Wembley is no place for losers as the saying goes and Marc Sneyd knows that more than most. He suffered the ignominy of being substituted during the first half of Castleford’s defeat by Leeds in 2014 and it is an experience the 25-year-old admits he has always been keen to put right.
The 20 points Sneyd scored in Hull’s latest resounding victory on Thursday before they aim for a first Challenge Cup success in 11 years tells only half the story as his all-round performance was superb. “Marc was top-drawer: his kicking game was phenomenal,” Lee Radford, the Hull coach, said. “I’m pleased for him but also the whole squad.”
Beyond the furore and the fanfare surrounding next Saturday’s Challenge Cup final this was another significant step closer to success for Hull. With this victory they are assured of a place in the Super 8 play-offs and they also moved nearer to a first League Leader’s Shield in Super League history with four rounds remaining.
“We’re now in effect 80 minutes away from a Grand Final,” Radford said. “To get the top-four done and dusted so early is great. We’ve got first place to be going for too, so we’ve got to keep this up.”
Any fears Hull would be caught cold the week before Wembley were soon put to bed: they led 22-0 at the interval and would run in another 22 points without reply in the second half to emerge comfortable victors.
Sneyd had a role in all three of Hull’s first-half tries, with two well-placed kicks causing mayhem in the Catalans backline, allowing Dean Hadley and Mahe Fonua to touch down. The scrum-half followed that up with an exceptional cut-out pass that eventually put Mark Minichiello over for Hull’s third, all of which Sneyd converted before adding two penalties to make it 22-0 at the break.
The second half was no better for Catalans, and their coach, Laurent Frayssinous, described the final score as embarrassing. The Dragons were without a whole host of key personnel due to injury but following this defeat, their seventh in eight Super League games, they will be six points adrift of the top four should St Helens beat Wigan on Friday.
“It’s out of our control, the top four,” Frayssinous said. “You could see how big the gap was between the two teams. It’s all making it really hard for us to make the four at the moment.”
Tries from Fetuli Talanoa and Fonua (again) ensured there would be no grand comeback from the Dragons before Sneyd marked a magnificent individual display with a try of his own before converting Frank Pritchard’s solo effort late on.
