The Yorkshire Post’s rugby league writer, James O’Brien, looks forward to Challenge Cup Final Wembley Weekend which brings us games featuring Wigan v Warrington, Leeds Rhinos Women v St Helens and Sheffield Eagles v Wakefield Trinity...
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00It's all about Wembley this weekend with three finals to look forward to on Saturday when
00:10Rob Burrow's remarkable life will be celebrated by the sport. He meant so much to not only
00:16fans of Leeds and people connected with Leeds, but the wider Rugby League family as well,
00:21as can be seen by the tributes to him down at Heddenley and beyond on social media. He
00:27meant an awful lot to an awful lot of people. Even beyond the sport, he did transcend the
00:33sport in his heroic battle against MND. But even before then, he was a figure that was
00:39known throughout the sport and beyond for his feats on the field as a small man in a
00:44big man's sport. He played above his weight in defence and he used his height to his advantage
00:51with the ball to devastating effects. He'll be sorely missed by everyone in Rugby League.
00:56But like I say, Saturday is a chance to celebrate his life and his achievements in Rugby League.
01:02His former club Leeds Rhinos are represented at Wembley by the women's team. They're playing
01:07St Helens for the third year running in the final. They've come up short in the previous
01:12two finals since, have won three in a row. They're aiming for four this weekend. It's
01:17going to be a tough, tough ask for Leeds, but they're in confident mood. I went down
01:20to train on Tuesday. They're in buoyant mood, as I say, and they really feel like this is
01:27their year now. They can take the next step. They've won the grand final before. They've
01:30obviously won the Challenge Cup before as well, but not since 2019. So it's a chance
01:34for them to get that. And as I spoke to Lucy Murray the other day, she said they're aiming
01:38for the treble. So this is the first part of that. It's not going to be an easy task,
01:42but it should be a very good game to kick off the weekend. Following that, we've got
01:47Warrington and Wigan, the main event, which kicks off at 3.07 in recognition of the number
01:53that Rob Burrow wore with distinction throughout his glittering career. And then the day finishes
01:59with the 1895 Cup final between Wakefield and Sheffield. A really interesting match-up,
02:05probably the perfect final really, based on the early rounds of the championship. Sheffield
02:10slipped up at Batley last week, but they were second up to that point. Wakefield are top,
02:15having won 10 from 10. They're big favourites to win the Cup this weekend. It'd be a nice
02:20early statement for them at the start of a bright new era, but Sheffield have been there
02:25and done it before at Wembley. Probably defied even bigger odds than this when they beat
02:30Wigan and they beat Wigness as well in 2019 in the inaugural 1895 Cup final. So they have
02:37got previous at Wembley. Wakefield are big favourites, but you never know who turns up
02:42on the day. It should be a great end to the day. There might not be that many people in
02:46to see it once the Wigan Warrington fans have cleared out, but I'll be there to see it.
02:50I'm very much looking forward to it.