Semi Finals
Wakefield Trinity Wildcats 24 l. Hull FC 32

2008 Challenge Cup Index [Draw] [Club Headlines]

Location: United Kingdom > National > First Grade Competition: Challenge Cup

Hull FC go through to Final
Tue July 29, 2008
Source: www.superleague.co.uk

John Kear's Midas touch deserted him as he watched his old club clinch a place at Wembley in a thrills-and-spills Carnegie Challenge Cup semi-final at Doncaster's Keepmoat Stadium.

Hull FC made the perfect start, racing into an 18-0 lead inside nine minutes, but were forced to withstand a tremendous fightback from Kear's Wakefield Trinity Wildcats before securing a place in the final against St Helens at Wembley on August 30 with a 32-24 victory.

Hull were the last team to defeat Saints on their way to winning the Cup under Kear in 2005 but they will need to markedly tighten their defence if they are to be competitive against the holders, who were impressive 26-12 winners over Leeds Rhinos in the first semi-final.

With both sides scoring five tries, today's match was decided by the boot of Hull's former Wigan forward Danny Tickle, who succeeded with all six of his attempts at goal as well as scoring two tries in the first eight minutes and was fittingly named man of the match.

In contrast, former Hull scrum-half Danny Brough, the goalkicking hero of the Black and Whites' triumph over Leeds in Cardiff three years ago, managed just two successes from his six attempts and also hit the woodwork with a drop-goal effort.

Today's victory represents a remarkable achievement for Hull coach Richard Agar, who only succeeded Peter Sharp two months earlier and will now emulate his father Alan, a former Featherstone Rovers coach, by leading his team out at Wembley.

Kear had masterminded the biggest shock in Challenge Cup history with Sheffield Eagles' victory over Wigan in 1998 but he must have known there would be no fairytale 10 years on after his side got off to the worst possible start.

The Wildcats went into today's tie on the back of four successive engage Super League defeats and their confidence looked distinctly fragile in the opening stages.

Hull, still in the tournament after fielding an ineligible Jamie Thackray in the fourth and fifth rounds, were hit by the late withdrawal of full-back or winger Todd Byrne through chickenpox.

But, urged on by the majority of the 14,716 crowd, they made the sort of start dreams are made of.

Tickle was given the benefit of the doubt by video referee Ashley Klein for the first try, touching down an Adam Dykes high kick which appeared to come off his team-mate Gareth Raynor.

But there was no doubt about the next score, which came in identical, if less controversial, fashion and Wakefield were still in shock when stand-off Danny Washbrook bounced off the attempted tackle of Ryan Atkins to send centre Graeme Horne over for a third try.

Tickle improved all three touchdowns to make it 18-0 but Atkins began to atone for his error when he squeezed a pass out of a two-man tackle to get Australian winger Matt Petersen over for a try on his Carnegie Challenge Cup debut in the Wildcats' first meaningful attack.

Fellow winger Damien Blanch grabbed a second try, from Brough's crossfield kick, but Hull still looked the likely winners when they stretched their lead to 24-10 on 26 minutes, courtesy of prop Peter Cusack's first try for the club.

But the introduction of hooker Tevita Leo-Latu, a surprise choice ahead of Jamie Rooney, injected fresh purpose and energy into the Wakefield side and he crossed for his side's third try after handling twice in the build-up.

Then Atkins profited from Raynor's failure to deal with Brough's high kick to the corner to claim a fourth try but Brough was not as accurate with his place kicking, missing the target for the third time as well as hitting the woodwork with a drop-goal attempt in first-half injury time.

Instead of being ahead, the Wildcats slipped further behind within three minutes of the restart when Washbrook won the race to Dykes' grubber kick to the line and Tickle landed his fifth goal.

Wakefield, who lost Petersen with a shoulder injury at half-time, struck back yet again when Blanch collected Brad Drew's pinpoint kick to the corner to score his second try but Brough struck an upright with his conversion attempt.

Tickle maintained his 100 per cent record with a 56th-minute penalty and Wakefield's chances finally ended when Blanch was denied a third try by the video referee for brushing the corner flag as he touched the ball down.

Report Source: www.superleague.co.uk

Article: Agar happy to hang on


Challenge Cup Semi Finals Live in Australia
Sat July 26, 2008
The Carnegie Challenge Semi Finals featuring Leeds v St Helens and Hull FC v Wakefield will be beamed into Australia live on Fox Sports 2.

Traditionally Fox Sports has televised the Super League and Challenge Cup compettions nearly a week after the event, but for the Semi Finals has decided to go live.

The Sydney Morning Herald revealed exclusive figures last week that 64 out of the top 100 events on Fox Sports are Rugby League related, which includes 42 of the top 50.

Taking advantage of Rugby League's popularity on the box, Fox Sports has decided to add a further two live Rugby League matches in a bid to keep their ratings up.

Leeds will take on St Helens tonight with kick off immediately following the Wests Tigers v Penrith clash at 9:30pm (AEST), which is 12:30pm in the UK. Both teams are leading the way in Super League and glittered with stars from Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand.

Sunday's clash, which will be televised at 12:30am (Monday morning) will feature Super League disappointments Hull FC and giant killers Wakefield Trinity. This clash will be a great opportunity for both sides to salvage something from missed opportunities in Super League this year.

Rugby League fans tonight will still be treated to their Saturday triple header on the box, except the 9:30pm game has a new and interesting flavour to it.

It's been made aware very clearly to the public that Rugby League is the sport viewers want to watch on television and is by far the most popular TV sport in Australia. This all smacks in the face as to why the NRL only accepted small crumbs when the TV rights were up for renewal two years ago.

Leeds v St Helens Live Scores & Discussion Forum
Hull FC v Wakefield Trinity Live Scores & Discussion Forum

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