As the rain hammered down on the Wembley turf and Hull KR’s players fell to their knees in disbelief, it was difficult to know where to look first. To Mikey Lewis perhaps, the Rovers half-back, who kicked the goal that secured a first major trophy in 40 years and their first Challenge Cup since 1980. To Willie Peters on the touchline, the coach who has masterminded Hull KR’s rise and has now won the Challenge Cup, something that confirms them as one of Super League’s elite sides.
Or to the stands, to the tens of thousands of fans who had made the trip from Hull and finally witnessed history after so many years of heartbreak and near-misses. Among them, their owner, Neil Hudgell, who has saved the club from financial ruin on multiple occasions and now has the piece of silverware his commitment merits. Wherever you looked, there was nothing but raw emotion – and why shouldn’t there be?
Hull KR have warned for weeks they are built differently. Steeled by losses in the 2023 cup final and last year’s Super League Grand Final, and heartened by the chance to become the first Hull KR side to win a trophy since 1985. That particular stat has been a point of ridicule on the other side of Hull for years. But now it is consigned to history.
Rovers were labouring to unlock a Warrington side who had defended gamely all afternoon. But an instinctive Tyrone May kick bounced the way of Tom Davies as Wolves, for once, failed to clear their lines. Davies, whose only previous Wembley experience was pulling out of a final for Wigan on the eve of the game as a youngster, got the decisive touch to level the scores at 6-6.
Lewis, so often the go-to man for Rovers, did the rest, with a nerveless conversion from out wide to put the Robins ahead. They held on in a frantic finale and then euphoria took over.
“It’s a weird feeling,” Peters said. “I’m so proud of this playing group. This is the highest moment of my career. There’s a lot of people here, and who aren’t here sadly, that have contributed to this moment. The players can now take belief from this to go and do it again.”
Sam Burgess was adamant the better side lost and it is hard to disagree. But this is their second straight cup final defeat and the manner of this one will sting. “You don’t always get what you deserve and I don’t think we deserved to lose today,” the Warrington coach said. “It’ll be tough for the players to understand because they won’t feel like they should have lost.”
Led by the outstanding Marc Sneyd, who became the second man to win the Lance Todd Trophy for man of the match three times, they looked like they would hang on after Sneyd converted Josh Thewlis’s try on the stroke of half-time to make it 6-2.
That first half was certainly attritional, played in driving rain that played into the hands of Sneyd with his kicking game. That theme continued into the second half, with neither side able to find a breakthrough but Warrington were keeping Hull KR at arm’s length.
May’s kick caused a rare moment of panic in the Warrington line and the club who have craved this moment for so long took the opportunity. Hull KR’s time has finally arrived: who knows where they could go next.
Rampant Wigan set record final win
Wigan Warriors underlined their dominance of women’s rugby league by dismantling St Helens 42-6 to win the Challenge Cup for the first time.
The Warriors, who invested heavily in their women’s side and brought in former Great Britain player Denis Betts as head coach, had promised to shake up the status quo and they did that in some style.
The Saints had won the past four Wembley finals but they were no match for Wigan. Tries from Megan Williams, Mary Coleman and Emily Veivers put the Warriors into a commanding 18-0 lead by half-time and though you wondered whether St Helens’ big-match experience could help them mount a comeback, they were once again second best after half-time.
The Warriors made it 24-0 when Isabel Rowe scored before converting her own try. Katie Mottershead’s try briefly gave the Saints some hope but the Warriors soon restored their advantage with their fifth try.
Eva Hunter scored it and Rowe once again converted, before Grace Banks’s superb long-range try added further gloss to the scoreline for the Warriors. They would then score again to secure the biggest winning margin in a women’s Challenge Cup final in the WSL era, as Anna Davies scored in the corner and Rowe superbly converted to keep up her perfect record from the tee.
