Challenge Cup final: Eight classic contests from previous years

When Leeds and Hull KR walk down the famous Wembley tunnel, they'll continue one of rugby league's proudest traditions.

Once a year, two sides and their thousands of fans descend on the capital to see who will lift the Challenge Cup.

Leeds are the holders, having beaten Castleford 23-10 in 2014 to lift the cup for the first time in 15 years.

Hull KR fans might have to reach a little deeper into the memory bank to recall their last Wembley triumph - a famous 10-5 victory over bitter rivals Hull FC. Their last final was in 1986.

Leeds might be flying in Super League, sitting pretty in top spot, while Rovers missed out on the Super 8s but, come final day, league positions goes out of the window.

Here's a reminder of a few cup classics to whet your appetite…

1946: Wakefield 13-12 Wigan

The Second World War meant Wembley took a break from hosting the cup final, with Odsal doing the honours, before two-legged ties were introduced between 1943 and 1945.

But a year after the war ended, rugby league was back in London, with Wakefield and Wigan the two sides looking to claim the spoils in the first post-war Challenge Cup final.

They did the sport proud too, playing out a tense, gripping encounter that Wakefield edged 13-12.

A crowd of 54,730 turned up and they thought the trophy was on its way to Lancashire, with Wigan leading 12-11 going into the final minutes. But Trinity won a penalty out wide, allowing Billy Stott to step up, and he nailed it to seemingly seal victory.

But Wakefield then they gave away a penalty, just inside the Wigan half, giving Brian Nordgren the opportunity to snatch the trophy away.

He missed, ensuring Stott's kick was the winning goal, and the centre was awarded the first Lance Todd Trophy for his efforts. 

1968: Leeds 11-10 Wakefield

1968 is famous for the 'watersplash' final as the heavens opened on London to provide Leeds and Wakefield with a sodden Wembley to pitch to strut their stuff.

Conditions, in fact, made strutting rather difficult, and what followed was a gritty encounter between the two West Yorkshire sides.

Kicking became the order of the day and Leeds led 4-2 through penalties. Trinity then crossed for the opening try, the conditions proving too much for Leeds' John Atkinson, who slipped, allowing Ken Hirst to go over.

With both sides struggling because of the rain, Leeds went back in front thanks to a penalty try awarded for obstruction before Bev Risman stuck over another penalty with two minutes left to make it 11-7.

But back came Wakefield straight from kick-off, Hirst fly-hacking through to touch down under the posts for his second try, and Lance Todd Trophy winner Don Fox then lined up for what looked like a routine winning conversion.

The rest, as they say, is history. Fox slipped and pushed his kick wide, ensuring Leeds would be the ones taking the trophy back to Yorkshire. 

1980: Hull KR 10-5 Hull FC

'Can the last person to leave, please turn out the lights.' The famous Hull road sign is all that's needed to sum up the 1980 cup final.

It was the clubs' first Wembley meeting and Humberside duly emptied out to watch their heroes step onto the hallowed turf.

Nerves showed early on, both sides giving away penalties and making errors, before KR hit the front.

Brian Lockwood sent Steve Hubbard clear and the winger did the rest.

As he touched down, he was hit by a swinging arm, ensuring KR were awarded a penalty to take straight after their conversion attempt. Hubbard missed the conversion, but slotted the penalty, giving them a 5-0 lead, and he added another penalty soon after.

Hull did get back into it thanks to a try from Tim Wilby before Sammy Lloyd's penalty made it a nerve-wracking 8-5, but with five minutes left, the Black and Whites gave away another penalty and Hubbard did the honours to leave the red and white half of the city with the bragging rights. 

1985: Wigan 28-24 Hull FC

Wigan's Challenge Cup dominance may have started three years later, but they gave the Wembley crowd a little taster of what was to come in a belting cup final against Hull in 1985.

Hull coach Arthur Bunting sprung a surprise before the game, choosing to leave Gary Schofield on the bench, but his tactics seemed to work early on when Kevin James crossed for a try.

Wigan soon levelled, John Ferguson jinking over before Brett Kenny burst to clear to score as well, and then Kenny inspired a classic Wembley score, breaking again before feeding Henderson Gill who flew in from 70 metres to make it 16-8 at half-time.

Kenny's magical display didn't stop there as he put Shaun Edwards over just after half-time, and despite Steve Evans replying for Hull, Ferguson crossed for his second and the game looked all over at 28-12.

But Hull hit back - inspired by Peter Sterling and Schofield off the bench. First James Leuluai went over before Gary Divorty also crossed.

With just four minutes to go, Schofield sent Leuluai clear for his second and Hull pressed for a potentially winning score, but it never came. The hooter sounded and Hull were left to rue those missed conversions that saw them come up just short. 

1986: Castleford 15-14 Hull KR

KR's last Wembley appearance came in 1986, but unlike six years before, they feel to the narrowest of defeats, this time against a Castleford side coached by Mal Reilly.

Tony Marchant had given Castleford an early lead with a sensational 60-metre finish before Lance Todd Trophy winner Bob Beardmore dropped a goal to put them 7-0 up.

Gary Prohm replied in the 39th minute for Hull KR, reducing the lead to 7-6 before the break, but Cas took control after the interval, Beardmore chasing up his own kick to score before Jamie Sandy beat three man to go over as well.

At 15-6 the cup looked set for West Yorkshire, but the men from Humberside found a response, Prohm going over for his second, but John Dorahy missed the conversion and KR remained a converted try away.

However, with just a minute left, they went over again, John Lydiat squeezing in at the corner.

It all came down to Dorahy, who had the last kick of the game to win the cup, but he pushed his effort left of the posts, leaving the Castleford fans and players jubilant, celebrating a famous win. 

1987: Halifax 19-18 St Helens

Halifax shocked everybody to win the title in 1986 under Chris Anderson, but they followed up that league success with a famous cup win the following year against St Helens.

They built up a decent lead at Wembley, going 18-8 in front thanks to tries from Wilf George, Seamus McCallion and Lance Todd Trophy winner Graham Eadie.

St Helens replied, with Paul Loughlin breaking clear to score but John Pendlebury's drop goal put Halifax in control at 19-12.

There was still time for a dramatic finish though, Paul Round going over for St Helens after a neatly worked move from dummy half and when Loughlin added the conversion, just one point separated the sides.

St Helens almost snatched it when Mark Elia broke through, only for a superhuman effort from Pendlebury, who put in a match-winning tackle to knock the ball clear.

Halifax held on to lift their fifth Challenge Cup. 

1996: St Helens 40-32 Bradford

The first Challenge Cup of the Super League era and Bradford and St Helens made it one to remember in a final that sent records tumbling.

A tight first-half encounter saw the Bulls lead 14-12 at the break, Robbie Paul's last gasp effort nudging them in front before the hooter after two Steve Prescott tries for St Helens.

The Bulls dominated after half-time, Bernard Dwyer and Paul again crossing to make it 26-12 on 57 minutes.

No team had ever come back from 14 points down in a Cup final, but that didn't stop St Helens. It came down to one key tactical battle; Bobbie Goulding's high bombs, all aimed at Bulls full-back Nathan Graham.

First, Graham allowed one such kick to bounce back over his head, and Keiron Cunningham capitalised to score. Then he collided with teammate Paul Loughlin, allowing Simon Booth to take advantage.

And to complete a remarkable nine minutes, Goulding repeated the trick for a third time, sticking one up that Graham failed to deal with under pressure from Alan Hunte, ensuring Ian Pickavance could dive on the loose ball for another try.

Suddenly Saints led 30-26, having been dead and buried. Danny Arnold then added another and despite Robbie Paul going over to complete a sensational hat-trick that secured his Lance Todd Trophy, Apollo Perelini went over for a try that clinched St Helens' first Challenge Cup since 1976.

1998: Sheffield 17-8 Wigan

Challenge Cup specialists Wigan had gone two years without lifting the famous trophy by 1998 - a long time given their prestigious record earlier in the decade.

When they walked out of the Wembley tunnel alongside surprise finalists Sheffield Eagles, no one expected anything less than red and white ribbons on the trophy once again.

But the Eagles, inspired by Coach John Kear, had other ideas. They took an early lead when Nick Pinkney claimed Mark Aston's bomb to go over. Matt Crowther also crossed before Lance Todd Trophy winner Aston dropped a goal to make it 11-2 at half-time.

After the break, with everybody anticipating a Wigan fightback, the Eagles carried on where they left off, Darren Turner going over from dummy half.

Wigan were stunned and although they did reply through Mark Bell, they struggled to find a way through the Sheffield defence, leaving Kear's men to complete a stunning upset.

2003: Bradford 22-20 Leeds

2003 was undoubtedly the year of the Bull as Brian Noble's side swept aside everybody to pick up all the silverware.

First stop, though, was Cardiff in April, and waiting for them at the Millennium Stadium were resurgent arch enemies Leeds Rhinos, who had a crop of promising youngsters flourishing under Daryl Powell.

With Wembley out of action, the sides headed to Wales for the first time in the Cup's history. The Bulls took the lead early on, Robbie Paul going over, but Leeds took control; Lance Todd trophy winner Gary Connolly and Chris McKenna with a try each and a Kevin Sinfield penalty meant they led 14-8.

However, on the stroke of half-time, back came Bradford, Lesley Vainikolo touching down Paul Deacon's kick to make sure the sides went into the break level.

The Bulls picked up where they left off after the interval, thanks to Jamie Peacock's try before a Deacon penalty opened up an eight-point lead.

Leeds got to within two when Dave Furner burst through to touch down, and when Joe Vagana strayed offside, Kevin Sinfield had the chance to level the game.

However, the captain chose not to take the two and instead Leeds went for a match-winning score. They failed to break a resolute Bradford defence though and the Bulls held on to lift the cup. 

2005: Hull FC 25-24 Leeds

Two years later and Leeds were back in Cardiff, this time as defending Super League champions after Tony Smith's team conquered all in 2004.

They were blitzing the league the year after too and not many tipped Hull FC, coached by Sheffield's 1998 mastermind John Kear, to deny them a first Challenge Cup in six years.

But there were problems in the Leeds camp before kick-off; star centre Keith Senior was surprisingly named in the starting 13 despite doubts over his fitness. And the gamble failed.

In a tight first half, the sides traded tries, Leeds with a penalty try after Mark Calderwood was obstructed jumping for a kick, before Motu Tony collected Richard Whiting's palm back to level things up.

Senior didn't reappear after the break and then Gareth Raynor went over in the corner for Hull.

Danny Ward did reply for Leeds before a moment to forget for Marcus Bai, the winger offloading in his own in-goal area straight to Richard Whiting, who dotted down.

Danny Brough's drop goal then extended Hull's lead to 19-12. Still, Leeds showed their class, hitting back with 20 minutes left, Mark Calderwood with a stunning solo effort before Bai made amends, claiming a high ball to put Leeds in front.

But, with the engravers preparing to scratch Leeds' name onto the cup, Hull had other ideas. They worked the ball into the Leeds 20 before Paul Cooke dummied over to send the Black-and-White support into delirium.

Brough added the two and a stunning victory for Kear and Hull FC was complete.