WARRINGTON WOLVES 6 HULL KR 8
STEPHEN IBBETSON, Wembley Stadium, Saturday
HULL KR snatched the Challenge Cup from Warrington in a stunning finale to end their 40-year wait for major silverware.
Super League’s dominant team all year so far, the Robins looked set to lose a third final in as many seasons with Josh Thewlis’ try putting them four points behind.
But with less than three minutes left, Tom Davies pounced on a Tyrone May short kick, and hometown hero Mikey Lewis added the conversion that earned them only a second ever Challenge Cup title.
It was the expected final outcome but in the most unexpected fashion, as underdogs Warrington – led by Marc Sneyd, now a joint-record three-time Lance Todd Trophy winner – were the better side for much of the tie.
Hull KR produced error after error in the Wembley rain and could have had no complaints with defeat. Instead, their long-suffering supporters were given the most thrilling triumph possible.
Both teams returned to as great a strength as possible, with George Williams and Michael McIlorum returning from long injury lay-offs ahead of schedule for their respective sides. Toby King and Jordan Crowther also came back for Warrington, while Hull KR had Jared Waerea-Hargreaves and Dean Hadley fresh from a rest.
There were two cards in the opening five minutes of last year’s final but Liam Moore showed a more lenient approach this time, not reaching to his pocket after high tackles by Waerea-Hargreaves and Joe Burgess.
Warrington thought they’d opened the scoring after the latter penalty through Adam Holroyd, who pounced on a loose ball that had been illegally stripped from Jack Broadbent’s grasp by Rodrick Tai.
Mikey Lewis then forced a drop-out at the other end, but Sneyd brilliantly drilled his kick through a gap and into touch to relieve the pressure – the start of a long battle between the excellent pair.
As the rain increased, errors followed. Hull KR prop Jai Whitbread failed in an offload attempt, only for Matt Dufty to drop possession straight out from the scrum.
Following Dufty’s error, Ben Currie was judged to have caught Lewis high in the tackle, and the Robins playmaker finally got the first points of the final after 26 minutes with the penalty.
Warrington failed to capitalise on forcing a Sauaso Sue error from the restart, but they did when Burgess fumbled a towering Sneyd kick shortly before half-time.
Sneyd’s attempted grubber ricocheted off the leg of Robins hooker Jez Litten, dribbling wide for Thewlis to score in the corner.
With the final action of the half, Sneyd added the kick from the touchline for a 6-2 Wolves lead.
The second half began in similarly attritional vein, the highlight Lewis matching Sneyd’s effort of the first half in securing possession straight back from his own team’s drop-out by finding touch, this time with a booming drive into Warrington’s half and out after Sneyd forced the fresh set.
Burgess helped give Hull KR some momentum with a kick return and subsequent penalty, with Litten earning a drop-out, but Sue then lost the ball.
A further error by Davies went unpunished as every big hit and mistake brought a cheer from one end of an increasingly tense Wembley.
Lewis again got Hull KR out of some trouble with a big drop-out although they had to close down Thewlis as he darted inside when Toby King managed to retain possession off a kick.
Robins hearts were in mouths when Jack Broadbent juggled in his in-goal off a Williams chip – the first of successive repeat sets as Warrington kept the game being played in front of their increasingly hopeful support.
Recovering the latter offered fresh hope for Hull KR, but a Sneyd 20/40 seemed to have turned things around again.
Yet from the next Robins set, nice handling and a Davies burst got them on the front foot and then May placed a kick along the wet ground which Warrington youngster Arron Lindop failed to deal with, allowing Davies to score.
And with a minute and 40 seconds remaining, Lewis slotted the conversion from out wide to deliver his side the Challenge Cup.
GAMESTAR: Mikey Lewis and Marc Sneyd were engaged in a personal Wembley battle for the ages and while Sneyd probably edged it, Lewis had the last laugh.
GAMEBREAKER: Hull KR had rarely looked like scoring all game, yet Tom Davies did so with their final chance.
HIGHLIGHT REEL: The celebrations among the Hull KR faithful as half tasted glory for the first time, and half tasted it again at long last.
MATCHFACTS
WOLVES
1 Matt Dufty
2 Josh Thewlis
3 Toby King
4 Rodrick Tai
33 Arron Lindop
6 George Williams
35 Marc Sneyd
13 Luke Yates
14 Sam Powell
10 Paul Vaughan
21 Adam Holroyd
12 Lachlan Fitzgibbon
11 Ben Currie
Subs (all used)
8 James Harrison
15 Joe Philbin
17 Jordy Crowther
19 Stefan Ratchford
18th man (not used)
22 Tom Whitehead
Also in 21-man squad
24 Max Wood
26 Dan Russell
28 Jake Thewlis
Tries: Josh Thewlis (39)
Goals: Sneyd 1/1
HULL KR
18 Jack Broadbent
2 Tom Davies
3 Peta Hiku
12 James Batchelor
5 Joe Burgess
6 Mikey Lewis
7 Tyrone May
8 Sauaso Sue
14 Michael McIlorum
10 Jared Waerea-Hargreaves
11 Dean Hadley
16 Jai Whitbread
13 Elliot Minchella
Subs (all used)
9 Jez Litten
15 Sam Luckley
20 Kelepi Tanginoa
21 Jack Brown
18th man (not used)
24 Eribe Doro
Also in 21-man squad
19 Danny Richardson
25 Bill Leyland
33 Harvey Horne
Tries: Davies (78)
Goals: Lewis 2/2
SCORING SEQUENCE: 0-2, 6-2; 6-8
Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Wolves: Marc Sneyd; Hull KR: Mikey Lewis
Penalty count: 2-3
Half-time: 6-2
Referee: Liam Moore
Attendance: 63,278