Flashback - Giants v Saints - Challenge Cup 2014

You might not think it to look at their form so far in 2019 but it isn’t too long ago that Huddersfield Giants were a genuine contender for major honours. In 2013 Paul Anderson’s side topped the Super League table at the end of the regular season, falling short of a Grand Final place when they were beaten 30-22 at Warrington in the final eliminator. An earlier defeat to Wigan had seen the Giants surrender the home advantage that should surely have been there’s throughout the play-offs. In the end they went down to a Wire side helped by try doubles from both Simon Grix and Joel Monaghan.

That near miss had nevertheless been cause for optimism around the then Alfred McAlpine Stadium going into the 2014 campaign. Yet they made a pretty average start to the season. An opening day win over Wigan at the DW Stadium turned out to be a misleading guide to how things were going to go as the Giants went on to win just two of their first seven league outings going into the Challenge Cup fourth round tie at home to Saints. There were two draws in there (remember them?) against Hull KR and Leeds but all of Widnes, Catalans Dragons and Warrington got the better of the West Yorkshire side during that run.

The cup draw was especially tasty for the fact that Nathan Brown had left Huddersfield a year earlier to take over the coaching reins at Saints. Anderson had guided the Giants to that League Leaders Shield success in 2013 but it was Brown who had laid the foundations for it. The Giants had finished 10th under Peter Sharp in 2008 but they were transformed in a three-year spell under Brown. The former St George Dragon won 131 of his 208 games as Huddersfield boss, catching the eye of the Saints hierarchy who chose him as the permanent replacement for Royce Simmonds following an interim period in which Mike Rush and Keiron Cunningham took temporary charge.

Brown’s first season in charge of Saints had been a little hit and miss. It started with a humiliating 40-4 home larruping by none other than his former side. Saints recovered from that chastening experience enough to finish fifth but they suffered play-off heartbreak when a Danny McGuire drop-goal saw Leeds Rhinos squeak through 11-10 at Headingley. The Rhinos would go on to lose to Wigan in the final eliminator as the Warriors went on to prove again that it was not going to be Warrington’s year.

Having lost the services of Francis Meli and Tony Puletua Brown added Kyle Amor and Australian halfback Luke Walsh to his squad for 2014. In contrast to Huddersfield’s opening to the season Saints started like the proverbial burning home, winning all seven of their league games going into the Giants cup clash. Walsh had been a revelation, scheming, creating and generally being the most promising halfback we had seen in the red vee since the departure of Sean Long in 2009. Hopes were high that Saints could get back to another Grand Final having missed out in 2012 and 2013. But it was also important to have a good cup run. Saints had not been to the Challenge Cup final since 2008.

Walsh was involved in the opening score as Saints took the lead just nine minutes in at the Alfred McAlpine. The former Penrith man found Lance Hohaia on Saints’ left edge. It took two men to halt the Kiwi who had found a gap in the defensive line, but as the defenders converged on him Hohaia scooped the ball out to Adam Swift who dived over in the corner. Four minutes later Saints doubled their lead as Tommy Makinson went over in the opposite corner following a thrilling passage of play involving Walsh, Hohaia, Jordan Turner and James Roby.

Walsh couldn’t convert either score so Brown’s men had to settle for an 8-0 advantage. That was cut to four by Shaun Lunt’s try on 26 minutes, the hooker burrowing his way over through some ordinary Saints defence after a fine break on the right hand side by Aaron Murphy had set up the position. Just two and a half minutes of the first half remained when Giants’ talisman and then reigning Man Of Steel Danny Brough made his first telling contribution. The Scotland half aimed a searching cross-field bomb from right to left where Joe Wardle was waiting to gather and touch down. Brough’s conversion took the Giants in to the break with a 10-8 half-time lead.

The Giants stretched that lead 17 minutes into the second half when Scott Grix tore through the Saints’ left hand edge defence before finding Lunt in support. Lunt had the relatively easy task of touching down and when Brough converted the Giants had some breathing space at 16-8. With just over 20 minutes to go Saints needed to find something to keep their Wembley dreams alive.

Their prospects improved on 63 minutes when Giants back-rower and lifelong nuisance Brett Ferres was given his marching orders by referee Phil Bentham. Ferres wasn’t content with tackling Jonny Lomax close to the Giants try-line, instead preferring to present his own personal audition for a career in professional wrestling as he flipped the Saints fullback into a dangerous position. Duty of care to the opponent had left the building. Inevitably a fracas ensued with Saints players running in to explain exactly what they thought of Ferres’ challenge. When the dust settled on it Bentham produced the red card and Ferres sheepishly plodded off. The Giants had 16 minutes to hold out with only 12 men on the field.

Barely two minutes later the depleted Giants were breached again. Walsh shifted the ball out to Lomax who found Turner. His lightning quick pass found Makinson who helped himself to his second of the game to pull Saints to within four points at 16-12. Walsh converted to narrow the gap to two points and the contest was all square when he notched a penalty goal soon after. At this point the game became the kind of drop-goal-athon we only ever used to see in cup rugby before the geniuses at HQ decided to introduce Golden Point extra time into Super League. It wasn’t all that pretty, but it was dramatic as Brough had a number of attempts charged down before landing what he thought might be the winning one-pointer. However, Bentham and his touch judges ruled that Brough’s effort had been off target. Brough’s protests were as pointless as they were predictable. Referees rarely change their minds, especially if you happen to have a history of chunnering at them for every single decision they make.

With just a minute left some quick thinking from Roby set up the position to give Saints the chance to snatch the tie. Roby took a quick tap penalty and made 20 metres towards the Giants posts before they realised what was happening and brought him to the ground. Roby played the ball 20 metres out to Hohaia, who found Walsh just to the right of the posts. He set himself and connected perfectly to put Saints up 17-16 with only seconds to play. The arguments about Brough’s drop-goal that wasn’t raged for days after but it was Saints who progressed. Yet there would be no Wembley final for Brown’s men. In the next round they went to Headingley and were soundly beaten 32-12 by a Leeds Rhinos side featuring Zak Hardaker, Joel Moon, Kevin Sinfield, Jamie Peacock and McGuire.

Fortunately for Saints there was a happy ending to their 2014 story. Though they eventually lost their unbeaten record to Wigan at home on Good Friday they managed to do enough throughout the rest of the regular season to lift the League Leaders Shield. Ironically, they limped over the line in the end, losing 17-16 to Huddersfield in their final regular season game. The symmetry of that score-line would have pleased RL anoraks everywhere but more importantly Saints had hung on to top spot and had the platform they needed to reach Old Trafford. The play-offs brought a 41-0 drubbing of Castleford Tigers and a 30-12 win over Catalans Dragons before Ben Flower punched his way into rugby league notoriety and Saints made off with a glorious 14-6 Grand Final victory.

Yet the wait goes on for a Challenge Cup final appearance for Saints. Failure to beat the Giants this coming Sunday (May 12) will stretch their cup final drought to 12 years, a statistic that none of us thought possible when we were celebrating that 2008 win over Hull FC. Of the 17 on duty that day only Roby remains, although Long and Paul Wellens have moved into the coaching team under Justin Holbrook. Cunningham played that day too, the circumstances of his departure from Saints in 2017 already well documented. Yet if you think 12 years is bad, spare a thought for the Giants fans who have not seen their team lift the famous old trophy since 1953. Their opponents at Wembley that April day?

Only St Helens…….