As all sides of Wembley held their breath, Mickey Lewis addressed the ball knowing not just the match but 40 years of history and longing was resting on his shoulders. Ice in his veins, the east Hull hero became a legend as he struck the ball through the posts and one half of the stadium erupted in a combination of euphoria and relief.
The result many had expected and all Rovers fans had hoped for had arrived, but it had taken until the closing stages of a terrific Challenge Cup final for it to look like happening. Tom Davies became the new Steve Hubbard, a solitary try scorer for Rovers in this second Challenge Cup final victory for the club.
The 8-6 win over a Warrington Wolves side who had Mac Sneyd win his third Lance Todd Trophy, saw Sam Burges’ team undone in late dramatic fashion in a game that kept everyone gripped throughout and will live long in the memory.
Rovers arrived at Wembley in a position generations of supporters are not accustomed too. They were the favourites, clear favourites in fact, to brush aside a team that in Super League have so far only managed half the points of the league leaders. The squad and staff were taking nothing for granted and neither were the supporters who have suffered for far too long to start investing in any belief of divine providence.
It’s testament to the growth of the club the past two years that they started the Challenge Cup final as such big favourites. It looked simple. Repeat the form of this season, get through the sets, exhaust and frustrate their opponents as they so often do, then pull away in the closing stages. If sport actually was that simple we’d probably not love it as we do.
Rovers struggled to do any of that, Warrington found a new gear and a resilience that we’ve seen in patches this season, and as such what we got was a cup final very few expected.
There’s an inevitability about this Hull KR side. The scoreboard doesn’t ever seem to matter with the team content to grind their way into games and grind their opponents down, before pulling away to that inevitable victory. And so, on the back of an opening 10 minute period in which Warrington started far the better only to be let down by some poor three-quarter play twice when within striking distance of the try line, there was no panic in the Rovers camp. In fact there wasn’t even a flicker of concern.
It’s true Jared Waerea-Hargreaves and Joe Burgess were both guilty of ill-timed challenges that suggested too much enthusiasm, but the fractional nature of the mistakes were just that, mistakes that happen and not a case of being rattled.
To win the cup you often need the bounce of the ball to go your way and a favourable decision. Given how we’ve seen yellow cards handed out this season Waerea-Hargreaves and Burgess could perhaps be thankful, then a seemingly correct but difficult video referee call denied Warrington a try after Jack Broadbent was adjudged to have had the ball stolen in front of his own try line and not to have spilled it in the tackle.
Then came what threatened to be a momentum shift. Having been second best for 25 minutes, Wolves full-back Matt Dufty dropped a simple pass with a break on. Rovers got the ball in Warrington territory, picked up a penalty and opened the scoring with a Mikey Lewis kick to lead.
Warrington were out on their feet and looked broken as they staggered, literally for some of the players, towards the half-time hooter. Then came the sucker punch. With the clock ticking down a Marc Sneyd kick took a wicked deflection, evaded everyone and bounced out wide into the hands of a thankful Josh Thewlis. Sneyd kicked the extras, Warrington celebrated and for the first time in what felt like a long time, Rovers went in at the break behind.
What followed after the break was a half of rugby that was as nerve-wracking as it was a war of attrition. As the heavens opened on north west London, the pressure rose, mistakes became more prevalent and while the scoreboard never altered, the momentum of the game ebbed and flowed.
Without a score to celebrate, knock-ons and penalties became the food to nourish rivals supporters needing something to fuel their chants. Singing had become a necessity as a way of expelling the nervous energy which had taken hold of the national stadium.
Nervous energy which exploded with just three minutes remaining when a kick to the corner was pounced upon by Davies. It took a video referee decision to confirm the score. Tied at six each, Lewis then had the kick to win it and the party could finally start.
The tears began, shock took hold for many and a party that will last for many days finally began. When you’ve waited 40 years to celebrate, you bet you’re going to do it right.