Saturday will see a repeat of the 2021 1895 Cup Final, where the inspirational Will Jubb played for York Knights. This time, he will be on the opposite side with Featherstone and is seeking out his first Wembley win...
Two of the Betfred Championship’s in-form teams, Featherstone and York, will meet in the 2025 AB Sundecks 1895 Cup Final this Saturday – in a repeat of the 2021 Final.
Talented hooker Will Jubb is one of five players remaining from those 2021 sides – he played for the Knights at the famous Wembley Stadium that day, in their 41-34 defeat to the Rovers.
Now, he finds himself just days away from another Wembley appearance in a matter of years – except this time Jubb will be pulling on a Featherstone shirt and gearing up to face his former club.
“It’s really exciting and I’m looking forward to it,” said Jubb.
“Both teams are in pretty good form at the moment so it should be a fantastic game. It’s all excitement from me!”
“2021’s Final was a great occasion. It was a little bit different back then because it was during COVID-19 times, but I just remember everybody being so excited.
“It was great taking family and friends there to watch, and all the fans who travelled down there made it a great occasion for us. We were on the wrong end of the scoreboard, mind, and it’s quite ironic that I’m now going to be playing for Featherstone against York in the same final!
“You couldn’t write it, could you? I remember looking at the fixtures and thinking that this scenario could end up being the case. It is a strange feeling but I’m looking forward to it and personally I want Featherstone to do well and hope that we get the result.
“That said, I still have a lot of friends at York, so I wish them all the best this week as well.”
Featherstone may have reached their third 1895 Cup Final in five years, but Ben Reynolds, Caleb Aekins, Gareth Gale, Jayden Hatton, Josh Hardcastle, along with Jubb, are the only players to have ever played in an 1895 Cup Final.
The remainder of the team yet to experience this feeling, and the 2025 Fev side, guided by Paul Cooke, are keen to write their own story.
“It’s a completely new team, but we’ll still have that experience from the other lads as well, which is good. Hopefully they will hold us in good stead but everyone’s chomping at the bit to get a game and a good result.
“There’s a big buzz around the club this week and all the boys are excited. We’re just going to enjoy the occasion because not many people get the chance to do it.
“We’ll enjoy it, take it all in our stride and hopefully we can put in a good performance.
“Just getting to play at Wembley is a massive achievement anyway – I’m very grateful and excited at the opportunity.”
To reach Wembley once more, Featherstone had to overcome Sean Long's Oldham in the semi-finals last month, where they ran out 40-14 victors at Boundary Park.
“Oldham are a very good side and them having the home advantage was a big thing as well," said Jubb.
"I thought that semi-final was a great occasion, to be honest, and that Oldham put on a really good show.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game from the start and that we’d have to play at our very best to get the result. It was probably one of our better performances of the season, because we all wanted it so much, and now we’ve just got to keep building.”
After arguably an up and down first half of the season, Fev have finally found their feet – winning four out of their last five matches and are on course to creating history in the 1895 Cup, by becoming the first team to lift the trophy twice since its inception.
“I think all of the team have really turned a corner and we’re really together as a team,” Jubb explained.
“We’ve had quite a few injuries, and we didn’t really have a settled spine or side to begin with.
“But now we’ve got the likes of Ryan Hampshire and Ben Reynolds – a first-rate halfback combination which has really helped.
“We knew if we kept working hard that things would turn because we’ve got enough quality in the side.”
And since joining the Rovers at the back end of last year, after a lengthy spell with Saturday's opponents York, Jubb has enjoyed every second:
“It’s great. It has been a challenge coming into a new group – I haven't done that for a long time, but it’s been really good.
“Fev are a fantastic club with a great fanbase, and it’s great to be on the home side of that. I’m really enjoying myself here and hopefully that can continue for a few years to come.”
Fev and York have already met once in 2025, with the Rovers overturning an initial 16-point deficit to beat the Knights 24-22 at the Millenium Stadium.
Undoubtedly, the Rovers will take confidence from this particular result, as well as a string of their recent performances.
But Jubb is under no illusion and recognises that Saturday's Final could be a completely different ball game:
“We’ll certainly take some from that game, but we’ll also take confidence from our results over the last few weeks. Saturday is a cup game, however, and anything can happen.
“York are a very good team and they showed in that game against us that they can score points on you if you aren’t at your best.
“We need to be switched on defensively for the full 80 minutes, because they've got players in their team that can hurt you.
“It was a close game – really nip and tuck at the end and it could have gone either way, but hopefully we can come out victorious again.”
It’s going to be a special day on Saturday, but will Jubb be part of a history-making Featherstone side and can he get his first Wembley win?
“It’s such a proud moment playing at Wembley, but to get a winner’s medal at the end of it would be something else. It would mean the world and to do it for Featherstone would be exciting."
The 1895 Cup competition was first launched in 2019 as a second and more realistic chance for non-Super League clubs to reach Challenge Cup Finals Day.
And as one of those players of a non-Super League club, Jubb is a huge advocate of its concept and the chances that come with this:
“It’s absolutely brilliant, the 1895 Cup. It’s a massive thing to be able to play at the national stadium and there’s a lot of great players that never got the chance to play there.
“Just to get that chance and highlight how good Championship Rugby League is, is huge. This league has so much to offer and showcasing events like this will really help that.
“The standard of the Championship has gone through the roof these last few years so hopefully we can start to get even more coverage too!”
28-year-old Jubb also has a remarkable rugby league story to tell. Jubb was just two years old when he was diagnosed with eye cancer and had to have his right eye enucleated. It's no secret he's had to overcome plenty of challenges, but playing with one eye has never held him back from having a successful rugby league career.
And as his prepares to live out one of his dreams in the 1895 Cup this weekend, role model Jubb hopes to inspire others to follow their own dreams and highlight that anything is possible.
“I’ve tried to never let my sight hold me back from anything. It’s quite emotional thinking about it.
“There are massive opportunities that you really can reach and take and achieve, and all I can say to people is just don’t ever be afraid to go for things.
“Don’t let anything hold you back. My parents have always been great with allowing me to do whatever I wanted and were determined that nothing would stop me from playing sport.
“Hopefully, me being able to go to play at Wembley on the biggest stage that there is, can inspire young people to try and do the same.
“There are plenty of opportunities out there – the game is developing massively every day, and hopefully that can inspire someone to go and take up something they love doing!”
Featherstone will take on York Knights in the 2025 AB Sundecks 1895 Cup Final (K.O. 5.45pm). This year's 1895 Cup Final will be streamed LIVE and FREE on SuperLeague+. Details can be found here.
Anything can happen in the AB Sundecks 1895 Cup!
It's Finals Day at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 7 June. Be at Wembley for both the Men's and Women's Challenge Cup Finals, as well as the AB Sundecks 1895 Cup Final and RFL Champion Schools Year 7 Boys Final, and purchase your tickets here!
