Hello and welcome back to the 1990s Sports Blog. This week sees the Super League teams enter the Challenge Cup so for this post we're going back to 1998 and the time Sheffield Eagles stunned the mighty Wigan to take the trophy in Rugby League's biggest underdog story.
When you think of Rugby League, there's a good chance you think of Wigan and the Challenge Cup. The exploits of the Central Park club became staple viewing on the BBC's flagship sports programme Grandstand with the likes of Martin Offiah, Ellery Hanley, Shaun Edwards, Brett Kenny and Jason Robinson lit up television screens across the country as they swept all before them to win an unprecedented eight Challenge Cup finals in a row between 1988 and 1995.
After a barren couple of years since the beginning of the Super League era, by the time of the 1998 final Wigan were on course for the double as they led the way in the league and defeated Keighley, Dewsbury and arch-rivals St. Helens before booking their place in the final with a resounding 38-8 win over London in Huddersfield.
Martin Offiah's famous try in the 1995 Challenge Cup final vs Leeds helped Wigan to their eighth consecutive final victory
By contrast, Sheffield Eagles had only been in existence for fourteen years when they eventually made the trip to Wembley for the cup final. Frustrated at missing out on several coaching jobs, Huddersfield hooker Gary Hetherington formed his own club and joined Doncaster as a South Yorkshire presence in the 13-a-side game. Despite battling through financial difficulties during the first decade of the club's history and relegation back to the second division, The Eagles recovered and by the time of the sport's switch to summer were well established as a top-flight outfit. Their run to the final in 1998 began with a 66-11 away win over Leigh and took in victories over amateur side Egremont Rangers and fellow Super League outfit Castleford Tigers before they edged a tight semi-final with Salford City Reds 22-18.
By the time of their 1998 Challenge Cup final, Sheffield Eagles were firmly established in the top division of Rugby League and had participated in Super League's inaugural match in March 1996
On a bright, sunny May day in North London, The Eagles drew comparisons with Wimbledon's famous FA Cup win 10 years previously by stunning a Wigan side packed with international talent to take the trophy for the first and only time in their short history.
England winger Nick Pinkney opened the scoring after just five minutes when he collected a high kick in the corner and fellow winger Matt Crowther extended Sheffield's lead when he capitalised on some poor Wigan defending to cross in the opposite corner with just over ten minutes of the first period remaining. Despite Wigan getting on the board with a penalty, eventual man-of-the-match Mark Aston sent over a drop goal to ensure Sheffield went in at half-time 11-2 ahead.
Two goals and a drop goal from Mark Aston earned the Sheffield half-back the Lance Todd Trophy as man-of-the-match
Ten minutes into the second half, Sheffield further extended their lead when Darren Turner somehow managed to breach a stern line of Wigan defence and sneak the ball over the line from close range, Aston added the extras to put clear daylight between the two sides and put Sheffield into a commanding 17-2 lead.
Australian winger Mark Bell crossed with just over 20 minutes remaining to breathe new life into Wigan and Sheffield fans can be forgiven for their hearts being in their mouths when Jason Robinson steamed over the line after collecting the loose ball. Thankfully for The Eagles referee Stuart Cummings brought the play back for a knock-on against Henry Paul and the Yorkshire side were able to hold on to write their names into Rugby League's history books with arguably the biggest final upset in the long, storied history of the Challenge Cup.
While Wigan were able to regroup and win the league title in Super League's inaugural Grand Final at the end of the season, Sheffield went through a tough period after they merged with Huddersfield Giants at the end of the 1999 season before reforming in their own right under the stewardship of Mark Aston. The club enjoyed renewed success in the 2010s winning the second-tier Championship in 2012 and 2013 before returning to Wembley in 2019 to defeat Widnes in the first (and to date only) 1895 Cup final. Sheffield's coach on the day, John Kear even repeated the giant-killing feat at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium when he masterminded Hull FC's 25-24 win over the World Champion Leeds Rhinos side.
Rugby League may never see a giant-killing feat like this ever again but the legend of the 1998 Sheffield Eagles lives on.
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