Leeds Rhinos boss Brian McDermott praised his side’s devastating first-half performance as the catalyst for their victory against Warrington Wolves, as the Rhinos booked their place at Wembley in two weeks time.
The Rhinos were sensational in the first period, and led 14-0 at the break thanks to a brace of tries from Ryan Hall, and three goals from Kevin Sinfield. And although Warrington were much improved in the second-half, McDermott admits it was the first 40 that laid the platform for their success.
“The first-half was huge for us; I thought we were very good in that first-half. I’ve got to give respect to Warrington – but we were never going to be as good in the second period as we were in the first,” he said.
“We had to dig in and hold on, but it really was a classic Challenge Cup tie. It’s a big game and you can see what it means to everyone – the fans were brilliant, and it really does give the players a big lift. I’m immensely proud to be going back to Wembley again.
“You’ve got to work hard to get there and along the way we’ve had to overcome some challenging teams. We’ll enjoy it because to get there is an honour, and not many get to do it.”
