Off to Wembley!
Great excitement tonight in the moulesy household (well, in 50% of it) as Hull Kingston Rovers won their Challenge Cup semi final to qualify for Wembley next month. Last time was 2015 when (un)fortunately we were on holiday so I missed the narrow (!) defeat to Leeds. But nothing else planned for this year so it's off to the capital on August 12th to see if The Robins can, at last, repeat their 1980 triumph over local rivals Hull FC (sorry to mention that again, mickey!) 
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Leigh v Hull KR. Who'd have thunk it at the start of the competition eh?
Be nice to see 2 different clubs from the "normal suspects" and a good one for the neutral. Caught the highlights from Leighs game yesterday. Boy, they defended like men possessed.
Enjoy your day out.
May the best team win it rather the other side lose it.
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Yes, the Leopards have certainly had a stunning season having just come up to super league this year - all those imports from down under have paid off! Two really good attacking teams, should be a great game. And good to see that the women's game will be played the same day. Just got to hope for no train/tube strikes now!
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That will certainly be a grand afternoon of sporting entertainment, with 3 games in total. Will you be staying at Wembley for all 3, or will the excitement be too great?😁
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Enjoy Wembley !
We stayed at the Club’s Wyatts Covert site for the FA Cup final earlier this year.
Trains from Denham station, straight to the stadium, or catch the bus from the site to Uxbridge, then use the tube to Wembley, easy, whatever.
Decorate your ‘van, nearly all were “done up” for the big match, when we were there, brilliant on site atmosphere, enjoy….🙂🏉🏈3 -
Intrigued to know what the link is between 'Caravanner from Wiltshire" and Hull KR, moulesy?
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Well, what a cracking match that was, I’m secretly pleased for the Robins although I’d never admit it!🤣 Should make an excellent final. Think Lam’s Leopards may just be my favoured team mind, M 🤞, Enjoyed both of the ladies semis as well.
One day FC, eh!
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We lived in Hull for the first 10 years of our married life! I taught at 3 schools which were then known as Leo Schultz High, Sydney Smith High and Bransholme (think they've all been renamed in the 40 years since!) Bransholme had 2 PE teachers, Ged Dunn and Steve Portz who played for HKR and HFC respectively. We had to choose between the two teams and since we were living in East Hull at the time, within walking distance of Craven Park we chose Rovers. That was in the days of Roger Millward, Len Casey and the great Clive Sullivan who played for both teams, a real legend in the city. Have followed the Robins from a distance through thick and (sometimes very) thin ever since.
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I met Clive Sullivan once. He was famous & loved/respected enough to have a major road named in his honour👍🏻⬇️
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A truly great man. Used to see him and his family going about their everyday activities in the city. Always smiling and up for a chat with anyone. First black man to captain any of our sporting National Teams. The whole city loved him.
And as of last week Wales recognised his achievements.
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Interesting Pliers🤔 Is it really easy and quick to get to Wembley? We quite fancy another England game, and after the shenanigans getting to Old Trafford last month, thought Wembley might be easier. Is Wyatts Covert outside the LEZ zone do you know?
(Sorry to digress, fingers crossed for Hull KR. My uncle who played a bit was a Rovers fan)
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Yes.
Wyatts Covert is outside the LEZ zone, for now, anyway. It’s a small, pleasant site, about a mile from Denham station. The station is on the High Wycombe to Marylebone line, and 3 trains an hour stop there, and at Wembley Stadium station. There’s a large carpark at Denham station, it’s well used by commuters to London during the week, but easily walkable.There’s a good bus service from Denham to Uxbridge, a few of them call at the campsite. From Uxbridge the tube to Wembley is easy and cheap.
Wyatts Covert was well overpriced when we were there, FA cup final weekend, dynamic pricing in action.😱.
But everything at Wembley is well overpriced, too.
Worth every penny. A 90,000 crowd, all singing “Abide with me” is really emotional and spine tingling. To be part of that is absolutely magical.An England game at Wembley? Go for it. ! 🙂
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Easy to get to Denham Ttda. As Pliers says its convenient for trains and buses.
Remember filling up at the petrol station in Denham and noticing Cilla Black standing next to Bobby whilst he filled their car. Think she lived locally at the time.
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Reminds me of travelling to Batley, who will also be playing at Wembley in the 1895 Cup Final on the same day as the Big one.
I had clients who were in the construction trade and they were also big Batley sponsors at the time. Used to travel over and have any meetings with them at Batleys ground. One of the directors used to play for them, and was built like the proverbial, before retiring but I dreaded anything going amiss in my handling of their affairs as I don't think he would have used the litigation approach for recompense.
Fortunately nothing ever did and he was a warm hearted man. 0 -
They should both be cracking finals, ask guess the 1895 game will be too. Enjoy your trip there.
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Thank you Pliers, and WN👍 Need to give it some thought. Our MH isn’t LEZ compliant, but it’s the hound that’s the worry. He might have to have a night with his Auntie😁
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Well it was a fabulous day out and a really fantastic game - a great advertisement for Rugby League with two attacking teams going all out for victory. A bit gutting to lose to an extra time golden goal (although having said that, it was exactly how we qualified for the final in the first place!) but at the end of the day, mistakes cost us dearly, especially missing touch from that extra time penalty. With another set of 6 from the half way line who knows what would have happened? But great to be shaking hands and chatting to supporters from both sides on the walk back to the tube station.
Slightly disappointed at how few supporters bothered to enter to watch the womens' match first which was also a very skillful contest.
And so moving to be singing Abide with Me with Lizzie Jones - she is so brave to turn up year after year to do the honours given her personal tragedy.
Truly a day to remember - and there's always next year!
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Glad to hear you had an almost great day M.
Also glad it took someone to win it.
Who, if they watched it live and are old enough, can ever forget Don Fox and Eddie Wareings commentary after "the poor lad" missed the winning conversion from right in front of the posts all those years ago? Wakefield Trinity has never been the same since.
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I do remember that Don Fox moment and they showed it as part of the pre match build up on the Wembley screens (in all it's grainy black & white glory!) Sitting directly behind me was a group of, shall we say, worse for wear, Wakefield supporters, probably too young to remember it themselves!
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I too remember it. That straight on toe poke style! Now compare that with the ritualised kicking performance of Mr J Wilkinson and those who followed. He was a good scrum half/prop, not sure what he played on that fateful afternoon mind!
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I too remember it, however I want sure if the position he played in this match so here is the definitive answer....or at least I think it is, according to Wikipedia!!
"Don Fox played right-prop, i.e. number 10, and scored 2-conversions in Wakefield Trinity's 10–11 defeat by Leeds in the 1967–68 Challenge Cup "Watersplash" Final during the 1967–68 season at Wembley Stadium, London on Saturday 11 May 1968, in front of a crowd of 87,100.[10] The match was played on a waterlogged pitch and the score was 11–7 to Leeds when Ken Hirst scored a try under the posts for Wakefield Trinity with the final play of the game. Tries were worth three points at that time, making the score 11–10, but a simple 2-point conversion was all that was needed to give Wakefield an unassailable one-point lead, and win the game. Wakefield Trinity fans were jubilant as the conversion from in front of the posts is by far the easiest kick in rugby league. Fox had already scored two more difficult conversions in the game, and he was such a prolific kicker that it realistically should have presented no problem. However, the waterlogged state of the pitch made this a more difficult proposition, and Fox lost his footing and sliced the ball wide of the posts. The final whistle was blown immediately afterwards, giving Leeds a dramatic one-point victory. Commentator Eddie Waring said of Fox, 'He's a poor lad', a remark which became a widely quoted piece of commentary.[11] Fox had already been chosen to win the Lance Todd Trophy for his performance in the match, but he was disconsolate and trudged off the pitch. Interviewed by David Coleman on television later, he was asked if the trophy was any consolation and replied "not really, no".[12] The boots he was wearing during the game are now on display at Wakefield Museum."
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https://youtu.be/eer30sfqgkk