Challenge Cup: Unfancied Hull KR and Leigh Leopards ‘have earned their spot at Wembley’

Unfancied Hull KR and Leigh reaching the Challenge Cup final has earned them respect in the rugby league community, says Robins boss Willie Peters.

Hull KR lost 50-0 to Leeds in their most recent cup final and Leigh last visited Wembley for the 1971 final.

“Lots of teams love that we’ve got to the final. We’ve beaten big teams to get there and earned it,” Peters said.

He told BBC Radio Humberside: “It’ll add more to the game and bring neutral fans to the game. We want to put on a performance and make it a spectacle.”

The Robins have won the Challenge Cup just once in their history – when they beat cross-city rivals Hull FC in the 1980 final – but have reached the final on three occasions since, finishing as runners-up on each occasion.

Leigh, meanwhile, return to Wembley in their pursuit of a second Challenge Cup title – having beaten Leeds 24-7 in 1971.

“We had an image of Wembley as that’s where we wanted to get to. Now we’ve got an image of the trophy as that’s what we want,” Peters added.

“We’ve had a strong focus on getting to Wembley, but you take it game by game. Then after the semi-final you think to yourself ‘we’re 80 minutes from lifting a trophy’.

“We’ve had two average games against Leigh this season, so I like to think we can go down and play our style.”

‘No expectation’ on Leigh for Wembley trip

Leigh captain John Asiata says he is not feeling the pressure of leading his side on a historic visit to the national stadium.

Asiata had come in for criticism from St Helens coach Paul Wellens following their semi-final meeting, with the Saints boss alleging that his reckless tackling should have been punished, after Alex Walmsley and Agnatius Paasi suffered season-ending injuries.

Leopards head coach Adrian Lam backed Asiata in the row that followed, but he is now fully focused on Saturday’s final.

“I don’t think there’s much expectation. To me as a leader and as our captain, we’ve just got to do what we’ve been doing,” Asiata told BBC Radio Manchester.

“That’s what I bring, I bring experience. It’s all about having fun. The more you think about the game the more energy you drain before the game.

“I know the group we have at the moment, the way we train and do things, it’s all about fun. Obviously when you win games you enjoy it more.

“We’ve been put in a really good position. I myself don’t need to do much, I just need to be me. I don’t need to change who I am or what I do. It’s about enjoying it.”

Beaumont a ‘passionate, flamboyant and crazy’ owner

Leigh stand-off Ben Reynolds has been at the crux of the Leopards side this season, as the club have turned heads during a stellar campaign.

The 29-year-old is in his third spell with the club and helped them win promotion back to Super League last season, and has made 19 appearances during 2023.

His arrival at the club, however, came thanks to a chance meeting with Leigh owner Derek Beaumont during a reserve game at the beginning of his career.

“I was playing for the reserves at York City Knights. It was quite a good game. Some fat bloke sat behind the posts started giving me a bit of stick,” he told BBC Radio Manchester.

“I turned round and gave him some back. I didn’t realise who it was, obviously. After the game he said ‘I’ll meet you in the bar’ and I said no problem, so I go in there and then he gave me a drafted contract.

“I thought ‘who is this guy?’ and it turned out to be Derek Beaumont and the rest is history.

“He’s passionate, flamboyant and crazy. But he’s a loving, family man and he takes care of all his players and everyone around the club. He’s an amazing bloke.”