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Challenge Cup

4 Jun 2021

Betfred Challenge Cup semi-final preview

Betfred Challenge Cup semi-final preview

The Betfred Challenge Cup is reaching its climax as four clubs battle for a place in the final at Wembley next month.

Hull FC clash with St Helens at 2.30pm, while Castleford Tigers take on Warrington Wolves from 5pm in a double header at Leigh Sports Village on Saturday.

They will follow an intriguing match-up between St Helens and York City Knights in the Women's Challenge Cup Final, a 11.15am kick off. All the action will be shown live across BBC Two and BBC One.

St Helens have enjoyed a blistering start to 2021, backing up their Super League triumph in 2020 with a fine start to their title defence having won seven of eight league matches so far.

They also knocked out current Cup holders Leeds Rhinos earlier in the competition and beat FC 34-16 in a league clash last week.

But Saints haven't won the Challenge Cup since 2008, something coach Kristian Woolf will be aiming to finally put right this year.

In the opposite camp, Hull won at Wembley for the first time ever in 2016 and did it again a year later, however they haven't reached a final since then.

Under the stewardship of new Head Coach Brett Hodgson, the Arlie Birds have won four games in the league so far and they sit fifth in the table.

But arguably their most impressive work has come in the Cup this year as they overcame Featherstone Rovers 34-14 ahead of an impressive 20-10 defeat of Wigan at the quarter final stage - the Warriors' first defeat of the season.

“We want to be there at Wembley in six weeks time," Hodgson, Lance Todd Trophy winner with Warrington in 2012, said ahead of the game.

"We’ll need an 80-minute performance.

"The history of the Challenge Cup is special to us," he added."

"With some recent success, we want to be there again. We’ll use that to inspire us this week. It means everything to the supporters of our club. It’s a huge occasion if we can make it there. It’s what we do this job for.

“The experience of going there for me personally was incredible, even when I lost the match with Huddersfield in 2009. It’s such an iconic stadium and going there is something I hold dear in my career.”

The other semi-final pits Castleford Tigers Head Coach Daryl Powell against the club he will join in 2022, with Steve Price moving on it's a final chance both both coaches to bring home a Challenge Cup, in Powell's case for the first time.

The Tigers last reached Wembley in 2014 but they lost out to Leeds in the showpiece event, and their wait for a Cup title stretches all the way back to the 1985/86 season.

By contrast, Warrington have a purple patch in the cup over recent years. winning four Challenge Cups since 2009 and their most recent success coming in 2019 as Steve Price masterminded a shock against St Helens despite a raft of injuries.

"It's a great opportunity for us," Daryl Powell told BBC Sport.

"The Challenge Cup is so special isn't it? We've been hearing stories all week from players about what this means to them," he told BBC Sport.

"It's my club - I supported the club when I was a teenager. That was crucial for me. It's the only job I wanted at the time. I'd come back from rugby union and got back into rugby league with Featherstone and then got the opportunity to come to Castleford.

"It was a club that needed the culture turning around straight away and I felt we did that pretty quickly with the help of the senior players who were here at that time. In 2014, we had a pretty strong season and got to the Challenge Cup final.

"We had a pretty special year in 2017 and we've generally been in and around the play-off spots consistently while I've been here. The 2017 season was outstanding, but we didn't manage to win the Super League trophy, which was hugely disappointing.

"We have an opportunity here now. We're 80 minutes away from a Challenge Cup final, we're playing against a really talented team in Warrington, but we've just got to play well."

In opposition, Price is choosing not to look 'too far ahead'.

"I'm not even thinking about (the final), I'm just focusing on an 80-minute performance," he said.

"It's about preparing the boys for Saturday, that's all my main focus is and I'm not looking too far ahead.

"It's all about preparing and delivering. We had to stay ahead of the game and build on the solid rhythm we've had."

Betfred Challenge Cup semi-finals:

  • Hull FC vs St helens - 2.30pm - live on BBC One
  • Castleford Tigers vs Waerringon - 5pm - live on BBC Two