2024 Wembley Finals Day - as it happened:
2024's Wembley Finals Day was a memorable occasion, with Saturday’s gate of 64,845 the best since 2017.
St Helens Women, Wigan Warriors, and Wakefield Trinity all emerged victors in their respective Final spectacles, with the afternoon a poignant one as Rugby League came together to celebrate the life of Rob Burrow CBE – with a series of fitting tributes.
Finals Day kicked off with a Champions Schools Final between St Peter’s of Wigan and Cardiff’s Ysgol Glantaf, as the two sides battled it out for The Steven Mullanay Memorial Trophy – the full match report can be found here.
In the Betfred Women’s Challenge Cup Final, St Helens went on to record a remarkable fourth consecutive Challenge Cup with a 22-0 victory over Leeds Rhinos, and their second at Wembley Stadium.
There were four different try-scorers for Matty Smith’s side, with Faye Gaskin and Pheobe Hook crossing in the first forty, followed by Luci McColm and Chantelle Crowl’s match-winner in the second half.
It was an absorbing rematch for the third year running, but St Helens would once again prove too strong as they continue to etch themselves in the Challenge Cup history books. Highlights from the 2024 Women's Final can be found here.
Warrington Wolves and Wigan Warriors’ highly-anticipated Betfred Challenge Cup Final showdown would see Wigan go on to lift the Challenge Cup trophy for a 21st time in their history - following a convincing 18-8 win on the big stage.
It was a fiery first half which saw both teams reduced to 12 in the opening five minutes, with a sin-binning a piece for Mike Cooper and Matt Dufty. Warrington kicked the first two points of the match with a penalty goal, but Wigan would hit back with tries from Zach Eckersley and The Lance Todd Trophy winner Bevan French to go 12-2 up at the break.
The fireworks continued well in the second half before Wigan captain Liam Farrell’s burst of speed sent him flying through the Wolves’ defence and over to score his side’s third try.
Dufty did manage to reduce to deficit to just ten points with a try seven minutes later for Warrington, as he scampered away to touch down.
But the Warriors held out for a record-extending victory, further setting the benchmark in this year’s competition. Matt Peet’s men become the third team in the modern era to hold all four of the sport’s major trophies at the same time, as Wigan continued to dominate.
Watch the 2024 Betfred Challenge Cup Highlights here.
The concluding match of Finals Day then saw Sheffield Eagles and Wakefield Trinity contest for the AB Sundecks 1895 Cup.
Wakefield became the fifth different winner of the 1895 Cup since its formation in 2019, as they defeated the Eagles 50-6, with nine terrific tries under the famous arch.
Trinity captain Matty Ashurst proudly led his side out at Wembley, on what was his 350th career apperance and first ever appearance at the National Stadium, as the West Yorkshire side pulled off a tremendous team performance.
Sheffield’s captain Anthony Thackeray initially opened the scoring for Mark Aston’s side, before Wakefield levelled the scores through back-to-back 1895 Cup winner Lachlan Walmsley, who cleverly intercepted an Eagles pass and raced away the length of the field.
Luke Gale, who scooped up The Ray French Award for his efforts, and Thomas Doyle, added further tries in the opening forty minutes – Doyle scoring on the stroke on half-time to give Trinity an 18-6 advantage.
Trinity continued to stun the Eagles in the second half, in front of a sea of red, white and blue, as Daryl Powell’s men ran in six tries to rack up 50 points.
Oli Pratt, Josh Griffin, and Jermaine McGillivary all claimed doubles, with Powell naming his strongest possible side for Wakefield’s Wembley outing, which ended a 45-year wait and their first win at the iconic venue since 1963. Catch all of the Highlights from this match here.
Standout stats:
From the Betfred Challenge Cup Finals, there were several stunning stats - both in the Men’s and Women’s matches (All stats provided by Opta)...
In the Women’s Final, St Helens’ ever-consistent captain Jodie Cunningham made an incredible 338 metres across 80 minutes. That’s right…338 metres for the Saints stalwart, as well as the most runs (39) of any player on both teams and a mammoth 30 tackles in defence - helping to keep her side’s opponents scoreless on the big stage.
It was a super solid performance from 1-13 players on the pitch, with Emily Rudge also producing 228 monstrous metres, alongside nine other Saints players who surpassed the 100-metre mark.
Their team-mate Chantelle Crowl emerged as her side’s top tackler during their fantastic Challenge Cup Final victory, with an impressive 34 tackles made in the 52 minutes she played. From entering the field, Crowl made an imminent impact, before crashing over from close range for the match-winner ten minutes from time – sealing Saints’ fourth consecutive Challenge Cup win.
And let’s not forget Faye Gaskin who helped kick her side to glory and contributed with the opening try of the game. 32-year-old Gaskin came up with 3 out of 4 successful conversions, as well as 12 kicks in play.
Or her half-back partner and Player of the Match, Zoe Harris, who provided a perfect cut-out ball for Hook to take in and score Saints' second try. One year ago, Harris sustained a season-ending injury at Wembley in the 2023 Final, but ensured to mark her comeback to the big stage with a sensational performance.
Then, despite another Challenge Cup loss, it was a valiant effort from the Rhinos Women, with Bethan Dainton and Lucy Murray making a huge 45 tackles each.
The Men’s Challenge Cup Final was also littered with plenty of impressive stats – starting with The Lance Todd Trophy winner, Bevan French.
With a wonderful assist for Eckersley’s opening try, French then went on to score a brilliant solo try of his own – with his trademark fancy footwork helping him to find his way over the whitewash, as fans watched in awe.
French becomes only the fourth player in the Super League era to double up on both the Lance Todd Trophy and Man of Steel Awards.
Talented youngster Brad O’Neill made the most tackles with 36, while Liam Marshall ran the most metres with 223 – one of ten Wigan players to make over 100 metres in Saturday’s Challenge Cup Final showdown.
Wigan captain Liam Farrell scored the match-winner for his beloved Wigan side, while being as reliable as ever with 169 metres and 26 tackles in his 80-minute stint.
George Williams and Ben Currie starred in the losing Warrington side, as Williams made 287 metres, and Currie produced 45 tackles.
Tickets are on sale now for the 2025 Challenge Cup Finals Day at rugby-league.com/tickets and with a 25% OFF Earlybird, prices start from only £15 Adults and £7.50 Under 16s, with family packages also available from just £18.75 for one Adult and two Under 16s.
