On the whole, it is widely accepted the enormity of the occasion got the better of Hull FC in the Challenge Cup final three years ago. The Hull coach, Lee Radford, openly admitted this week the 16-0 defeat by Wigan was the “epitome of not handling the occasion properly” – but if one player could be excused for falling foul of that, it is the FC full-back Jamie Shaul.
Shaul had turned professional only a few months before, having spent his teenage years working as a bricklayer while harbouring the dream of playing for his home-town club, a dream that became a reality when he was given his big break at the start of 2013.
Eight months later he was playing at full-back in the sport’s biggest game in only the fifth senior appearance of his career. Like Radford, who was the assistant coach at the time, Shaul admits the occasion overwhelmed Hull – and like his coach, the 24-year-old says this squad, who are rated as the club’s most talented in years, will be better prepared on Saturday when they return to Wembley to face Warrington.
“It clearly wasn’t the best day for us and we were very disappointed by how we played against Wigan,” Shaul says. “We went into our shell with the whole occasion but I can’t see that happening this year.
“There are a few lads who played then and we know how bad it was. We went into our shells and there’s no way we’re going to do that again. It’s starting to hit home what’s on the horizon and what’s at stake but I just can’t wait to get out there with this group: I’m champing at the bit.
“I was obviously playing in 2013 and I won’t lie, it was all a blur. I’m trying to think back now about how it all felt and I’m not sure, so I’m going back to savour it and go one better this weekend. I was just a kid after all, wasn’t I? I’m a lot more mature and a lot more prepared for this now – we all are.”
Like most of the Hull-born contingent in Radford’s squad, bringing an end to the sport’s most infamous hoodoo is high on Shaul’s agenda. The match represents the ninth occasion Hull have played in a Challenge Cup final at Wembley and with seven defeats and one draw, Shaul is fully aware of what victory would mean.
“It would be enormous,” he says. “It’s something I grew up wanting to do, ending this so-called Wembley hoodoo. I’m sick to death of hearing about it; I want to shut up a few of those [Hull KR] fans from the other side of the city once and for all.
“It would be huge for the club and huge for us. To go down in history as the first Hull team to win at Wembley would make us be remembered forever, wouldn’t it? You can’t understate that.”
Although Hull have never won at Wembley, Shaul saw his boyhood club lift the Challenge Cup on one occasion: with his target to follow in the footsteps of the class of 2005, who won the cup against Leeds in Cardiff with Shaul watching from the stands as a 13-year-old fan.
“I remember it well,” he says. “I went down on the coach with my mum and dad and I was there with all my family cheering them on. It was a very memorable day. I never thought I’d get to walk out at Wembley once, let alone twice.
“I’m aiming for history because as a Hull lad, all you ever think about really is lifting that Challenge Cup above your head. All I wanted to do was play for this club and end this record, and it’s scary how close we are. I want that trophy and that winners’ medal in my hands so badly.”
After making it to the top the hard way, Shaul is keen on repaying the man who believed in him when there were plenty of others doubting whether he could make it as a professional.
“I think that if it hadn’t been for Lee [Radford], I might not have got that full-time contract,” Shaul says. “When I was working those long days bricklaying, I used to dream about playing in big finals with Hull. But that’s all I ever thought it’d be, a dream. Turning professional was a dream come true in itself but now I’m so close to history. I’m a lot wiser and a lot more mature than I was three years ago. We’re ready.”
