Every 1895 Cup final so far as Wakefield Trinity become fifth different winners of competition

Wakefield Trinity became the fifth different club to lift the 1895 Cup with victory over Sheffield Eagles under the famous Wembley arch on Saturday.

Designed to give clubs outside of Super League a better opportunity of featuring in the capital on Challenge Cup finals day, the 1895 Cup has had a different winner each year it’s been played out so far, and 2024 was no different, with a club yet to lift the trophy more than once.

That could have change if Sheffield had pulled off an upset at Wembley, but Wakefield – competing in the competition for the very first time – proved why they were the heavy favourites heading into the showpiece.

Below, we take a look at the five finals in the competition so far, including Trinity’s triumph…

2019: Sheffield Eagles 36-18 Widnes Vikings

The Eagles became the inaugural winners of the 1895 Cup at Wembley in 2019 with this victory over Widnes in the final.

Mark Aston’s side had beaten Halifax Panthers, Doncaster & Batley Bulldogs to reach the showpiece, which was played out after Warrington Wolves had won the Challenge Cup final against St Helens.

The Vikings went 12-0 up, and were 18-12 up at one point in the second half before Sheffield pulled off an almighty comeback, scoring 24 unanswered points as Aaron Brown sealed a hat-trick. Pat Walker – kicking his sixth goal of the evening – secured the last two of those 24 with a long-range penalty on the final hooter.

Eagles ace Anthony Thackeray – responsible for one of six of Sheffield’s tries on the day – was the first-ever recipient of the Ray French Award, voted man of the match by the journalists in attendance.

2021: Featherstone Rovers 41-34 York

Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the 1895 Cup wasn’t played out in 2020. It returned in 2021, and having seen off Bradford Bulls, Batley & Widnes en-route to the final, Featherstone dispatched York at Wembley.

Rovers were 22-10 up at half-time after back-to-back tries in the first-half had got them in the ascendancy, but York refused to go away and pegged them back to 22-22.

In an action-packed affair, Craig Hall – named man of the match – then kicked a penalty to edge Fev back in front before they scored three unanswered tries to put the rubber stamp on things. A young Mikey Lewis crossed for York prior to Dane Chisholm’s drop goal, and after another Knights try late on, it ended 41-34.

This game preceded the 2021 Challenge Cup final which saw St Helens beat Castleford Tigers.

2022: Leigh Centurions 30-16 Featherstone Rovers

2022 in the Championship was essentially the year of the battle between these two sides vying for promotion. It felt like this 1895 Cup final – played at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium before Wigan Warriors’ Challenge Cup triumph against Huddersfield Giants – would be a test run for the Million Pound Game.

Of course, it didn’t turn out that way as League Leaders’ Shield winners Leigh went on to seal promotion against Batley, who had beaten Fev in the semi-finals at Post Office Road the week prior. And it was the then-known Centurions who also lifted the 1895 Cup in May, too, a competition sponsored by owner Derek Beaumont’s business – AB Sundecks.

With only four teams involved in the competition, the Centurions had beaten Sheffield in the semi-finals while Featherstone – the first team to ever appear in back-to-back 1895 Cup finals – got the better of Barrow Raiders.

A war of attrition in the first half saw the scores level at 12-12 come the break, but once Krisnan Inu had slotted over a penalty, Blake Ferguson & man of the match Edwin Ipape crossed for tries to put Leigh in control. Rovers ace Hall responded with a try on 70 minutes before Sam Stone put the icing on the cake for Adrian Lam’s side late on, grounding Joe Mellor’s grubber kick.

2023: Halifax Panthers 12-10 Batley Bulldogs

The 2023 showpiece in the 1895 Cup saw Halifax pip Batley to the post in dramatic fashion under the arch. It was a clash with sentimental value on the line – both long-standing head coaches in Fax’s Simon Grix & Batley’s Craig Lingard leading their sides to Wembley in their final year in charge.

Just four teams were involved in the competition, with the Panthers beating soon-to-be promoted London Broncos at the last-four stage as Batley saw off York. The final, delayed, was played after Leigh Leopards’ Challenge Cup triumph against Hull KR won by Lachlan Lam’s drop goal and Golden Point was very nearly also needed in this tie too.

Brandon Moore opened the scoring with a try for Fax just two minutes in, but points weren’t easy to come by. Frenchman Louis Jouffret – the man of the match – converted, and would kick three penalties to leave the Panthers 12-0 up as they entered the last 10 minutes. Batley pulled a try back through winger Dale Morton on 72 minutes, and then it became a one-score ball game.

Step up the Bulldogs, who put together a frankly ridiculous passing move on the hooter, with Elliot Kear finishing in the corner after it had sounded. That left Luke Hooley the chance to send the final into Golden Point with a tricky conversion, but the now-Castleford ace couldn’t direct his effort on target with the boot, and that miss meant Fax lifted the silverware.

2024: Wakefield Trinity 50-6 Sheffield Eagles

Wakefield were crowned the 2024 winners of the competition with a more-than-comfortable victory in the 1895 Cup final against Sheffield at Wembley, with the showpiece played out after Wigan had beaten Warrington in the Challenge Cup final.

Trinity sailed through a newly-introduced group stage, topping Group 3 with comfortable victories against both Newcastle Thunder & York, beating Barrow in the quarter-finals and then Bradford in the semi-finals to set up their trip to the capital.

Sheffield went 6-0 up early on at Wembley, but Daryl Powell’s side responded to head in 18-6 up at the break, and made their dominance count in the second half with a further 32 unanswered points to see the scoreline end up 50-6.

Man of the match Luke Gale – who won the Ray French Award – got the try which put Trinity into the lead in the first half, with Powell’s side crossing the whitewash nine times in total.