August is an especially rich time of year for the University’s sporting partners and the last week of the month was certainly my (sporting) highlight of this year.
On the evening of August 26, Headingley Carnegie Stadium was host of one of the highlights of the rugby league calendar, The Carnegie Floodlit Nines. This year’s competition was won by Hull FC after narrowly edging out hosts Leeds Rhinos in a nail biting final and was also graced by the presence of a Jamaican team, who lined up against the University’s own highly successful side in a preliminary match. With a fantastic turn out from a passionate crowd and the thrill of finding out who is rugby league’s fastest man (a sixteen year old Rhinos academy player it turns out!), this year’s tournament really built on the success of last year’s inaugural competition and I for one can’t wait until nines returns next August.
It was with high spirits then that I made my way down to London and Wembley early on Friday morning (although these had been slightly dampened by my hire car inexplicably being delivered to me completely broken the night before). Having arrived at the national stadium and again been awed by its beauty and sheer size, my colleague Helen and I walked up the famous tunnel and out to the pitch for the traditional Wembley walkabout. After speaking with the gathered rugby league journalists and TV crews, I made sure I captured the obligatory ‘Mark at Wembley’ photo to make my sports loving friends jealous!Eorl Crabtree seemed to be one of the main attractions for the media and was heard to tell an interviewer that he has had hair extensions put in since Semi Tadulala tried to pull his hair in a recent game. Elizabeth Hudson from the BBC entertained her Twitter followers with updates live from the stadium all morning and also pulled together a fantastic set of photographs some of which were taken by the players themselves.
Despite the Friday walkabout and my previous experiences of Carnegie Challenge Cup finals at the magnificent stadium, I still awoke on Saturday full of excitement about the day’s showpiece final and thankfully the weather seemed to agree with me! Our Friday night media dinner (or BBQ in this case) sadly suffered a more harsh fate as it was rudely interrupted by a fervent rain shower/storm and wasn’t quite the sun drenched, Pimms laden occasion we had dreamt of whilst planning the event!
My cup final day began (after a healthy full English) with a walk down Wembley Way with colleagues as we met up with Steve Prescott and his team after their amazing Carnegie Challenge which saw them cycle 700 miles across France, row in a dragon boat up the Thames, before running a half marathon to Wembley to deliver the match ball for the final. The challenge and his story is a truly inspiring one, and they received great support from both sets of fans.
By lunchtime the stadium was really filling up and I made my way inside to the press area to check on things. Having checked the menu and found out that a traditional sausage and mash lunch was being served I thought I would hand out some media packs instead. Now I’ve nothing against the humble sausage, but having indulged in a couple the night before (at the BBQ) and had a few as part of my hearty breakfast, my feelings towards the meaty treat were not entirely all favourable. However, I managed to stomach a couple and then turned my attentions to the main event, or rather the curtain raiser to the main event. The culmination of the Carnegie Champions Schools competition took place before the main final and after an entertaining eighty minutes, Outwood Grange were crowned this year’s champions.
The atmosphere of a Wembley Carnegie Challenge Cup final is something truly unique and I just love the way the crowd interacts with each other in a way not seen in football or indeed rugby union. The fans were treated this year by a performance of the traditional cup final song Abide with Me by Hayley Westenra who was accompanied by Leeds Met partners, The Black Dyke Band. Although I grew up in a rugby union obsessed town, this piece of rugby league tradition sent shivers down my spine and was a fitting prelude to the wall of sound that erupted shortly after as the two teams took to the field.
Once the national anthem had been observed, it was straight into the match and what an explosive start it was! With only 25 minutes gone, the score was 18-6 to Warrington and there had been three disallowed tries! Unfortunately for Huddersfield, they just couldn’t get themselves back into the game and the defence which they had prided themselves on all year seemed to disintegrate.
The second half of the game was slightly more subdued and it was no surprise that Warrington came out eventual winners 25-16 to win the Carnegie Challenge Cup for the first time in thirty five years. Jubilant scenes ensued at Wembley and Warrington’s Australian Michael Monaghan was deservedly chosen as the Lance Todd winner by the Rugby League Writers Association for his man of the match performance.
Huddersfield Giants coach Nathan Brown was very magnanimous in defeat in the post match press conference and praised the Warrington players, whilst acknowledging that his own team hadn’t played at their best. Tony Smith and Michael Monaghan then showed their delight at their cup final victory with Smith showing his admiration for all of his players and the effort they put in throughout this season’s Carnegie Challenge Cup.
For me, the day was almost over and it was amazing to see how quickly the stadium emptied and pack down began. Another year of rugby league cup action had come to its climax and all that remained was a long trip back up the M1, back to God’s own country.
Mark Dorey
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