Wigan Warriors: The 18th Man - ‘The Challenge Cup brings so many special memories’

Stephen Ford:

There are literally dozens of great memories that I could choose from my Challenge Cup history but there are three that really stand out for myself. I became a regular supporter from the 1967/68 season and by 1985 we hadn’t tasted a Challenge Cup final victory, only two pretty lacklustre defeats in 1970 and 1984. We were the “sleeping giants'' of the game. On arrival at the sun drenched North West Station in May 1985 with my butties, pies and cans I was amazed at the number of fans there queuing up to catch the train down to Euston. The train was absolutely packed and the atmosphere on the train was electric. Hull were a top class side and I was unsure if we could pull off our first Challenge Cup victory in 20 years. Talking to a few people on the train I found out that Gary Schofield had been selected to play, but from the bench. I couldn’t believe that Hull had left their in-form centre on the bench for such an important match. From that point I was pretty certain that we would win. What a game played in front of a massive crowd at the old Wembley. Great tries, brilliant celebrations (Gilly’s unforgettable smile) and a nerve wrenching final few minutes as Hull clawed their way back into the game. For me the greatest ever Challenge Cup final. I can still vividly recall as Kenny took a pass from the scrum and I could see immediately from 50 yards out that he was going to take on the Hull defence and score. I have never celebrated a Challenge Cup final as hard and it took me a few days to fully recover.

I can still remember as a nine-year-old crying watching Alex Murphy’s Saints in 1966 play us off the park as we struggled to get any meaningful possession. Saints totally dominated the scrums against a Wigan team without its regular hooker Clarke, who was suspended for the game. Would we ever get revenge for a thoroughly dismal 21-2 defeat? We had to wait 23 years before we finally got the chance to see if we could finally bury one of our worst ever final defeats and against the old enemy. Before the game I just wanted a win. Didn’t need spectacular tries from Hanley or Edwards, just a win. I am always nervous before a Saints/Wigan game and this was no different except that the performance was totally irrelevant versus the need to win. I can’t remember if I was confident of a win before the game but after Iro’s early try I do remember thinking that this could be the day when we would avenge the 1961 and 1966 losses. Gregory was at his imperious best. Hanley scored a try that only he could score. The best try was saved for the last try. Stevie Hampson scampering over to really rub it into the Saints and at long last some compensation for Hampson after missing finals due to injury. I didn’t think much about Saints being nilled during the game but post-game it was being regaled by all the Wigan supporters. To pinch a pun from Andy Gregory I sometimes forget did we score 27 or was it 28 against Saints? I never forget that they scored ZERO.

I didn’t really enjoy the Adrian Lam years. The players never seemed to smile or enjoy the game and my love of the game was on the decline. I still got my season ticket and I was unsure if Matt Peet was the right appointment as head coach. We had started the season pretty reasonably and to be fair I wasn’t really thinking about the Challenge Cup but come March we, at long last, got a home tie and beat a useful Salford team to nil. Next was Wakefield away. Looking back I was very apprehensive about the tie but we came away with a comfortable and convincing win. In the final four now and I wanted Huddersfield or Hull KR in the semi-final. I didn’t want Saints who were as usual going about their business and bulldozing their way to the final. Obviously, we got Saints when the draw was made! Quite unusual for me, I was quite confident of a win in the SF when the day of the tie actually arrived. Peet was gently bringing the team to the boil and I could sense that we had turned a corner and were capable of beating Saints which we duly did. The 2022 final against Huddersfield had everything. A fantastic stadium, great tries from Smith and Field but we were giving a stuttering performance against a very dour Huddersfield team. With five minutes or so to go I was quite relaxed. We hadn’t played well but I was happy that we had got to the final and took a good following which hopefully we could build on. I hoped that French or Field could go the full length of the field to score a last minute winner but it probably wasn’t to be. Then Tommy did an incredible pass to Smith who in turn did a brilliant kick for Marshall - it could only be Marshall - to score the winning try in the final few minutes. I have never witnessed such celebrations after a try at any Wigan game in my long association with the club. We were back. A young, fast, consisting of mainly local lads and a committed team coached by two Wigan legends and ably led by the new young head coach who spoke eloquently about the club and the town. We were back and we were back with pride.

David Bailey:

The Challenge Cup, the competition where my love for Wigan began. Saturday 4th May 1985, Wembley Stadium, London. My first ever live experience of Rugby League is arguably still the greatest final ever. I can remember it like yesterday, the symmetry of the irregular hoops on the Umbro kits of Wigan RLFC and Hull FC. The contrast of the Black and White against the splashes of Cherry and White. Two iconic Australian players, who were team-mates down under, Brett Kenny and Peter Sterling. The list goes on and on. My memory of the day is my mum perching me on one of the separating walls inside the stadium, and then when Wigan scored and the fans surged forwards, being passed back over peoples heads to get back to her. Brett Kenny slicing through the Hull defence with an arching run, Shaun Edwards jigging after a trademark support try, Ferguson’s little shimmy in the corner, and Henderson Gill's length of the field effort, with a smile as wide as Christmas Day at the end. An iconic day and I was so lucky that it was my first game. Any Wigan fan growing up in the 80s and 90s has a special affinity with the cup. It became an annual pilgrimage as Wigan swept all before them, with a run that will never ever be matched. I have watched Wigan play in 16 cup finals and seen them lift the trophy 13 times. Memories that will always live on. Some highlights, Hanley sweeping aside St Helens, THAT Martin Offiah full length, Joel Tomkins scampering away against Leeds. The soaking wet final v Hull FC with Iain Thornley scoring. The most recent final we played in will take some beating though. Seeing my teenage daughter almost burst with excitement when Liam Marshall sealed the cup win against Huddersfield was insane. No doubt, enhanced by the incredible acoustics at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The roar that day was something special and fittingly started the Matt Peet era properly. The news that he has signed a seven-year contract, along with Lockers at Tommy, was just the tonic. There really is something special brewing down at Robin Park Arena. I get the feeling that Kris Radlinski likes to think outside the box and do things differently. Challenging the "well we have always done it that way" thinking. It doesn't always pan out as planned, after all, he wanted Bateman to have a legacy at the Warriors that was quickly extinguished. However, he's had a brilliant mentor in Ian Lenagan, he loves Wigan as much as you or I and is constantly evolving. I was never really worried about the NRL coming for Matt Peet, not because I think he wouldn't smash it there. It's more the fact he is so ingrained and knowledgeable about the junior and amateur set ups across the north west, he has such a huge advantage when it comes to future planning. He could build a genuine, unrivalled legacy at the Warriors in the coming years and I am sure he will be sending the Warriors out at full tilt against Sheffield.

Glynn Bradshaw:

Challenge Cup Finals that stick in the mind are the 1985 classic final against Hull, with Brett Kenny and John Ferguson sadly only gracing our club for one season, what players they were and what a final, with the Hull fightback jangling the nerves of the Warriors faithful. The 2002 final at Murrayfield against the old enemy also springs to mind, a final we weren’t expected to win, and a poor turnout from the Warriors fans who felt we had little chance. All the talk pre-game was about Radlinski and his injury, and the victory was made all the sweeter with the opposition and the stage, with Radlinski amazingly turning in a man of the match performance. Last but not least the 2022 final against Huddersfield Giants at the fantastic Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, close throughout but what a finish with a precision Harry Smith kick and a joyous Liam Marshall touching down in front of the Warriors faithful, scenes of jubilation for all to see.

The last few years have been great to be a Warriors fan, long may it continue, but as I tell our kids who are so lucky to have seen so much success at a young age, it won’t always be this way!

Darren Wrudd:

From the rattle of the selection balls as the names are drawn out, to the wonderful news when your team gets an easier seeming fixture to your local rivals, the Challenge Cup format has always had a special place in my heart. Of course the trips to Old Wembley Stadium are right up there and scenes of young lads dropping a pocketful of change on the turnstile and being let through are burned on my memory.

Of course it was a different game back then, baggy shirts and suspect Offiah shorts, but the moments were sure magical.

Long range drop goals, that beautiful smile from our very own Henderson Gill and of course the melodramatic moment that Chariot’s gave us on his knees in the corner.

There are special memories of course, from a spindly lad with legs like Bambi on ice, running rings around Whitehaven on his five try debut, who would have known then that Sam Tomkins would turn out to be one of the sport's greatest. His brother Joel on the end of one of the best Wembley tries ever as a wheezing Jamie Peacock tried to chase him down, or the grit and commitment shown by Lee Mossop after dislocating his shoulder, strapping it up and finishing the game.

There is so much to remember and so many memories we all have our favourites.

My personal favourite memory was Murrayfield 2002. Radlinski’s final, well documented of course and a great achievement. I think however it was made all the more special for me by sharing the day with my lovely wife Glenda. To share that kind of joy in beating the enemy from over Billinge Hill with the one who means more to you than anything else takes the whole affair to a new level. That’s what the Challenge Cup brings to us all, special memories, great moments frozen in time.

I wonder what this year's Cup run will do for us, one thing for sure is it should be fun.