Challenge Cup Preview #5 - The Big Day

On Saturday, Huddersfield will face Wigan in the Challenge Cup Final. For the former, they seek their first Challenge Cup success since 1953, for the latter, their first since 2013. For Huddersfield, it has been a lifetime since they have lifted this trophy. For record, 19-time cup winners Wigan, it has felt like a lifetime.

Not so long ago in Rugby League, we grumbled that it was the same old teams that makes the big finals. That is not so much true anymore. In the Challenge Cup, 11 different sides have made the Cup final since 2013. This is the sixth consecutive year that both finalists from the previous year have failed to make it. Meanwhile, in the Grand Final, we have seen Castleford, Salford and Catalans make their maiden Grand Final appearances in the last five years.

Both the Grand Final and Challenge Cup Final are one off occasions. In the Grand Final, we have only ever had four winners. With Bradford's demise, only three current Super League sides have won at Old Trafford on the big day. When the October darkness hits, experience seems to count for so much.

On Cup Final day, for some reason, it seems different. In four consecutive finals between 2016 and 2019, the underdog won on each occasion. History seems less relevant. Take Hull FC, chided by their rivals for years with the 'you'll never win at Wembley' chant, they broke that duck in 2016 and retained their title in 2017. Take Catalans, escaping relegation by the skin of their teeth in 2017, defeated Warrington in 2018. A side who had never won a major trophy, defeating a side that not too many years earlier, won three Challenge Cups in four seasons.

The two sides that take the field on Saturday currently sit third and fourth in the Super League table. The bookies give Wigan a 75% chance of winning. Given the recent history of this competition, I wouldn't put the percentage as high as that.

Mr Process

If you listen to Ian Watson being interviewed, he talks a lot about process and structure. Watson coached sides can be a tad formulaic. Watson strikes you as a coach who enjoys control and routine. Huddersfield have lost four matches so far in 2022 but only on one of those occasions has a defeat being heavy (against Warrington). In their other defeats against Wigan, Hull FC and St Helens, the Giants remained in the contest for the majority of the match.

Perhaps that is why the bookies have given Wigan only an eight point start over Huddersfield. If Wigan do go on to win, I doubt it will be by a wide margin. Huddersfield's tactics probably will not be a surprise.

Huddersfield have missed the fewest tackles in Super League this season. Huddersfield's game is primarily about their pack. They have made the most metres in Super League in 2022. They have also made the fewest errors and have the highest completion rate. Huddersfield's kicking game is also strong, making a high number of threatening, attacking kicks. With Theo Fages missing out, they will need to find a way of maintaining their threat with the boot.

The Wigan Way

You may have heard that phrase before. But what does it mean? Well, Matt Peet's way is quite a different approach to Huddersfield. Despite what you may hear, completion isn't everything. It's one way to approach a match but not necessary for success.

For example, St Helens have made the most errors in Super League and have missed the most tackles. Yet they sit top of Super League with the fewest points conceded.

When it comes to defence, Wigan like to smother. They will pressure the hooker and frequently make a number of tackles from the marker to reduce the space that their opponents have. Like Huddersfield, they miss few tackles and only the Giants have missed fewer. 

In attack, Wigan bust a lot of tackles, forcing a defence to scramble. That's not necessarily through their prop forwards though. Explosive backs Jai Field and Bevan French use their speed and evasion to get around the tacklers. A real danger is posed is when they find open space, and not just due to their pace. You could bet your bottom dollar that when either break, Liam Farrell is inevitably on their shoulder, offering support and using his deceptive speed to score a try.

Breaking a Duck

When you have won 19 Challenge Cups, nine years seems a long time without winning one. For Wigan fans that grew up on annual trips to the capital for the Challenge Cup Final, five years seems a long time to go without an appearance.

For Huddersfield, there is only one survivor from their last Challenge Cup Final appearance in 2009. Leroy Cudjoe. He was 21 years old then and is 34 now! All other players from that Huddersfield team have retired. Some are now coaches, others pundits and others lost to the game.

The most successful team in Rugby League history take on the birthplace of the Rugby League to lay claim to the sport's most historic prize. I have no doubt that the players will produce an occasion befitting that heritage.