four, adding two penalties to keep his side in the game, as well as scoring the crucial try through a dummy and step near the line to put his team back ahead as part of a 17-point haul.
Whanganui also made great yards on their carries around the ruck with try scorers, midfielder Timoci Seruwalu and No 8 Semi Vodosese, prominent.
Flanker Samu Kubunavanua was great in the air in either securing the restarts or making Poverty Bay falter in recovering.
Centre Kameli Kuruyabaki reached out to get his try late in the first half to give Whanganui a 14-5 lead, but before that, they had missed out several times with the last pass not going to hand or a slight fumble with the white line in sight.
Meanwhile, the home side was galvanised by the return of their 62-game veteran Kelvin Smith to run the cutter for the first time this campaign, while try-scoring winger Te Peehi Fairlie was playing his blazer (30th) match.
Whanganui were unlucky in the second stanza as centre Mitchell Purvis scored a freakish try when the wild pass thrown back infield by winger Moses Christie bounced off his boot and he won the race to collect it in-goal.
Robinson's penalties kept Whanganui ahead, captain Dane Whale looking to accumulate points to try to build momentum, only for his team to give it right back to the home side.
After Whanganui make a succession of infringements, with Poverty Bay staying in the corner pocket with lineouts, hooker Shayde Skudder was pushed across for his second barge-over try in as many weeks.
Fortunately, Whanganui hit back immediately by Kubunavanua forcing a shallow clearance and then the ball-runners brought them to the line for Robinson to step through the gap, while Vodosese added his signature try by beating defenders off the scrum shortly afterwards.
"Very late to work. I think the best thing about that game is it's over, we scored four tries and got a win," said coach Jason Hamlin.
He had found it frustrating the team could hold the ball and be clinical in five-minute bursts, finding easy yards on the carry.
"But for whatever reason, we buttoned off."
The coach was also "struggling" with some referee interpretations at the ruck, while Whanganui had another inductee to the 2022 'Card Club' when winger Tyler Rogers-Holden got a first-half yellow after he and Whale desperately tried to hold up a Poverty Bay breakdown right on their tryline.
"It's letting the air out of the balloon, on a slow leak," said Hamlin.
Now preparing for Buller at home this Saturday, the coach will look to tidy up some of the simple one-on-one mistakes that have crept into their game - trying to make their transitions between phases more fluid.
"Whoever we hit on that day, it will be a good game.
"They can deal with that [error rate]. We're hurting ourselves more than the opposition are.
"The boys are working hard, but we do have to be smarter."
The coach singled out Robinson for a clutch performance.
"I could probably count on one hand the times when he wasn't in position. It seemed every time [we needed it], he was where he needed to be."
Seruwalu, Kubunavanua and Vodosese were excellent with ball in hand.
"We're getting that well, it's just connecting it to the other parts of the game."
The skipper Whale likewise was not happy with Whanganui seemingly relying more on individual efforts.
"Pretty tough out there, and the boys didn't meet it.
"A lot of times it felt we were getting to the space ... but we weren't looking after the ball in the middle.
"A lot of them sitting back and watching. I noticed it starting in the morning, the last time here [East Coast via Gisborne] it came right. But today, they weren't there.
"It's nice to get those niggly ones though."
Whanganui 32 (T Seruwalu, K Kuruyabaki, E Robinson, S Vodosese tries; Robinson 2 pen, 3 con) bt Poverty Bay 24 (T Farlie, K Taumata, M Purvis, S Skudder tries; K Smith 2 con). HT: 14-10.
