Spirited Halifax put up fight

They still talk fondly in Halifax about the club’s 1987 Challenge Cup final win over St Helens at Wembley, the fifth and last time that rugby league’s oldest and most famous trophy resided in that corner of West Yorkshire.

Thirty-two years on from their 19-18 success in front of a huge crowd of 91,267, and now playing their rugby on a part-time basis in the second-tier Championship, Halifax dared to dream once again. Or at least they did for the opening 40 minutes.

At half-time, Simon Grix’s 50-1 outsiders, a team featuring a dairy farmer, a cake maker and an upholsterer, remarkably trailed just 8-2.

They defended like demons and made a mockery of the supposed yawning chasm between them and a Saints side who lead the Super League table by a staggering 10 points.

Could Halifax produce one of the greatest Challenge Cup upsets of all time by somehow overcoming Justin Holbrook’s star-studded side?

In truth it was never likely and so it proved but take nothing away from Grix’s side. They fought valiantly from start to finish in the driving rain but the class of St Helens, who booked their first Challenge Cup final appearance since 2008, predictably told during the second half.

The Halifax head coach, whose side’s only points came from an early penalty by former Saints centre Stephen Tyrer, said: “I couldn’t have asked for any more of the players.

“We talked about effort all week and we certainly didn’t get beat in that department, which was really pleasing.

“It might even have been a bit tighter had we handled the ball slightly better. Saints know they have been in a game and that’s the big thing for us.”

St Helens hooker James Roby scored the only try of the first half and Holbrook’s side eventually cut loose after the interval, adding further scores from Dom Peyroux, Jonny Lomax and Theo Fages.

Holbrook, who is out of contract at Saints at the end of the season as speculation over a return to the NRL intensifies, can now look forward to a Wembley date with Warrington next month.

The highly-regarded Australian said: “We weren’t great with the ball, especially in the first half, but the main thing today was getting the win.

“Full credit to our boys for getting the job done and also to Halifax because they put on a great game.”