ONE of Midlands Hurricanes and London Broncos will carry the expansion flag into the 1895 Cup final after the pair were drawn to play each other in next month’s semi-finals.
Ambitious London, who beat Doncaster 52-20 in the quarter-finals, will be strong favourites to win not only that tie but the entire competition.
However Midlands have already pulled off one big upset after mounting an impressive comeback to eliminate in-form Oldham in the last round with a 40-34 victory.
That came as even more of a shock considering the Hurricanes were beaten 64-0 by Championship leaders London at the Cherry Red Records Stadium just five days earlier.
Two of their headline off-season signings, Papua New Guinea stars Gairo Voro and Morea Morea, scored four tries apiece in that rout as the squad assembled by coach Jason Demetriou, and an ownership group including Australian mining magnate Grant Wechsel and rugby league great Darren Lockyer, make waves in the second tier.
It is ironic that the first 1895 Cup final not expected to take place in London will be the first to feature a club from outside the Yorkshire and Lancashire heartlands.
Having been played alongside the Challenge Cup final in its six previous editions (five times at Wembley and once at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium), this year’s competition will conclude on Bank Holiday Monday, August 31 at a to-be-determined neutral venue.
The other semi-final tie will see Rochdale Hornets, who defeated Goole 24-6 in the last eight, play more Vikings in the shape of Widnes.
Although Rochdale were drawn at home, that semi-final will instead be hosted by Widnes as the Hornets’ Crown Oil Arena will be unavailable on the weekend of June 13/14.
Further improvement work is taking place to the pitch, which was newly-laid over the winter, during the football off-season ahead of landlords Rochdale FC’s return to the English Football League.
Widnes, the only previous finalist left standing, will get to play at their DCBL Stadium having been unable to in the previous round, when essential safety compliance work was ongoing.
They got the better of Newcastle Thunder 30-20 in the unfamiliar surrounds of Wigan’s Robin Park Arena and are now one step away from reaching a second final, having lost the inaugural showpiece to Sheffield Eagles, 36-18 at Wembley in 2019.
1895 Cup semi-final draw:
Midlands Hurricanes v London Broncos
Rochdale Hornets v Widnes Vikings (at DCBL Stadium, Widnes)