Sheffield Eagles will aim to become the first club to win the AB Sundecks 1895 Cup twice after securing their place in the competition’s fifth Final, on June 8 at Wembley Stadium – while Wakefield Trinity will become the eighth club to play in the Final as they relish their first Wembley appearance since 1979.
The Eagles, who were the inaugural winners of the knockout competition for non-Super League clubs when they beat Widnes Vikings in 2019, secured their return with a 28-18 Semi Final win at York Knights.
The South Yorkshire club have a 100% record at Wembley having famously won the Challenge Cup in their only Final appearance against Wigan in 1998, when their current coach Mark Aston won the Lance Todd Trophy as man of the match – and Aston’s son, Cory, will now relish his opportunity to play at the National Stadium after kicking 12 points in their Semi-Final win over York Knights.
Wakefield Trinity have a much longer-term relationship with Wembley, but the last of their four Challenge Cup Final appearances was a 12-3 defeat by Widnes 45 years ago – while their last win at Wembley was in 1963, when they beat Wigan 25-10.
Daryl Powell's team secured their return with an impressive 40-14 victory over Bradford Bulls in front of a 5,340 crowd at the Bartercard Odsal Stadium – the highest for any round of the AB Sundecks 1895 Cup. Their captain Matty Ashurst scored two of their tries and the former England and Great Britain winger Jermaine McGillvary marked his return from a lengthy injury absence by touching down in the second half.
Each club has been allocated 1895 Cup Final tickets and both will be on sale via their respective club channels from tomorrow morning – with Wakefield Trinity allocated seats at the East End, and Sheffield Eagles at the West End.
Tickets for the 1895 Cup Final can also be bought now via central sales at rugby-league.com/tickets from only £20 Adults and £10 Under 16s.
