RUGBY LEAGUE - ENGLISH CHALLENGE CUP
1960's, 1970's, 1980's and 1990's
1968
Final - Leeds (11) v (10) Wakefield - The famous "Watersplash Final" saw Leeds and Wakefield face off at Wembley Stadium in virtually unplayable conditions due to the state of the waterlogged pitch caused by heavy downpours both before and during the game. Both teams skidded around the park but still managed to combine for 3 tries, with the final Wakefield try coming in the final minute to put them down 11-10 with the kick to come. Wakefield's star kicker Don Fox stepped up to make the conversion, but the conditions forced him to miss and Leeds held on to win the Cup. Prior to the kick, Fox had already been named the Lance Todd Trophy winner as Man-of-the-match (8, 2018 Re-Broadcast - Black and White, 2 Discs, BBC - Waring, PAL)
1977/78
Final - Leeds (14) v (12) St.Helens - Leeds retained the trophy with a comeback win in arguably the greatest Challenge Cup final ever. St.Helens raced out to a 10-0 lead with tries from Graham Liptrot and Bill Francis and led 12-5 at the half after John Atkinson managed to pull a try back. Leeds came out fired up after the break and levelled the game with a try from Phil Cookson and stole the win with 2 drop goals in the final 5 minutes from John Holmes and David Ward. St.Helens had 1 last chance to win in the final seconds but the ball was accidentally knocked-on at the goal-line and the chance was lost. St.Helens also featured Harry Pinner and man-of-match George Nicholls (10, 2010 re-broadcast, 2 Discs, BBC - Waring/Watkins, PAL)
1984
Final - Widnes (19) v (6) Wigan - Wigan were at the start of their decade of dominance and fielded a team with emerging talent Shaun Edwards. But Widnes also had an emerging talent ; the mercurial Joe Lydon. Lydon was the difference in the game with 2 length-of-the-field tries, the 2nd of which showed his blistering speed (8, 1 Disc, BBC - French/Agar, PAL)
1985
Final - Hull (24) v (28) Wigan - In arguably the greatest final ever, Wigan started their decade of success with a Brett Kenny-inspired victory. Wigan had a 28-12 lead with 16 minutes left thanks to tries from Henderson Gill, John Ferguson and Shaun Edwards before Hull started a comeback inspired by Peter Sterling. In the end, the Hull kicking game let them down and Wigan hung on for the win. Wigan also featured Graeme West. Hull also featured Lee Crooks and Gary Schofield (8, 1 Disc, BBC - French/Murphy, PAL)
1989
Challenge Cup Semi-Final - Wigan (13) v (6) Warrington - In a very tight, physical game, Wigan staged a late recovery to beat Warrington. The teams were tied 4-4 at the half with all the points coming from the kickers ; Joe Lydon for Wigan and John Woods for Warrington. A penalty 20 minutes from time put Warrington up by 2 but a penalty and an outrageous 55 metre drop goal from Joe Lydon gave Wigan the lead with 8 minutes left. Wigan then sealed the win with a last second try from Shaun Edwards. The win gave Wigan their 6th consecutive appearance in the Challenge Cup Final. Warrington featured Mike Gregory, Des Drummond, Steve "Blocker" Roach and Les Boyd. Wigan featured Ellery Hanley, Andy Gregory, Dennis Betts and Kevin and Tony Iro (8, 1 Disc, Micron - McDermott, PAL)
1994
Final - Wigan (26) v (16) Leeds - Martin Offiah scored the greatest League try ever as he raced the length of the field to score Wigan's 1st try. Wigan featured Tuigamala, Botica, Edwards, Platt and Farrell. Leeds featured Tait, Cummins, Schofield and Hanley (9, 1 Disc, Micron, PAL)
1996
5th Round - Wigan (16) @ (26) Salford - In a huge upset, Division 1 Salford ended Wigan's 9 year and 43 game unbeaten run in the Challenge Cup with a big win at the Willows. Salford used strong forward play and great defense to take a 14-4 lead at the half, then held off a big Wigan attack in the 2nd half to take the win. The Salford tries came from David Young, Scott Naylor (2) and Scott Martin. Steve Blakeley also contributed 10 points from his boot. The Wigan tries came from Va'aiga Tuigamala (2) and Martin Offiah but they were let down by turnovers at inopportune times. Salford also featured Steve Hampson, Sam Panapa, Mark Lee (who had a man-of-the-match game) and coach Andy Gregory. Wigan also featured Gary Connolly, Jason Robinson, Henry Paul, Shaun Edwards, Terry O'Connor, Scott Quinnell and Andy Farrell (8, Transfer from VHS, 2 Discs, Micron - Arthur/Byrne, PAL)
Final - St.Helens Saints (40) v (32) Bradford Bulls - In a game of records, the Saints fought back from a 26-12 deficit to beat the Bulls in the heat of Wembley. The hero of the day was on the losing side as Bulls captain Robbie Paul ran in 3 tries to win the Lance Todd trophy. The Saints featured Bobby Goulding and Keiron Cunningham. (8, 1 Disc, BBC - French, PAL)
1999
Semi-Final - London Broncos (33) v (27) Castleford Tigers - In a major upset, the London Broncos reached their 1st Challenge Cup Final with a dramatic win at Headingley. The Broncos started fast, opening up a 14-2 lead, and then the teams traded points upto the final seconds when the Tigers kicked a drop-goal to tie the game at 27-27. Extra-Time loomed but the Broncos surged back down-field and Man-of-the-match Steve Retchless went over for the game winning try deep into injury-time that sent the Broncos to Wembley. The Broncos also featured Martin Offiah, Shaun Edwards, Karle Hammond and John Timu. The Tigers fearured Danny Orr, Dean Sampson and Michael Eagar (8, 1 Disc, BBC - French/Davies, PAL)
Final - Leeds Rhinos (52) v (16) London Broncos - In a high scoring final, Leeds came from behind to beat the fledgling Broncos who were in their 1st final. The Broncos, led by veterans Shaun Edwards and Martin Offiah (1 try), took an early 10-0 lead to declare they meant business but Leeds soon took the lead and pulled away with 3 tries in 10 minutes in the 2nd half. The main weaponS for Leeds were Leroy Rivett, who became the 1st player to score 4 tries in the final, and Iestyn Harris who scored 20 points to tie Neil Fox's 1960 record. The Rhinos also featured Francis Cummins, Darryl Powell, Barrie McDermott, Adrian Morley and Andy Farrell. The Broncos also featured Tulsen Tollett, John Timu and Karl Hammond (9, 1 Disc, BBC - French/Davies, PAL)