Semi-Final: Wigan v Hull FC Rugby League: Challenge Cup


Semi-Final: Wigan v Hull FC

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Hello and welcome to Doncaster for the first of this weekend's

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Ladbrokes Challenge Cup semifinals. Hull FC against Wigan Warriors. Both

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clubs with plenty of history in this great competition, and if tonight is

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anything like the final of 1985 we are in for a treat. This is rugby

:00:56.:01:07.

league at its very best. He has 80 11 situation. He is in. -- a two on

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one situation. Sidestep. That was a superb try. He has got the strength,

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he's got the speed. That was a tremendously well worked try. He can

:01:30.:01:39.

make it himself if he goes. He is disgruntled about that tackle! He

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has got the ball, he has got away! And he is in. Is he in? Yes, he is!

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Is this going to be a grandstand finish? That is a tremendous try.

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There is the hooter. What a game, this has been an incredible match,

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28-24. Here we go, here we go, here we go!

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Well, if tonight's game is anything like that we are in for a cracker,

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hopefully the songs will be a bit better, though. Hull finished the

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regular Super League season top of the pile, they have won the

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Challenge Cup three times but never at Wembley so they will look to get

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there this year and put it right. Wigan have lifted the trophy a

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record 19 times which is why they are slight favourites tonight

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despite losing their last two games. Whatever happens, though, it's going

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to be tight. Well, the drizzle is starting to fall here at the

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Keepmoat Stadium but hopefully it won't dampen the atmosphere. Both

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sets of fans already here and in good voice and we expect there to be

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slightly more fans of Hull FC van Wigan this evening. -- than Wigan.

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With me three men with plenty of Challenge Cup experience, Hull KR

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director of rugby Jamie Peacock, Saint Helens' Joe Wilkin, and Brian

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Noble. I'm not going anywhere. We want you to stay with us all the

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way. That was your Joe, I will give you full credit. Are you looking

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forward to this? Yes, can't wait, full stretch Hull side against Wigan

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side coming off the back of two defeats but they are very athletic

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and they should be a classic. You can hear the noise already, the Hull

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fans warming up, they are not the favourites for this, Wigan are. When

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you look at form and the table, this could surprise people? You would

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take Hull any day of the week, when you look at the experience in their

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ranks, and it is hard for this baby Wigan team that I've been looking

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out, all of those fresh faces, 11th youngsters in their ranks, it is

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surprisingly our favourites and I think Hull, you should take that

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with a pinch of salt. Teams change over the course of the season and

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you will have a different results at different times but he'll have you

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found hardest to play against? They are both challenging and they bring

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something different which is why tonight is interesting, Hull bring

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their power and experience, they have highlighted the experience, in

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that area and they have recruited well. Wigan bring strength and

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tenacity, different styles and different sides. Will it make a

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difference, it may feel like a home game for Hull? They have great

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support tonight and that could play a part and this will be a fantastic

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game in prospect. Take a look at the Super League table, Hull finished

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top before we split into the super eight and middle age. Did Wigan ease

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off? They lost their last two, knowing they would be in the top

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four or is that not fair? They were playing Saints in the Derby and that

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is almost as important as the semifinal. They would have liked to

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finish top and be coming into this off the back of a win but losing a

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derby gives you extra motivation to nail the semifinal. Hull FC top of

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the table after 23 games, one of the main reasons for that, Gareth Ellis,

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who is in the form of his life. Gareth, it's been quite a season,

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does it feel like this season is Hull's time, when perhaps there were

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previously cranks? What we are achieving this year and what we have

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done so far, where I thought we would be three or four years ago,

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even before a ball was kicked there was the sense that with the

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recruitment that we put in place and the players that have been here a

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while, there are improvements and stepping up to the plate, there was

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always potential for something special and we have certainly given

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ourselves an opportunity to do that this year. Gareth Ellis, back row.

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You have a lot of fun, just watching you train, it is like a big bunch of

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mates playing rugby. Rugby league is a very working-class sport played by

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working-class people and that is a good thing, even at 305I'm still

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sort of working alongside 18 and 19-year-olds. -- even at 35, I'm

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still. You have to go home to your kids and be sensible. It is a great

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environment to be working in. You are the old man staying home when

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the youngsters are going out for a drink. I can't handle it any more,

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it is certainly different, you appreciate the game much more. I

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know that the end is not far away so to be able to play with a smile on

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my face is important. When you have time to think, with your feet up and

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your slippers and pipe, do you think, this could be my last big

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opportunity to win something? Without a doubt, these opportunities

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don't come very often. For all I have played I have not actually won

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much, so we are now fighting for every piece of silverware and this

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is certainly an opportunity I would not like to miss. Have you allowed

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yourself to contemplate an afternoon at Wembley or even walking up the

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steps to pick up the trophy? I think about it all the time to be honest!

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I have imagined it in my head and it's something that I really want to

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do. I lost two Challenge Cup 's, want to Hull and want to Wigan with

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Hull, so it is something I would like to be able to do. Like I said,

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these opportunities don't come often and this could be the one.

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George Riley putting the questions to Gareth Ellis and Ellis will be

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wearing the player microphones so we are grateful to him for doing that

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and we will hear some interesting noises over the course of the 80

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minutes, I would have bought. You were both nodding along to the

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interview, particularly Jamie in relation to the older you get the

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more you try to take enjoyment out of it? That's right, you can see the

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twinkle in his eyes, he is an outstanding person and a player, but

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your desire to win and succeed when you get to the final couple of years

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of your career is massive because you realise what a fantastic job you

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have had and this could be it, the door is closing and you want to make

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the most of it and get to finals and win. Make no mistake, he is the

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fulcrum of the team, the life and soul, I have seen them play several

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times and he is an outstanding leader, they are different when he

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plays. He is one of the best players they have had for a long time. Do

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you take extra responsibility as an older player? Yes, you have been out

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there in the wars and he knows how to play well, and he is one of those

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players, there are not many about that inspire everyone around them

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and make everyone play better because of the standards he expects.

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Take us through the Hull team including Gareth Ellis. Well, it's a

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really exciting back three, the leading Super League try scorer at

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the back with Steven Michaels and the giant Talanoa.

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Tuimavave has been given the stand-off jumper. Alongside the king

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of picking Marc Sneyd. And it's an all British firebrand front row.

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Hull born and bred Scott Taylor, recently returning from Wigan. All

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international back row, world-class back row, Sika Manu, the captain of

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Samoa. Gareth Ellis is a long-time international. Speed and power

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coming off the bench or the Hull team with Jordan Thompson and Chris

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Green. -- for the whole Local boy, Danny Washbrook, the

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utility player. They are going through quite a vigorous part of the

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warm up behind me which is amusing because Jon Wilkin is having to keep

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up with them and try not to get clattered. Thanks for that, I was

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nearly taken out several times. Hull highlighted that they needed

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experience, and a couple of years ago they made the decision to sign

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Gareth Ellis. So much experience, world-class back rower and he forms

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an integral part of the team and their culture and their desire to

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win. We also have big men alongside, Frank Pritchard, a powerful man

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coming off the bench, that is experienced that they have brought

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in, 600 games of experience. Especially important is Danny

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Houghton, feeding in balls here. Can we grab a quick word? A big season

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for Hull so far? It is a lot of hard work what these boys are doing in

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the middle. Hopefully that will get us over the line. All the best, have

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a great night. Let's focus a bit more on Danny Houghton. How he

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marshals them around the field. He is an outstanding player, he

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captains the side and he is in and around the middle, so dynamic, he

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has added to his game this year. Because of the size of the pack he

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has always been able to do this but he is doing it more. He sees a hole

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and it becomes a big hole. They will scrape around the ruck. He has added

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kicking to his game, that is great vision. Playing great football, he

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puts Fonua through this hole. Desperate defence. That is again

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great football from Danny Houghton. He is the fulcrum, the heartbeat of

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the team. And he is prepared to back up and support his players as well.

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Any decent number nine will do that, running the middle track. You have

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to anticipate the brakes. Scott Taylor has been a monster all year,

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making these breaks. That was a superb finish. They have been

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exceptional this year and he has been a great tackle, and we saw with

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his dummy and his backing up, he has an all-round game at the moment.

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Hull have added attack to their game, their defensive game has been

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a bit longer although you suffered against it as Hull KR. They have

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been a good side for these past two seasons. It's going to be really

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important because it is greasy tonight, you need to have a good

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kick chase. They stopped him dead. This is the most important. It

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changes the momentum of the game by driving a player into touch. They

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complete the tackle and flip the game on its head. They just have to

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communicate, they have it on a string, they know who they have the

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potential to pass to out the back and Kirk Yeaman makes a great play,

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he understands the play and he gets one-on-one, he knows the defender is

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his, and that can only happen with the kind of communication they have

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here. It is not fluke, that is ours and ours on the training ground.

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That was their focus last season and they have brought that habit into

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this year, look at the way they are committed together, nobody pushing

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up, that is great commitment. They are outnumbered but look at their

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attitude. We spoke about leadership and that comes through the integral

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characters in your team, always doing the right thing, and they have

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a number of guys, Minichiello is an unsung hero. Always doing the right

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things defensively. Communication is key, talking to the players beside

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you. They have that right across the line and they talk really well. On

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the communication, how many voices do you need in a lot of those plays?

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Is it just about talking to the men either side? Ideally you want

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everyone to be talking, but a couple next to each other, that becomes

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habit, you know that if this guy is there, that guy is here, you can

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defend this now. The Smalltalk is fascinating, Smalltalk is our good

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defenders, and without knowing they have a lot of small talk is in the

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game and it makes for great defensive side. -- small talkers. A

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lot of bookmakers are predicting a Wigan- Warrington final, you must be

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enjoying that chat! Forshaw, yes, we have no input to any of that. The

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only thing we can influence is the game and we have gone about it

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really well this week. We want to see it coming to fruition. We want

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to put in a good performance today because we are playing a decent

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Wigan side. You are coming into the semifinal on the back of two losses,

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are you concerned about your form? We weren't at our best last week

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against Leeds but the defence was quite good. It was just a few

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individual errors. We know we have a good chance. Injured against

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Salford, how close was heated missing out? He passed all of the

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fitness tests yesterday, and with the magnitude of the game, a little

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bit extra, the last thing we want is leaving the field early. He is good

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to go and so is everyone else and we are looking forward to this, it is

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that time of year when you get over your injuries slightly quicker than

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normal, that's for sure. You made a big thing about being underdogs, is

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that a bit of Mourinho mind games? I wish it was but I have seven players

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missing, I only have 18 players in the squad, so if that is not a sign

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we are under the pump I don't know what is. We will be fighting like

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hell to make sure we get this win and hopefully get the prize at the

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end. A big City club, underachievers some people say, what has changed

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this season? I do think anyone thing has changed, we did not have a heap

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of areas where we were deficient, we went about improving and I think we

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have done that and today it has been successful. This could have been the

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final? It would have been great, it would, but Hull are a fantastic club

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and their supporters are great and we will be looking to challenge them

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tonight. Shaun Wane mentions he has lots of players missing but here are

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the ones that he does have. They certainly have enough in attack with

:17:59.:18:02.

Sam Tomkins at the back, and youngster Lewis Tierney and Dominic

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Manfredi built like a back row. NRL bound Dan Sarginson partners local

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boy Oliver Gildart. Last year's starting internationals for England,

:18:16.:18:18.

Williams and Smith with a huge job on their hands tonight. Local boys,

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the giant Ryan Sutton and local Sam Powell partnering the Welshman

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Flower. Being bland Captain Sean O'Loughlin and England international

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John Bateman. -- the England captain. A giant bench with Lee

:18:37.:18:41.

Mossop and six foot five Joe Bretherton sitting down at the

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start. Coming off the bench there is even more size with Dominic Crosby

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and Taulima Tautai Samoa. Robbie Hunter Paul will take us through the

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game plan. Thank you very much. The great thing about Wigan in the

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Challenge Cup is that it goes hand-in-hand with success, these

:19:05.:19:09.

guys bring a culture of winning. There is no one better to express

:19:10.:19:12.

that than this man here. Sean O'Loughlin. You will see them set up

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in the middle of the park and they will split the field in two,

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O'Loughlin will take the left-hand side and he will carry that ball

:19:21.:19:24.

strongly, and you have to deal with him. One of my favourite players in

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the Super League right now, Bateman. He is not the biggest forward in

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rugby league but he has dense muscle and he's extremely explosive and he

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is definitely one-to-one chat. Obviously when they split the field

:19:39.:19:45.

into, you're looking at that man, Sam Tomkins, he has his knee

:19:46.:19:47.

strapped at the moment but keep an eye on him because when he goes with

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the ball that is generally where he will go, and the man that is tasked

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with living it together is this man. I will see if I can get a word with

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him. Matty Smith. Let's see if we can just get in to have a word. I

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don't want to get in between him and that tackle! Can I have a quick

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word? How other preparations this weekend? This is the semifinal, the

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winner goes to Wembley and the boys are pumped and ready to go. Best of

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luck. Thanks for talking to us. Let's focus on the players that are

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missing, there are a variety of reasons, but two that are missing,

:20:30.:20:34.

Jon Wilkin, do they only have themselves to blame? Disciplinary

:20:35.:20:39.

problems, so they should not be playing. Banned for two games for

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touching the rest when he shouldn't have. You are not allowed to touch

:20:44.:20:49.

the officials. It is innocuous but the minute he does it he knows there

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will be a judicial problem. And this one was eight physical thing in the

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heat of the Derby, these things happen. -- a physical thing. And

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they punch on my mate Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook. He does not

:21:09.:21:13.

even flinch! Is he the pick of the players? I think so. Charnley is a

:21:14.:21:19.

very safe pair of hands and Wigan will need that, they will need to

:21:20.:21:24.

complete high today if they are to win. Let's see how influential he

:21:25.:21:29.

will be. He is hugely influential and he has to be the man to make a

:21:30.:21:37.

line break. He has the speed. I can't reinforce enough for the

:21:38.:21:41.

viewers how strong he is in the hits, when his legs are pumping he

:21:42.:21:45.

is like a front row in his mentality, he takes people on and he

:21:46.:21:50.

is gone. Very, very strong, and he is hard to stop. He is a superb

:21:51.:21:56.

player. As we see here, there two sides to being a half-backs, running

:21:57.:22:01.

and introducing other people. If his weakness was anywhere it is his

:22:02.:22:05.

passing game. You highlight his running threat and you think you can

:22:06.:22:10.

deal with the passing game but this shows his development. His

:22:11.:22:14.

development as a player and his kicking has developed which we don't

:22:15.:22:17.

see here, it makes him more of a running threat. He played for

:22:18.:22:22.

England last year and he did not look out of place against the Kiwis.

:22:23.:22:26.

I always prefer half-backs who will take the ball to the wine and take

:22:27.:22:29.

on the big men in the middle. One of my favourite players to watch. What

:22:30.:22:33.

do you make of Wigan coming into this and why have they stumbled

:22:34.:22:37.

against Leeds and Saints who inflicted defeats on them? The Derby

:22:38.:22:43.

can go either way. But it was a heavy defeat. Yes, but they have

:22:44.:22:48.

eight players out and it's easy to ignore that but you can't, Farrell

:22:49.:22:53.

is out and Tomkins is out who is an experienced player. They have a lot

:22:54.:22:59.

of their own product out there. They dominate with the systems they play

:23:00.:23:03.

and they have the responsibility of experience. When we spoke about Hull

:23:04.:23:08.

and their experience, do we think about Wigan as having experienced

:23:09.:23:11.

because of their name but when you delve a bit deeper they do have a

:23:12.:23:21.

lot of young players. They have a developed an experienced culture

:23:22.:23:24.

which produces competitive athletes, there is no doubt, Wigan are

:23:25.:23:28.

fantastic. The reason they have been less effective in the last couple of

:23:29.:23:31.

weeks is that they met sides who wanted to be physical against them

:23:32.:23:35.

and they made a lot more errors than usual. Let's talk about one of their

:23:36.:23:39.

home-grown players, Sam Tomkins did the double with Wigan in 2013 in the

:23:40.:23:44.

Grand Final of the Challenge Cup and then he went down under to the NRL

:23:45.:23:48.

where he suffered a serious injury and he's now back to fitness and he

:23:49.:23:50.

has been talking to Dave will This is a good run from Sam Tomkins.

:23:51.:24:03.

Wigan's number one. Sam Tomkins, mercurial genius! Sam Tomkins! He

:24:04.:24:12.

has done it. We want that trophy back. First of all, how nice is it

:24:13.:24:19.

to be home again? I'm really enjoying being back at Wigan. Two

:24:20.:24:24.

years away was long enough and I've come back to a great club and people

:24:25.:24:27.

dream of having their debut for Wigan Warriors and I've been lucky

:24:28.:24:33.

enough to have two. How much of a struggle has the injury being? It

:24:34.:24:37.

has been frustrating, when I signed to come back I never thought it

:24:38.:24:45.

would take so long to come back. I'm -- I snapped a ligament in my knee

:24:46.:24:50.

against Parramatta. I was not given the best medical advice when I was

:24:51.:24:54.

there and as soon as I got back, I was taken to the scans and it was

:24:55.:24:57.

apparent I needed to have an operation. Taking time out to have a

:24:58.:25:04.

seven-month operation in the off-season. The birth of your little

:25:05.:25:09.

boy, Rex, has taken your mind off it. Yes, that was a life changer. He

:25:10.:25:14.

came along at the end of December when I was on crutches and I was

:25:15.:25:18.

trying to carry this newborn baby while I was on crutches in the

:25:19.:25:22.

hospital, and it was a hectic time but it was brilliant. It is the best

:25:23.:25:25.

thing that has ever happened to me by far. As he had a ball in his hand

:25:26.:25:31.

yet? Yes, in the garden the other day, he is trying to walk a bit now.

:25:32.:25:36.

He hasn't picked it up yet, just kicking it, so he might be a

:25:37.:25:41.

footballer. Tomkins shakes off the attempted tackle. They deserve their

:25:42.:25:46.

place in the semifinal. What about this Wigan team? The one you left

:25:47.:25:52.

was a more concrete team but they have not won anything since you have

:25:53.:25:57.

been away? To have two years without any silverware is not great, winning

:25:58.:26:05.

the double in 2013. As a squad we are hungry and very young as well.

:26:06.:26:11.

We have people like George Williams, Oliver Gildart, Tierney, Sutton,

:26:12.:26:15.

they are young kids. They are really pushing. The boys have been involved

:26:16.:26:19.

in two Grand Finals and come away with nothing in the past two years.

:26:20.:26:22.

They have been starved of silverware. We need it back.

:26:23.:26:29.

Jamie Peacock is maybe not the Sam Tomkins that went, and came back, do

:26:30.:26:40.

you think he will take time to recover even when he is fit?

:26:41.:26:43.

Certainly, a difficult knee injury can take three or four months before

:26:44.:26:48.

you can be fully back, but there are other issues. Sam is at his best

:26:49.:26:55.

when he is prepared to get his body in situations where he will come off

:26:56.:27:00.

second best physically. The defence in the leagues have adapted to his

:27:01.:27:03.

game and he needs to add a few more skills to his bow. As a young fella

:27:04.:27:08.

he was competitive and when he went to the NRL he had that element of

:27:09.:27:11.

risk in his game and recklessness if you like, to take on the line and do

:27:12.:27:17.

things no one else did and he was always a threat. Has that been

:27:18.:27:21.

tarnished by the way he is playing now? Maybe you lose that element of

:27:22.:27:26.

risk when you get older but also when you have had a serious injury

:27:27.:27:31.

it will be in the back of your mind? His athletic ability got him a long

:27:32.:27:35.

way, when you have been dependent upon that you have to develop other

:27:36.:27:40.

sides because ageing athletes will lose that ability and he has had a

:27:41.:27:44.

bad injury and it will take him some time. He is self-aware and smart

:27:45.:27:49.

enough to be able to do that. To say, I need to get better in certain

:27:50.:27:54.

areas if I want to keep my career as stellar as it has been. Talking

:27:55.:27:58.

about the game as a whole, before we go to the commentary team, you

:27:59.:28:01.

whispered that this would be a bruising encounter but for me most

:28:02.:28:05.

of them are! This will be on the next level. Wigan have four props on

:28:06.:28:11.

the bench and I think this will be physically carnage for the first 20

:28:12.:28:15.

minutes and I can't wait! I absolutely agree. Wigan, St Helens

:28:16.:28:21.

gave it to Wigan in the Derby in the middle, so I think Shaun Wane will

:28:22.:28:25.

have them pumped up to the max, and that is why the bench looks like

:28:26.:28:30.

that. But this is a massive team. It is built to be a stronger. Physical

:28:31.:28:36.

carnage and a stronger the game, that is on the way over the next 80

:28:37.:28:41.

minutes, the first Challenge Cup semifinal of the weekend here on the

:28:42.:28:46.

BBC, Wigan against Hull. Ryan Noble is on his way to join the commentary

:28:47.:28:51.

team, John Kear and Dave Woods. COMMENTATOR: Two of the game's

:28:52.:28:57.

heavyweights physically and metaphorically and there is a great

:28:58.:29:00.

noise inside the Keepmoat Stadium as well. Plenty of history shared by

:29:01.:29:05.

these two but it's all about the here and now. Keeping your nerve on

:29:06.:29:13.

the second biggest stage. In order to reach the most glamorous occasion

:29:14.:29:18.

of them all, the Challenge Cup final, just over a month away. Hull

:29:19.:29:26.

fans are here in huge numbers, Wigan fans less so. I think the travel

:29:27.:29:30.

across here has proved mightily difficult for a lot of them. Those

:29:31.:29:35.

who are here will be making 20 of noise will stop or at least they

:29:36.:29:41.

hope so. -- will be making plenty of noise. Sam Tomkins making his first

:29:42.:29:48.

Challenge Cup semifinal for a couple of years and Sean O'Loughlin is

:29:49.:29:50.

looking for yet another Challenge Cup vinyl appearance -- final

:29:51.:30:00.

appearance. And what about this mixture of local talent, imported

:30:01.:30:06.

pedigree, really have packed a punch this year in Super League. They and

:30:07.:30:12.

Wigan and Warrington tomorrow, still potential treble winners this year.

:30:13.:30:20.

This is the way they are lining up. Wigan first of all, the new signing

:30:21.:30:30.

and the winger Josh Charnley, both suspended. Tout

:30:31.:31:01.

That is a terrific pack of forwards. Plenty to come off the pitch as well

:31:02.:31:05.

nonetheless of which Frank Pritchard, who is up for nothing, is

:31:06.:31:15.

known as Cranky Frank. Lee Radford, born and bred, a proud

:31:16.:31:25.

coach in his home club. Thaler, the referee today taking

:31:26.:31:30.

charge. They peer through the South

:31:31.:31:39.

Yorkshire skies and with a little imagination you can just about see a

:31:40.:31:41.

glimpse of the Wembley sunshine. This will be a torrid 80 minutes to

:31:42.:31:45.

negotiate before these two sides can book their place in a Ladbrokes

:31:46.:31:49.

Challenge Cup final. What do we expect here? We expect

:31:50.:31:56.

Hull FC, outstanding physically w the guys in the middle taking them

:31:57.:32:00.

forward. They have clever half-backs behind them. I expect a heck of a

:32:01.:32:09.

contest from the Warriors as well. They will be equally as determined.

:32:10.:32:21.

That man who has kicked the ball has had an outstanding season with

:32:22.:32:24.

kicking the ball. This team will not be afraid of being in this Wigan

:32:25.:32:29.

team where they are now and keeping them here. This cherry and white

:32:30.:32:31.

team will have a huge crack. We expect face-to-face brutality.

:32:32.:32:42.

We have seen some confident touches by Hull in that opening set. What

:32:43.:32:46.

about Wigan here? They move deep inside their own half. We saw a

:32:47.:32:54.

great kick as well from Sneyd. This is tackled for and they have got out

:32:55.:33:01.

of their own 20 metres the Warriors. Hull doing their work defensively.

:33:02.:33:07.

Trying to extra kat his side from deep territory, with the Welsh

:33:08.:33:11.

National, back to Matty Smith, who is behind the 40-metre line.

:33:12.:33:18.

Here comes Michaels to return. A lot of this game, Dave, and for our

:33:19.:33:25.

viewers watching it will be about the back three and the full-back...

:33:26.:33:38.

Just on that angle. A terrific break from Tuimavave. This is a great

:33:39.:33:41.

start by Hull. They are looking confident at the early stages.

:33:42.:33:48.

Towards Fonua. In dummy half. It is taken here by Manu. Ellis trying to

:33:49.:33:56.

urge himself through that Wigan defence.

:33:57.:34:01.

Houghton goes right. Here comes Fonua. The Hull

:34:02.:34:10.

supporters are in terrific voice at the moment, as well they might B

:34:11.:34:16.

Sneyd will hang one up. The long arms of his will collect it safely

:34:17.:34:23.

and Wigan have it back again. What a magnificent catch from Sarginson.

:34:24.:34:28.

Carried on by this Hull FC side. This is 110 miles per hour.

:34:29.:34:33.

Just like Lee Road ford, a very proud and son... : Wigan born and

:34:34.:34:46.

bred. Wigan get a penalty. The rules of

:34:47.:34:50.

rugby league still apply to this game. You will not want to give away

:34:51.:34:56.

too many penalties when you are in the ascendancy physically.

:34:57.:35:09.

It with us a real let up for the Wigan Warriors.

:35:10.:35:13.

Two of the best packs in the game at the moment.

:35:14.:35:34.

I love it when the referee shouts, "Movement." The last thing you want

:35:35.:35:37.

to do when you have been belted that hard is move.

:35:38.:35:44.

John Bateman came in. He's a fine young athlete as well. Out it comes

:35:45.:35:57.

towards Willie Isa. A couple of tackles to go. Thompson

:35:58.:36:03.

with a lovely kick here. Shaul has to do some work. A

:36:04.:36:10.

terrific kick from Joel Tomkins. It has put Hull under pressure. All

:36:11.:36:15.

started with that penalty which gifted some field position. They

:36:16.:36:20.

asked questions during the set. A greasy surface thanked just allowed

:36:21.:36:27.

them to shepherd Shaul, for a repeat set. Clever play from the Warriors.

:36:28.:36:32.

A great kick from Tomkins. So here comes the drop and all

:36:33.:36:37.

things being equal, Wigan should have possession back again. It is a

:36:38.:36:44.

little fiddly from Tiernan-Locke's point of view. -- Tierney's point of

:36:45.:36:48.

view. Sutton... Sutton is very much up

:36:49.:36:58.

front today. I think the coach sees a victory in and around the middle

:36:59.:37:02.

there. He has four big front rowers on the bench. Everybody can go for

:37:03.:37:06.

broke in every stint they've got. He needs to manage his interchange very

:37:07.:37:11.

well. It is Smith who puts it back to Tiernan-Locke. And Wilson keeps

:37:12.:37:17.

ahold of it. This kick is over couped. Too many pre-match Weetabixs

:37:18.:37:27.

there. A little bit rushed because of the

:37:28.:37:33.

quality of his catch. Because Tomkins is great in field position

:37:34.:37:37.

and pressure, that has just let Hull off the hook, exactly as the penalty

:37:38.:37:43.

did earlier to the Wigan Warriors. You can feel the pressure. Each kick

:37:44.:37:48.

matters so much. They both have Wembley tradition. One wanted, one

:37:49.:37:53.

not wanted. Wigan 19 times Challenge Cup winners, which is a record.

:37:54.:37:58.

And Hull have had their moments in the sunshine. Three times winners.

:37:59.:38:03.

The last of those under the man on my right-hand side, that was in

:38:04.:38:08.

2005. In Cardiff. Hull fans are throwing things at the telly. Never

:38:09.:38:15.

at Wembley. Will this be the year they rewrite that in history? We

:38:16.:38:20.

shall see. Sneyd... That measured left foot into the corner and again

:38:21.:38:26.

that is just a very inteljept kick. This is going to be so important,

:38:27.:38:31.

the end of sets for both teams. We have seen great exacts with --

:38:32.:38:38.

examples with Tomkins. Pops the ball into the corner and just challenges

:38:39.:38:43.

Wigan. If you are going to score, fellas, you have 90 metres to do it.

:38:44.:38:49.

Something for our fewers is the Hull team are littered with Southsea

:38:50.:38:53.

islanders, Samoans and they burn a lot of energy quickly when they make

:38:54.:39:01.

breaks. That will allow them to keep their powerful prowess.

:39:02.:39:08.

Powell standing in that forwards position at the back of that pack.

:39:09.:39:13.

Tomkins... Not too much going on to his right-hand side, so he takes it

:39:14.:39:18.

in himself. It is wrestled, under control by those two Hull defenders.

:39:19.:39:31.

Bateman - some internal disciplinary reasons. That ball is lost and the

:39:32.:39:37.

referee says, knocked on. So, Hull get a victory here, a small victory.

:39:38.:39:43.

Well, they are staring each other down, aren't they. They are saying

:39:44.:39:46.

you bring it out from your own line. Are you going to make the error?

:39:47.:39:51.

Sarginson came one the error and that has given Hull a good field

:39:52.:39:57.

position. The first time Hull is starting a set inside the Wigan

:39:58.:40:00.

half. He was as tough as old boots, Lee

:40:01.:40:06.

Radford. Both coaches fit that profile when they were playing.

:40:07.:40:11.

You wouldn't want to cross either of them, really.

:40:12.:40:16.

Watts is held up. Cannot get the ball away. He and Taylor have had

:40:17.:40:22.

outstanding seasons in the front row for Hull this year. His initials, MF

:40:23.:40:34.

are on his front teeth, solid gold on his front teeth.

:40:35.:40:42.

The Hull players are under pressure. I think it is ten metres of poor

:40:43.:40:52.

tackles there. Tremendous defence. Houghton striding over Jonathan

:40:53.:40:55.

Tiernan-Locke to pick the ball and Sneyd offers it back in the middle

:40:56.:40:59.

again. A little flick away. Has kept it alive. So Jamie Shaul whose fleet

:41:00.:41:04.

of foot given half a chance and tantalise that Wigan defence. Solid

:41:05.:41:08.

work by Flower. Here comes the sixth tackle. They are unaring it.

:41:09.:41:15.

You would be happy with that, Brian, just turning the ball eight metres

:41:16.:41:21.

from the opposition line. You had a look at them putting the ball

:41:22.:41:25.

through the hands. I think Wigan will take a lot of confidence about

:41:26.:41:28.

how they pressured the Hull attack there as well.

:41:29.:41:36.

A couple of attackers here gone by Wigan. They look to bring it clear

:41:37.:41:41.

again. It is Gareth Ellis who has the

:41:42.:41:50.

player Michael, tonight. It is interesting to hear what he has to

:41:51.:41:56.

say during the game at full time here today and no doubt an extended

:41:57.:42:00.

version tomorrow during our coverage of the second semi-final. Warrington

:42:01.:42:05.

against Wakefield. A good kick. Only ten metres from their own line.

:42:06.:42:11.

An excellent kick from Matty Smith. Drills it to the corner. And

:42:12.:42:15.

interestingly, both teams walk to the scrum there, filling the, the

:42:16.:42:18.

lungs will be burning at this point in time. This is when the emotion,

:42:19.:42:24.

the adrenaline which has carried you through the first ten minutes starts

:42:25.:42:32.

to drain away a little bit. The first rendition of Old Faithful

:42:33.:42:36.

we have heard tonight. A great following, isn't there, from Hull

:42:37.:42:40.

FC. This competition in particular, they are in line for the treble.

:42:41.:42:46.

As we said earlier, as are Wigan and Warrington, as it stands. If you ask

:42:47.:42:51.

most Hull fans, if you could only win one, I think every man, woman

:42:52.:42:57.

and child would say, a Wembley victory, please. That is a penalty.

:42:58.:43:03.

A cute cookie this Houghton. He's been able to exploit his attacking

:43:04.:43:12.

prowess. Any time anyone half in position he picks out. Slow to

:43:13.:43:16.

retreat. Somebody not straight, so, thank you, Sir, we'll have a

:43:17.:43:21.

penalty. We have to applaud Fonua for the urgency on the floor to play

:43:22.:43:26.

that ball quickly. Here is Ellis, sticking his head where it hurts and

:43:27.:43:29.

trying to push another yard or two forward.

:43:30.:43:34.

Houghton, in at dummy half again. It is Watts who gets it away. It is

:43:35.:43:38.

Minichiello on that left-hand side. Got a fair step on him as well,

:43:39.:43:44.

hasn't he, Minichiello, enthe mood grabs him. A tough customer to deal

:43:45.:43:50.

with. Wait, wait.

:43:51.:43:55.

30 yards away. Sneyd. Taylor... Straightening things up.

:43:56.:44:02.

An honest endeavour. Matched equally by the defence of Wigan. Sneyd again

:44:03.:44:12.

now. It is into the line to Tuimavave. A tackle coming up. 12

:44:13.:44:16.

and half minutes played. Lifted high.

:44:17.:44:21.

Up go the jumps and the leaps. It comes down to Shaul. Shaul will put

:44:22.:44:26.

the kick towards that goal area. Bateman has it. Can he get there?

:44:27.:44:34.

No, he can't. Great effort. The drop out underneath the sticks.

:44:35.:44:39.

Tremendous player, Houghton. The position he plays him and the

:44:40.:44:42.

energy, and he makes that kick there, it is a decent kick, but it

:44:43.:44:47.

is Houghton's effort there, in the chase, that pens Bateman in the

:44:48.:44:53.

in-goal area. That effort has turned Hull FC another six tackles. Bateman

:44:54.:44:59.

stuck his fist into his face. He had to go there. Been, he went. Shaul

:45:00.:45:04.

should have made the tackle, didn't make the tackle. I'll help you out.

:45:05.:45:13.

I'll make it for you. When that tackle happened, they looked at each

:45:14.:45:18.

other, the coaches, with the expression of two coaches who have

:45:19.:45:21.

seen something very good on a rugby field.

:45:22.:45:26.

Here winding himself up comes Scott Taylor.

:45:27.:45:38.

Another thing, I think Tiernan-Locke is the preferred kick option.

:45:39.:45:43.

Danny Houghton in again. A tireless role that any dummy half

:45:44.:45:47.

has to play. You have to be there, or most I will be there.

:45:48.:45:51.

Wigan will get a much welcome head and feet at the scrum here. I think

:45:52.:45:58.

that is a fair call. I think he got away with one, maybe five minutes

:45:59.:46:03.

ago he got away with one. Timing, just not right. Tuimavave clearly

:46:04.:46:10.

passes the ball forward. An interesting choice there. How

:46:11.:46:17.

much of a quandary would Radford have been in that standoff position.

:46:18.:46:21.

Leon Pryce doesn't seem to be favoured at the moment, but loads of

:46:22.:46:25.

experience and the young player has fitted in.

:46:26.:46:30.

How much of a quand dri is that? Every coach for every team

:46:31.:46:33.

selection, you want to make sure you get it right and you mull things

:46:34.:46:37.

over in your mind before you make that choice. They are very confident

:46:38.:46:43.

in Tuimavave. They feel he's the stand-off half for the future.

:46:44.:46:51.

That is Isa, who is put down as they move it right and Sarginson.

:46:52.:46:58.

He's on his way at the end of the season, goes to the NRL.

:46:59.:47:03.

A penalty here for Wigan. It will take them with a kick inside their

:47:04.:47:07.

opponent's half. I think that was a lazy penalty.

:47:08.:47:14.

Again for our viewers, back end of the set, you think they will kick,

:47:15.:47:18.

his arm slips off the ball. To be fair, I think he's trying to wrap

:47:19.:47:21.

the ball up. Maybe a bit of a tough call. It is as well, there is an

:47:22.:47:25.

element of 15 minutes gone now. There is just that element of

:47:26.:47:29.

fatigue that's creeping into some of these big fellas. Sort of their sort

:47:30.:47:34.

of techniques. There's Smith. Tiernan-Locke...

:47:35.:47:49.

-- O' Loughlin. Spinning forward.

:47:50.:48:00.

Powell... Wilson. Left footstep. Taken in by Gareth Ellis. All the

:48:01.:48:06.

guys emphasised how goodwill will was running, but not when you have

:48:07.:48:10.

Gareth Ellis opposite you. Don't run at him.

:48:11.:48:14.

Flower goes down ten metres. Powell picks up. Here comes Wilson again,

:48:15.:48:21.

who is up to the line and reaches. Has he got that down? The try is

:48:22.:48:27.

given. Well, full marks to George Williams. Stopped by Ellis, the play

:48:28.:48:32.

before and then the very next play, he finds a way through to score the

:48:33.:48:38.

opening try of the semi-final. A brilliant try from George Williams.

:48:39.:48:43.

Tip to the commentary team, if I run when I want to run, I'll get over

:48:44.:48:48.

the line. Is he going to pass? Is he going to run? That is the threat.

:48:49.:48:53.

Ellis doesn't get there and grab him by the legs because of his hip

:48:54.:48:56.

strength. Well played, George Williams. Threatens to pass every

:48:57.:49:01.

good half-back, be an ability and run with the ball. He's done both

:49:02.:49:09.

there. How does he play? It is a massive credit. The last time he

:49:10.:49:13.

played the ball he got wall lopped. Did that win him one i ot the? No.

:49:14.:49:19.

Next time, the ball in two hands, the doubt of the pass and over he

:49:20.:49:24.

goes. -- iota.

:49:25.:49:27.

No. Next time the ball in two hands and the doubt of the pass and over

:49:28.:49:29.

he goes. Matty Smith with a chance to add to

:49:30.:49:38.

the two here. One of the many in this Wigan side who played in

:49:39.:49:45.

Wembley finals. He won a trophy in 2013, didn't he, Matty Smith?

:49:46.:49:51.

Against Hull. Well, this could prove crucial. The goal kicking. He's got

:49:52.:49:58.

a fantastic kick rate and Smith needs to nail these. It is one of

:49:59.:50:02.

those betweens here. Just that awkward angle.

:50:03.:50:09.

Matty Smith would back himself to kick this most times.

:50:10.:50:16.

Aiming at the far post. Curls it in. It is superbly struck and Wigan lead

:50:17.:50:22.

here by six points to nil. I am impressed with what the Wigan

:50:23.:50:26.

Warriors have done. Carrying the ball to the line. The quick run

:50:27.:50:30.

didn't allow the Hull defensive line to come in. All of a sudden they had

:50:31.:50:38.

the cards in George William's hands. He played them sensibly.

:50:39.:50:42.

He had Fonua guessing he might be passing. He had to hang out on

:50:43.:50:49.

Ellis. As you say, John, really smart play from the half.

:50:50.:50:55.

From dummy half goes Powell. Penalty again.

:50:56.:51:01.

Well, there's been a fair old storm that Wigan have weathered.

:51:02.:51:04.

And it looks like they have come through the other side and they are

:51:05.:51:08.

just getting a few penalties now and building that pressure. Obviously

:51:09.:51:10.

they have turned the score board. Isa. Isa slamming it in. 40 yards to

:51:11.:51:20.

go for Wigan. 40 yards to defend for Hull. Five tackles remaining. Here

:51:21.:51:26.

comes Flower. He's dropped it. Dropped it cold, the referee says.

:51:27.:51:34.

This is an advantage play. He'll play on from here. Six tackles

:51:35.:51:36.

start from here. A big tackle. Wigan have it back.

:51:37.:51:46.

Bateman on that right-hand side. Well... It is greasy out there and

:51:47.:51:52.

they are whacking into each other with some intensity. Jamie Shaul got

:51:53.:51:57.

splattered by Ben Flower in the middle. He dropped the ball. In

:51:58.:52:01.

advantage to Wigan, so they come back after the free play.

:52:02.:52:07.

There's Flower there. Lost the ball. It was backwards. It was the knockon

:52:08.:52:15.

and this one, wall lop, it is Flower trying to make up, atone for his

:52:16.:52:20.

error. My word, he did. He's won possession back for his team.

:52:21.:52:24.

It is very greasy out there, just for our viewers. It looks quite nice

:52:25.:52:30.

for a game of football, but the ground is extremely greasy. This is

:52:31.:52:36.

Matty Smith. And red in defence by Yeaman. He

:52:37.:52:40.

came flying out. Might have lost a bit of pace. In his mellowing years,

:52:41.:52:46.

shall we say? He has not lost his ability to read those defensive

:52:47.:52:51.

moments. Two tackles gone here. Wigan encroaching. It is a risky

:52:52.:52:59.

pass. Tomkins will collect. Wigan in possession and moving it. Bateman...

:53:00.:53:04.

Takes the tackle. He's a strong man is Bateman. 20 away. Sarginson.

:53:05.:53:09.

Searching down that right-hand side. Manu... Pushing them off and away

:53:10.:53:19.

they go. Last tack until the set.

:53:20.:53:26.

Smith. The chasers are after it. But taken on the ground. Taken on the

:53:27.:53:32.

ground by Liam Watts. That was a terrific diving catch. There are

:53:33.:53:36.

some black jumpers out there blowing. Their energy system is low

:53:37.:53:40.

because of the system they have jumped into. They are comfortable.

:53:41.:53:45.

We have Hull rattled here. Hull just looking to survive this

:53:46.:53:50.

set and get themselves downfield, I am sure.

:53:51.:53:56.

Manu... Taken on again, a stride or two by Green.

:53:57.:54:08.

On the field from the interchange bench. A sixth tackle coming up.

:54:09.:54:14.

Sneyd looks for distance, but it is straight down the throat of Joel

:54:15.:54:20.

Tomkins. Now Tierney. Let's hear from the

:54:21.:54:25.

touchline. Robbie, what are you thinking? I have just got to admire

:54:26.:54:29.

everything about Wigan at this point in time. They went straight into

:54:30.:54:34.

attack. They got to the back end, they got a kick away and Hull FC,

:54:35.:54:38.

turned the ball over to Hull FC. They went straight into defence.

:54:39.:54:42.

They players are barred up. Right in the middle. Right out of the blocks

:54:43.:54:47.

really, really quickly. Coma what is fantastic is they force Hull FC with

:54:48.:54:52.

all the strike power they have from the 30 metre line. It is impressive

:54:53.:54:56.

everything that Wigan is doing at the moment. What Robbie was saying t

:54:57.:55:02.

fact that Ryan Sutton was trying to run with his shirt pulled over his

:55:03.:55:05.

eyes. He couldn't see what he was doing there. It is the BFG. He

:55:06.:55:11.

doesn't know where he's going. He's going in the right direction,

:55:12.:55:13.

anyway. Go that way. Uses sound bites.

:55:14.:55:19.

And then he dropped it after all that.

:55:20.:55:23.

I am not sure he's looking at that again with any humour.

:55:24.:55:35.

18 minutes of the first half remaining. 6-0 Wigan lead. Hull in

:55:36.:55:42.

possession. You can see the territory of possession so far.

:55:43.:55:49.

Wigan have been dominating that. It is even Stephens, really. Hull

:55:50.:55:53.

will need 50% of possession, I believe, to win this game. Ellis to

:55:54.:55:58.

Sneyd. Here come the run of Minichiello, who steps away from a

:55:59.:56:02.

couple of defenders. He takes some stopping, but he is stopped.

:56:03.:56:09.

Sneyd again. Puts the left foot double kick

:56:10.:56:15.

through. Taken very, very well. That was tremendous and a kick on the

:56:16.:56:18.

third tackle as well. Oh, Sarginson has dropped it.

:56:19.:56:22.

Well, he is shouting at his team-mates, he might want to look

:56:23.:56:26.

around because Hull are attacking. Sure.

:56:27.:56:33.

A push by Manu. What a gift this is for Hull FC in terms of possession

:56:34.:56:37.

and position. Taylor... ... Stoutly driving it

:56:38.:56:46.

forward. Danny Houghton, stands and waits and now collects and goes to

:56:47.:56:51.

his right. The door remains firmly shut.

:56:52.:56:55.

Houghton... Skipping it left. Sneyd again.

:56:56.:57:07.

It is another Hull penalty. They are occupying time on this

:57:08.:57:08.

Wigan line. This is a real test for the

:57:09.:57:18.

Warriors. A repeat set defending your own line.

:57:19.:57:25.

It is normally a penalty try tlarks is what we are told. Can Hull

:57:26.:57:27.

deliver on that? Shaul is not sure which way he's

:57:28.:57:34.

going. He decides to take his man on.

:57:35.:57:37.

Wigan's defence looks well organised at the moment against this Hull

:57:38.:57:41.

threatening with their big people and, I can not help thinking that

:57:42.:57:45.

Sneyd may be the answer here with one of his kicks.

:57:46.:57:50.

Danny Houghton is going to have to be patient here.

:57:51.:57:55.

What is he doing? Chris Green has got up... I think he's... He's taken

:57:56.:58:06.

a knock to the head here, I think. Let me sort this out, guys.

:58:07.:58:09.

I don't think he knows what is it. This is the hit. It is this one

:58:10.:58:24.

there. As he's going down he's fallen into

:58:25.:58:29.

the arm of Flower. I think that was accidental. No intent at all in

:58:30.:58:31.

that. Did he think that the referee had

:58:32.:58:36.

given a penalty then? Or was he nonplussed? I think he was

:58:37.:58:40.

nonplussed. He has given a penalty. There is a way to win a penalty. It

:58:41.:58:46.

took the replay to get it. Assume you have been given a penalty and

:58:47.:58:50.

the referee might give it to you. Oh, that is a penalty, Sir. What

:58:51.:58:54.

for? Look at the screen. Take it, two points.

:58:55.:58:57.

They are going for goal. On the head as he is going down.

:58:58.:59:01.

They have reviewed it. It is an interesting decision, isn't

:59:02.:59:04.

it, by Hull FC Here's the penalty and there is

:59:05.:59:13.

contact with the head. There is. So that is the penalty. It is

:59:14.:59:18.

interesting taking the two - it is a give me two points and it will get

:59:19.:59:24.

the score board ticking at long last for Hull FC. That indicates that the

:59:25.:59:29.

black and whites think it will be a very, very, very close game.

:59:30.:59:38.

I was tempted to say that they should get it rolling and get two

:59:39.:59:45.

here. Right, boys, we need to get our system going because Wigan are

:59:46.:59:51.

looking more comfortable than we do. Not quite as exaggerated as it

:59:52.:59:58.

sometimes is. The roar of the Hull fans which they have adopted this

:59:59.:00:04.

year as he keeps banging them over. Hull finally have their share of the

:00:05.:00:11.

party with two points. Interesting because there was a sustained period

:00:12.:00:15.

of pressure from Hull FC. There might be a glimmer in the Wigan

:00:16.:00:23.

ranks thinking, these guys can't break us down. That kick bounces a

:00:24.:00:29.

little awkwardly. He takes it in comfortably enough. The way back is

:00:30.:00:36.

led by Scott Taylor. Here comes Chris Green. Taylor will want this,

:00:37.:00:47.

being a former Wigan player. Getting a Wembley foothold for Hull would be

:00:48.:00:51.

much sweeter, but of course he would say that. He is a Hull lad.

:00:52.:00:58.

Minichiello has done really well to get that ball away. Manu will ride

:00:59.:01:09.

the big chest beat from O'Loughlin. Fonua is still going. They take some

:01:10.:01:13.

stopping, don't they? 40 yards further downfield and Wigan thought

:01:14.:01:18.

they should have gone. Minichiello down the left-hand side and he steps

:01:19.:01:23.

back in again. One tackle in the set to go. Hull are 20 metres away.

:01:24.:01:32.

Sneyd again with a familiar routine. The high kick. Fonua knocks it back

:01:33.:01:39.

and it is still the sixth tackle. Michaels runs it back to the middle.

:01:40.:01:48.

Sneyd thinks about kicking and eventually does, that is a delicate

:01:49.:01:51.

kick and that is really good and Tomkins has to be at his best to

:01:52.:01:56.

knock it away. Well played by Marc Sneyd, that was dead, but it gets to

:01:57.:02:02.

this man, and it is tracked down by Matty Smith and he thinks, I will

:02:03.:02:08.

stick this on my toe. Clean ball and Tomkins bats it out. Does he? I'm

:02:09.:02:18.

pretty sure, that is the word to describe that celebration from the

:02:19.:02:21.

Hull fans. That was a heck of a celebration. Kicking it with such

:02:22.:02:25.

great weight when you are running at great speed, that is a good skill.

:02:26.:02:30.

There is a discussion going on because I think Sam Tomkins is

:02:31.:02:37.

trying to persuade the referee that it was Sneyd's touch that put it

:02:38.:02:41.

behind but they are not going to the video refs. He does have the option

:02:42.:02:45.

but Ben Thaler is convinced that his naked eye was accurate enough. Here

:02:46.:02:49.

comes Taylor. Six or seven minutes, these past six

:02:50.:03:04.

or seven minutes have really been Hull's, haven't they? They have

:03:05.:03:07.

cranked it up and really asked questions. The Cherry and Whites

:03:08.:03:12.

have stood up to it. I agree with that. Shaul comes back, charging in.

:03:13.:03:20.

Brought down by Sarginson. Steps away. Taylor. Ellis comes in on the

:03:21.:03:26.

angle and the step and gets over the top of Tomkins and his arm is long

:03:27.:03:34.

enough to reach of the line, or is it? Because the referee is putting

:03:35.:03:42.

the square in the air. No try. That is short. Let's hear from the video

:03:43.:03:47.

referee. We are at tackle three. We are

:03:48.:03:59.

checking the grounding. First of all we have to make sure he keeps hold

:04:00.:04:04.

of the ball and secondly that he hits the line. The live decision is

:04:05.:04:12.

no try. That looks short. There is green in between that but I can't

:04:13.:04:16.

quite see. Let's look at it from the side, that might be closer. As slow

:04:17.:04:21.

as we can, please. He is still in possession. Still in possession and

:04:22.:04:28.

he still has hold of the ball as it comes down. That looks like it is

:04:29.:04:39.

short. Keep it rolling, please. He moves it forward but I can't prove

:04:40.:04:43.

it is on the line. Keep it going. He brings the ball back now. Yes, one

:04:44.:04:50.

more. It looks short so far. He definitely has possession. That

:04:51.:05:02.

looks short. Can you take that one back and can I have that one slowly?

:05:03.:05:08.

Frame by frame. He initially does not ground the ball, it is short,

:05:09.:05:12.

and he is allowed to move the ball as long as it stays in his hand. It

:05:13.:05:20.

is definitely short there. I can't definitely see this on the line.

:05:21.:05:30.

This is the one I will need. If you can pause that, it is about three

:05:31.:05:34.

frames before where it touches the line. I'm not convinced he has

:05:35.:05:37.

definitely touched it and the live decision is no try. I have do have

:05:38.:05:44.

sufficient evidence to prove it has touched the line. OK. Right, that

:05:45.:05:56.

looks short. That looks short. If that's all we've got, I'm going to

:05:57.:06:00.

go no try. I cannot prove that it has actually touched the line. It

:06:01.:06:10.

will be tackle 4. Well, millimetres. We keep throwing up some difficult

:06:11.:06:16.

video decisions! I thought we were at Wimbledon, then. It came off the

:06:17.:06:24.

boot of one of the defenders. No try but it is still Hull in possession,

:06:25.:06:28.

there was no double movement, so they still have an attacking

:06:29.:06:33.

opportunity. Sneyd with a short pass, forward pass. The referee has

:06:34.:06:39.

already blown. They won't have a free play. A bit of a damp finish.

:06:40.:06:44.

After a lot of excitement. Great break by Ellis. The referee was bang

:06:45.:06:53.

on. That was miles forward. Kirk Yeaman, there. You were talking

:06:54.:06:58.

about the effect of the injury. It has not affected his defensive work,

:06:59.:07:03.

tremendous defence, Gareth Ellis coming at you fulltilt, five metres

:07:04.:07:08.

from the line, you need to be brave and technically effective to make

:07:09.:07:13.

the tackle. Buying on. He nails it. Absolutely nailed it. Sarginson. He

:07:14.:07:20.

was put down 15 from his own line as Wigan begin the tough task of

:07:21.:07:24.

getting as far downfield as they can. Having survived a real spell of

:07:25.:07:32.

pressure. Having only survived by the width of a fingernail. I wonder

:07:33.:07:40.

what Leon Pryce, who is not playing today, is thinking about this. Leon,

:07:41.:07:47.

you felt that it was a try? Yes, a lookalike a try from where I was but

:07:48.:07:51.

eventually it looked as though it did touch the line but if they have

:07:52.:07:55.

their doubts it has gone against us. How do you break down this

:07:56.:08:00.

formidable defence? It is about patience and field position. It is

:08:01.:08:05.

going to be tough. Wigan are a good team. There's a surprise. They

:08:06.:08:15.

needed that penalty, there. They got back the late. Talanoa thought it

:08:16.:08:24.

was going... Off he goes. He takes them all by surprise and gets

:08:25.:08:29.

another penalty for a high tackle. The small things change big games.

:08:30.:08:36.

That was like a double result, like he played his joker. He will be very

:08:37.:08:41.

disappointed with his Wigan side, Shaun Wane. They switched off and

:08:42.:08:50.

turned their back on Porton. -- Haughton. He got a penalty on the

:08:51.:08:58.

back of that. They will be starting 35 or 40 metres away from the Wigan

:08:59.:09:05.

line. That is the territory. It has gone some distance Hull's way. It

:09:06.:09:12.

certainly has. You have two Pat Wigan on the back for their

:09:13.:09:15.

defensive efforts. They have been strong defensively, Wigan. It will

:09:16.:09:21.

be a kick play or one of those enterprising little plays, they will

:09:22.:09:25.

have to be really good to get over the line here, Hull. Haughton goes

:09:26.:09:32.

out from dummy half and here comes Frank Prichard. He loses it forward

:09:33.:09:38.

according to the referee. That is a marginal decision that can sometimes

:09:39.:09:45.

go with you or against you. You know, that is the Wigan player

:09:46.:09:49.

Mossop, and when he touches that, they have to do better than that. It

:09:50.:09:55.

was good contact, though, good shoulder contact, just under the

:09:56.:09:59.

ball. A couple of times they have forced it out with that technique.

:10:00.:10:03.

It is greasy and when you are carrying the ball and you hit

:10:04.:10:05.

underneath you are going to get your rewards. Lovely shoulder contact and

:10:06.:10:15.

it was a knock-on. It came out of his hands and went forward and hit

:10:16.:10:20.

him on the head before coming back. Sarginson.

:10:21.:10:37.

They start five yards inside the Hull half, leading as they do 6-2

:10:38.:10:43.

with eight minutes of the half remaining. It remains tight, but

:10:44.:10:50.

it's worth reminding you that it's a golden point extra time if it is all

:10:51.:10:52.

square after 80 minutes. Tomkins is stepping, tantalising,

:10:53.:11:05.

weaving, Mossop, ducking and dodging. Good hit by the Hull

:11:06.:11:14.

defence again. This is Matty Smith, talking to him on his inside. That

:11:15.:11:21.

is a good tackle by Prichard. Bateman goes out at dummy half.

:11:22.:11:27.

Mossop. That is five and here come the rest. Wigan underneath the Hull

:11:28.:11:34.

sticks. Williams throws a lovely pass and it is finished. That is a

:11:35.:11:39.

forward pass! The pass from Williams deserved better but it was the last

:11:40.:11:48.

pass the Tierney that was forward. Wigan have done them, somebody got

:11:49.:11:52.

it wrong in the Hull defence, they got up in numbers. It was Williams

:11:53.:11:58.

changing pace again. It was this one inside. He has missed it by a mile.

:11:59.:12:05.

They got lucky, there, Hull. What a great last tackle by Williams. We

:12:06.:12:10.

spoke about his running game in the build-up, and the indication was

:12:11.:12:12.

that he has improved his passing game. That smacked around the melon

:12:13.:12:21.

that Gareth Ellis gave him earlier... Minichiello. Shaking off

:12:22.:12:25.

those defenders. Haughton is going across and looking

:12:26.:12:43.

for a way past Thomson. There they come again. There is more space here

:12:44.:12:50.

for Michaels. Shaul on his inside. This is Shaul. A very good tackle.

:12:51.:12:54.

Hull have got momentum and they have to use it. He puts in a kick but I'm

:12:55.:13:01.

not sure what that was and his team-mates didn't know what it was.

:13:02.:13:08.

I will give another rap to Sam Tomkins defensively. He got that

:13:09.:13:12.

tackle around the legs and got back for the kick, that is how much work

:13:13.:13:16.

he was doing and it is those little things that will win you semifinals.

:13:17.:13:27.

Busby is another who is a recent arrival from the interchange bench.

:13:28.:13:38.

Dominic Busby. Busby again. Crosby! Crosby, sorry, I always confuse

:13:39.:13:45.

that. I know someone called Dominic Busby! I do apologise. I was going

:13:46.:13:53.

down the list and I was confused! I thought they had signed another

:13:54.:13:57.

player. Apologies to Dominic Crosby! CHUCKLES

:13:58.:14:11.

Moving it forward. Here is Tuimavave. Doing well again. Four

:14:12.:14:16.

and a half minutes of the half remaining.

:14:17.:14:23.

Manu is told to play the ball where he was. He has beaten a couple of

:14:24.:14:31.

yards forward. Prichard gets the pass away. Here comes the six as

:14:32.:14:39.

Hatton throws it left and Sneyd spirals it high in the air. Tomkins

:14:40.:14:45.

takes it. That was a great catch. He is having a great game. Defensively

:14:46.:14:53.

playing outstandingly well. Good work by the Hull defence. They

:14:54.:14:58.

turned the screw. A bit of naivete by the youngster, there. The tackle

:14:59.:15:04.

was won, get it out of your own half, you don't go around the

:15:05.:15:08.

outside and give them an opportunity to roll you into touch. Stay on the

:15:09.:15:14.

island. It's a greasy floor. We highlighted this in the pre-match

:15:15.:15:17.

build-up about what they are trying to do. Getting you near the

:15:18.:15:27.

sideline, this Hull team. Except for Hull FC, because they have had a

:15:28.:15:31.

fair amount of possession and territory, and a big set for Wigan

:15:32.:15:38.

because if they can keep Hull FC without a try that will be a big

:15:39.:15:44.

feather in their cap. The Wigan party there, sitting just in front

:15:45.:15:52.

of Shaun Wane. Chris Rennard Lynn is the famous for the 2002 rattling ski

:15:53.:15:54.

final. There he is. Here is Thompson. Ten

:15:55.:16:11.

metres away from that Wigan line. It's Sneyd. Going through the hands,

:16:12.:16:21.

Minichiello is testing them again. Held up, very, very close. Dropping

:16:22.:16:27.

its back on the inside. Wigan are working very hard again.

:16:28.:16:42.

This is Haughton. Sneyd pokes it through. It is cleared away.

:16:43.:16:46.

Absolutely fantastic defence once again from the Wigan Warriors. They

:16:47.:16:50.

are being tested but they are working so hard, and the pressure

:16:51.:16:55.

they are putting on Hull FC is tremendous. That's how confident

:16:56.:16:59.

they are in their defensive structure and system and desire,

:17:00.:17:05.

tapping the ball out and saying, you have got another set but you had to

:17:06.:17:12.

break down this tremendous defence. You may have just seen Brian Noble

:17:13.:17:16.

walking behind Lavender for the half-time analysis.

:17:17.:17:24.

I'm sure that Shaun Wane would not have noticed. Matty Smith's

:17:25.:17:32.

drop-kick clearance. Here is Thompson. Good drop out as well.

:17:33.:17:41.

Plenty of distance and a good chase. He has dropped that. Towards the

:17:42.:17:48.

touch judge on the near side, Tony Martin, one of the most experienced

:17:49.:17:53.

touch judges in the game. Just confirming what the referee was

:17:54.:17:59.

already thinking. Stone cold, there. Trying to play the ball, you have to

:18:00.:18:02.

be ever so careful in conditions like this, you might have to just

:18:03.:18:07.

take that extra bit of time to make sure that you bring the ball back

:18:08.:18:12.

into play legally. Jordan Thompson didn't. I am certain he will look

:18:13.:18:22.

after the ball for this set. It is a reflection of the level of fatigue

:18:23.:18:26.

for both sides, they packed the scrum, neither side could stop the

:18:27.:18:29.

clock but neither side have wanted to. They just want to carry on Mike

:18:30.:18:35.

this until half-time. This has been a proper semifinal, it really has.

:18:36.:18:42.

The quality of play has been exceptional, the quality of defence

:18:43.:18:48.

has been absolutely brilliant. It's a true competition. They have

:18:49.:18:50.

brought the best out of each other. Trying to rip a hole in the Hull

:18:51.:19:14.

defence. Smith has got Tomkins out there who has forced a pasta. It

:19:15.:19:20.

goes to ground and this is danger because it is picked up by Hull.

:19:21.:19:27.

There were men in the way. It could go the distance. There is a chance

:19:28.:19:31.

here. There is only 15 seconds left to play. This will be the last play

:19:32.:19:40.

of the half, you would fancy. Thompson third is it forward again.

:19:41.:19:44.

Can he get to his feet to release this ball? The hooter sounds and the

:19:45.:19:51.

referee has a lot and say s play ends now. Williams was the only try

:19:52.:19:56.

scorer but what a try. Smith with the goal. Sneyd with the goal and

:19:57.:20:03.

Ellis having one ruled out. Johnson is on the sidelines with Sean

:20:04.:20:07.

O'Loughlin. The Wigan captain, are you happy with that performance?

:20:08.:20:12.

Ever so tight. A similar performance from both sides. A few errors and

:20:13.:20:15.

turned over the ball in good field positions. Frustrated not to be

:20:16.:20:22.

further ahead? Given the chance for Tierney that was disallowed. Yes, we

:20:23.:20:27.

keep getting the ball in those kinds of positions and we feel as though

:20:28.:20:31.

we will get more chances. Kirk Yeaman is with me, what do you have

:20:32.:20:36.

to do to get back in the game? Slow the ball down a bit. It is moving a

:20:37.:20:40.

bit fast that the minute. We need to give ourselves a chance. Wigan were

:20:41.:20:47.

tough to break down? Both of us have been pretty solid. We will see how

:20:48.:20:52.

it works out in the second half. Thank you. Let's take a look at some

:20:53.:20:57.

of the facts from the match in the first half. Hull have had more

:20:58.:21:00.

possession and territory. Wigan have made a dozen more tackles

:21:01.:21:09.

than their counterparts on the other side. When Kirk Yeaman says, the

:21:10.:21:17.

defence has been pretty solid, is he underplaying what both defences have

:21:18.:21:22.

done in the first half? They have not been outstanding, particularly

:21:23.:21:26.

Wigan, they coughed up a lot of cheap ball and Hull were

:21:27.:21:30.

consistently attacking. They kept turning up for each other. Normally

:21:31.:21:37.

when Hull dominate possession, it could be 24-0 to Hull. But look at

:21:38.:21:44.

the stats, this is the thing about statistical analysis in sport, Hull

:21:45.:21:50.

have dominated every Fassett, every number, they have dominated. They

:21:51.:21:53.

have had a lot of possession and all these things but Wigan have had

:21:54.:21:56.

doggy determination to defend their line. We will talk about the chances

:21:57.:22:04.

no doubt but Wigan has been a standout in this game. And it has

:22:05.:22:08.

been for a number of years. Paralysis by analysis sometimes.

:22:09.:22:15.

Wigan were a bit more controlled, a bit less frantic. They have not

:22:16.:22:20.

quite executed. These guys will tell you, you have do take your

:22:21.:22:24.

opportunities, I'm talking about the early miss. You have to capitalise

:22:25.:22:31.

on those. Wigan and Sam Tomkins particularly have been superb in

:22:32.:22:33.

regrouping and finding themselves way down there. When the weather is

:22:34.:22:39.

like this be easiest way to break down the team is to run the ball. I

:22:40.:22:43.

think Hull if they have been guilty of anything is trying to play around

:22:44.:22:48.

Wigan, playing with the ball a bit too much. It has been a great half.

:22:49.:22:53.

Wigan are still be only ones to cross the white line. The advantage

:22:54.:22:58.

for them is they got field position from the high tackle first of all.

:22:59.:23:03.

It is one of those nights where discipline is important, giving away

:23:04.:23:06.

a penalty now in the Challenge Cup, that is a kick downfield, and what

:23:07.:23:11.

impressed me was George Williams took the ball and Gareth Ellis

:23:12.:23:15.

dominated him. I have been hit with one of those tackles and they hurt,

:23:16.:23:21.

trust me! He comes back at him even though he is a small guy. You can

:23:22.:23:25.

tell he wants the ball because all of the players get around him like

:23:26.:23:30.

they want. He has one thing in his mind, to run. It takes advantage of

:23:31.:23:35.

Hull being passive, they don't get far enough away from the try line.

:23:36.:23:41.

This is where he is dangerous. Absolutely. The first responsibility

:23:42.:23:48.

as a half-backs is to be a threat with the ball because it puts doubt

:23:49.:23:55.

in the mind. Tuimavave doesn't know if he is going to run. Generally

:23:56.:24:02.

when you are defending you don't expect a half-backs to be tackled

:24:03.:24:06.

twice. He had his teeth rattled on the first one as well. If you are

:24:07.:24:12.

the defender opposite, you think, he is coming once or twice but he's

:24:13.:24:16.

definitely not going to come back but that's exactly what he did. It

:24:17.:24:22.

was a really talented piece of play. As you know, it's not my job to

:24:23.:24:27.

praise you, but you actually prove job point at the start about his

:24:28.:24:33.

speed and strength. In my most patronising voice, well done to you

:24:34.:24:36.

all! Let's take a look at a couple of missed opportunities. Starting

:24:37.:24:42.

with Gareth Ellis. This is a great ball by Scott Taylor, outstanding

:24:43.:24:45.

this year because of his physical prowess but look at the ball skills.

:24:46.:24:50.

Plenty of options. You expect him to do this. You expect Gareth to score.

:24:51.:24:58.

He will be upset that it's not a score. It's a great tackle by

:24:59.:25:04.

Tomkins. This is a big play. This should be a try. Sam gets his body

:25:05.:25:08.

in the way. You expect him to reach out and score but it's just short.

:25:09.:25:13.

They are fantastic at defending Merrin line, this is when they loved

:25:14.:25:18.

vulnerable. They got it a bit wrong. You think that Gareth Ellis does not

:25:19.:25:22.

have a grip on the ball and he wants to reach out. Look at his face,

:25:23.:25:29.

devastated. He got up and played the ball, thinking, we will get on with

:25:30.:25:34.

this. I remember another big forward doing a sidestep and getting over

:25:35.:25:38.

from there. Do you remember that? Clearly! Tierney with a no try? What

:25:39.:25:46.

can we say? Forward pass, I don't know what we say. Williams has done

:25:47.:25:49.

brilliantly, getting the ball into his hands. It's a forward pass. We

:25:50.:25:59.

spoke about the threat from Williams as a runner, he has run and run. The

:26:00.:26:03.

sign of a great half-backs is understanding when you have done a

:26:04.:26:07.

job on the defence and the defence are expecting him to run. Fonua has

:26:08.:26:12.

gone and Williams, this young kid has gone, and to deal with that he

:26:13.:26:18.

has been aggressive but Williams, I think it's an amazing sign for a

:26:19.:26:21.

young half-backs, he threw the ball with a perfect pass and it's

:26:22.:26:25.

forward, but the decision is impressive. It is the magnitude of

:26:26.:26:32.

the game, this is not a run-of-the-mill Super League game.

:26:33.:26:34.

It is a semifinal where he has stepped up and scored a try and

:26:35.:26:38.

created one. It should have been one. He makes an important point

:26:39.:26:43.

about taking your opportunities at this level, there won't be many

:26:44.:26:48.

more. Maybe towards the back end if it breaks up and it can do, but I

:26:49.:26:52.

think it will be really tight. We saw Gareth Ellis who will be kicking

:26:53.:26:59.

himself badly, but then the poor execution, Gildart, and Fonua jumps

:27:00.:27:03.

out the line. They have done that, Williams has done that before. He's

:27:04.:27:06.

got the ball into hands. Brilliant play. How much do you praise the

:27:07.:27:14.

Wigan defence and how much do you say that Hull haven't taken their

:27:15.:27:19.

chances? It's a fine line? Hull have had good field position but have not

:27:20.:27:25.

taken advantage. Having said that Wigan have defended well. Hull have

:27:26.:27:27.

come out with some errors and looked ineffective barring the try stop

:27:28.:27:35.

Hull are breaking tackles but as soon as they do there is another red

:27:36.:27:41.

shirt there and that is their desire, you can't relation that in

:27:42.:27:45.

the stats, the grit and desire and determination to win. The Hull

:27:46.:27:50.

kicking game has been great. Marc Sneyd has been fantastic. They need

:27:51.:27:55.

to make sure that some of these plays stick in the Wigan end, when

:27:56.:27:59.

you get position it is so important to get to the end of your sets to

:28:00.:28:04.

tire out the opposition. Really take the gas out of them and then

:28:05.:28:06.

Williams and Kayal aren't as effective when they have the ball,

:28:07.:28:10.

you are letting them off the hook by dropping it. This can be a stressful

:28:11.:28:15.

game for the viewers because you like to tell your players there is

:28:16.:28:23.

no prize, the professional, but be professional, it is a sport, if you

:28:24.:28:27.

can stay at the right end of the field for longer periods and build

:28:28.:28:31.

pressure somebody will crack. This may be ridiculous but do the

:28:32.:28:34.

conditions add to the stress? It feels closed in and it feels dank

:28:35.:28:38.

and there is a bit of rain and you are pushing yourselves to the limit,

:28:39.:28:43.

does that add to it? Certainly the weather does because it makes the

:28:44.:28:49.

ball greasy and you know there is a chance that there can be an error

:28:50.:28:55.

just through force of contact. If it's a dry night Gareth Ellis will

:28:56.:29:00.

score. The end. He can grip that and get it down. The weather is really

:29:01.:29:04.

influential in the modern game. You have to adapt your kicking and your

:29:05.:29:08.

mental approach changes completely when it is wet. It is a bit dank and

:29:09.:29:13.

damp to night but a week today the sporting action could be taking

:29:14.:29:15.

place in slightly different conditions.

:29:16.:30:11.

Rio, 2016. The Olympic Games start 5th August across the BBC.

:30:12.:30:20.

At the start, I thought it was the safari park where Brian has been

:30:21.:30:23.

working in. Right the Challenge Cup continues

:30:24.:30:27.

tomorrow afternoon. The second semi-final - Warrington against

:30:28.:30:30.

Wakefield. It will get under way on BBC One at 2pm.

:30:31.:30:34.

Right, we are going to hear from a couple of legends now. One who

:30:35.:30:37.

played for Hull and one who played for Wigan.

:30:38.:30:41.

Well, he has made one good tackle. A superb tackle. Beautiful

:30:42.:30:49.

interpassing here. And he's over. Scholfield, what a

:30:50.:30:57.

try from one end to another. Can he get the bounce? Oh, he can't.

:30:58.:31:03.

He will go the whole length of the pitch. The bounce of the ball once

:31:04.:31:11.

again prove sog difficult and he scores at the other end.

:31:12.:31:17.

I am joined pitchside now. Chris from, a Wigan perspective, are they

:31:18.:31:26.

good value? We have to go in at half time relatively happy to keep a side

:31:27.:31:31.

like Hull tryless. There have been efforts down the end to stop them

:31:32.:31:36.

scoring. I would have liked to have got two tries ahead, but we didn't.

:31:37.:31:40.

Overall we have to be pleased with how we've gone so far. The pattern

:31:41.:31:49.

has worked a treat? It will not win us this game. It is a typical

:31:50.:31:55.

semi-final - it is tense. Who is in at the end? It is a classic

:31:56.:32:00.

semi-final. We have said this is one for the purists, I guess. An ex-Hull

:32:01.:32:05.

player - I am sure you are rooting for them. Are you connerned about

:32:06.:32:12.

the errors in their play? We have is seen a better class from George

:32:13.:32:17.

Williams. Unlucky with that forward pass. It is the creativeness which

:32:18.:32:20.

may be lacking. The forwards are doing OK. They are rippling the

:32:21.:32:25.

forwards. It is just we need more from Tuimavave. What do you think

:32:26.:32:31.

Radford will say to the players? Let's build more pressure, but it is

:32:32.:32:36.

that creativeness. Wigan, what they have got defensively, they are very,

:32:37.:32:39.

very solid. They need to come up with better in attack. Thank you for

:32:40.:32:42.

joining us. Thank you a lot. Thank you to the three of them - right

:32:43.:32:47.

Gareth Ellis has been wearing the player mic for us today. This is how

:32:48.:32:50.

the first half sounded through him. GARETH ELLIS: Go on!

:32:51.:33:12.

Go on. Great work. Don't lose the impression. Be smart,

:33:13.:33:15.

boys. Look on... Forward... Are you close to the line? I should

:33:16.:33:30.

have gone off to the right. Move, Wigan...

:33:31.:33:32.

We will have a longer version of that and included in tomorrow's

:33:33.:33:40.

coverage when we bring you Warrington-Wakefield at 2pm. What do

:33:41.:33:44.

Hull need to do in the second half? They need to be better and have good

:33:45.:33:51.

composure. Keep running hard and keep kicking in. Can you keep this

:33:52.:34:01.

intensity up? I think you can. These are two fantastic defensive sides.

:34:02.:34:06.

Hull to maintain composure. Patience is a big word for Hull for me

:34:07.:34:11.

tonight. They can break Wigan down. They look ferocious. Patience can be

:34:12.:34:15.

hard in a Cup semi time, can't it? Absolutely. You have to have pace. I

:34:16.:34:23.

think Hull need to have one of their bigger players and manifesto that

:34:24.:34:28.

break, either a Manu or a Pritchard, or Tuimavave. Even Danny might mean

:34:29.:34:37.

the difference. That is what they are relying on. Wigan look organised

:34:38.:34:42.

and that have the bit between their teeth, don't they? Now you have to

:34:43.:34:46.

make your way to the commentary book. He is back to join the

:34:47.:34:50.

commentary team. THE COMMENTATOR: Hull fairly bounced

:34:51.:34:58.

out. They were ready and waiting for a minute or so before Wigan, not

:34:59.:35:03.

saunterred, but looked more relaxed as they came out. Determination from

:35:04.:35:09.

the Black and Whites. Assuredness from those in Cherry and Whites. The

:35:10.:35:14.

body language that seemed to be suggested, as we get under way in

:35:15.:35:17.

this second half. Just four points in it. Wigan, six. Hull, two. Flood

:35:18.:35:24.

lit rugby league on BBC Two. Back Back To The Future - and it is a

:35:25.:35:29.

cracking cup tie. It is an outstanding semi-final. The outcome,

:35:30.:35:33.

the prize at the end of it really is showing in the determination drive

:35:34.:35:40.

of the player. -- players. Use more inside play, because in these greasy

:35:41.:35:44.

conditions, you can sometimes wrong-foot players that easier. So I

:35:45.:35:50.

thought Wilson had to play more through was the way forward rather

:35:51.:35:53.

than trying to go around, especially in these conditions. And that was

:35:54.:36:00.

Dom Crosby who made that... Apologized again to the family.

:36:01.:36:07.

Somebody has tweeted me a cartoon of Busby. It is Crosby, not Busby.

:36:08.:36:13.

Hull have the ball for the first time in this second period.

:36:14.:36:26.

Tuimavave down that right-hand side. Houghton. Here is Pritchard... Can

:36:27.:36:35.

you hear what the coaches have had to say at half time. Let's see this

:36:36.:36:40.

from Hull. The first set with ball in hand. Pritchard puts it back.

:36:41.:36:46.

Sneyd, looking for the corner. Tomkins connects it close to his own

:36:47.:36:50.

line. Runs it back. There is support out there. He'll take the tackle 50

:36:51.:36:57.

metres away. Damian Johnson, what has been said at half time? The Hull

:36:58.:37:01.

coach has said that patience is the key. He told his players they had

:37:02.:37:06.

good ball in the first half. They executed well in their own half but

:37:07.:37:11.

have to be more clinical. As for the Wigan coach, where we've got the

:37:12.:37:14.

ball, we have to keep up the pressure. Hull will come at us in

:37:15.:37:17.

the second half. We showed good defence in the first half. We must

:37:18.:37:22.

keep it up in the second. Respect the ball and respect what Hull will

:37:23.:37:25.

throw at us. In the second half they are

:37:26.:37:28.

attacking their own end, if you like. That is where their supporters

:37:29.:37:32.

are amassed. Wigan are attacking their end. Are the coaches before

:37:33.:37:39.

the games, they were telling us our fans can cheer us home. Does it make

:37:40.:37:43.

a difference? You have to cross the goal line at the far end. It is lift

:37:44.:37:49.

you generally, no doubt about that. I don't think it matters which way

:37:50.:37:53.

you will play. You will play one half one way and one half the other.

:37:54.:37:58.

No snapshot going out there. Thanks fellas.

:37:59.:38:03.

Bateman is down. Ten metres away and gets a penalty because too much

:38:04.:38:13.

messing on from Watts. It is a tough kausmt I would like to see it

:38:14.:38:18.

myself. He's going for two, Matty Smith. That is sensible, take it

:38:19.:38:22.

again. A bit of a flap. Yes. Liam Watts. If he's done it for the flap,

:38:23.:38:29.

I agree. And then straddling him. It is again, it is ill disciplined. In

:38:30.:38:35.

a vital area of the field and at a vital time. Straight after half

:38:36.:38:40.

time. Minimal flop and a straddle - it is not often you hear those words

:38:41.:38:45.

in the same sentence. That is a novel, isn't it?

:38:46.:38:52.

Smith should have this nailed. This to take the lead to six points,

:38:53.:39:07.

a try and a goal. He has rather flashy boots. Wigan

:39:08.:39:13.

lead 8-2. So the first blow. Minimal blow of this second half goes

:39:14.:39:21.

Wigan's way. They lead by 8-2. They will be very happy with that

:39:22.:39:28.

will Wigan. Four minutes into the half, they have stretched it to the

:39:29.:39:32.

full six points. It is all start again.

:39:33.:39:35.

Sneyd's kick. Hull's defence. Sarginson looking

:39:36.:39:44.

left. They have kept Manfridi quiet. He's

:39:45.:40:10.

been out of the game in all honesty. I don't know whether it is strategy

:40:11.:40:14.

or not. Williams. Trying to slice past. Just

:40:15.:40:20.

pause briefly to see what Williams was going to do with the ball there.

:40:21.:40:25.

Preferred option for a kicker, they feel he's less of a threat than

:40:26.:40:32.

Manfradi. What he hasn't got testimony kins

:40:33.:40:37.

has got. The kick doesn't travel far. Hull back in possession and not

:40:38.:40:43.

unreasonable position. 12 yards from the halfway line. A chance to build

:40:44.:40:46.

Prescotture here. -- pressure here. He has got good feet for a big man.

:40:47.:40:58.

It is so difficult to line him up for a good defensive shot. Because

:40:59.:41:02.

of that footwork and that urgency to bring the ball back into play, he's

:41:03.:41:06.

won a penalty. This will be a really important set, ba us the kick from

:41:07.:41:10.

Sneyd will go into the corner. It is a great start.

:41:11.:41:18.

Looking to square things up with a try and a goal here, Hull. But

:41:19.:41:23.

they've been in a similar position so often before. And failed to get

:41:24.:41:26.

over the line. What changes here, if anything?

:41:27.:41:33.

Sneyd's quick hands. There are four Wigan defenders coming across. So he

:41:34.:41:36.

takes the tackle. There's a Hull player injured. I

:41:37.:41:40.

think it is Sneyd who is down injured at the moment. This is

:41:41.:41:45.

Watts... He gets way with it. Manu with a hand on thaend the

:41:46.:41:47.

charge. Houghton still being treated.

:41:48.:42:01.

With the offload, Shaul skips away, gets away from Crosby. The pass for

:42:02.:42:06.

Ellis. A great offload. Pritchard with a risky pass.

:42:07.:42:10.

Manu gets it away. Look at this, look at that!

:42:11.:42:14.

Into the corner. They gamble. They twist it and they have it.

:42:15.:42:22.

Right in the corner, Steve Michaels. Hull FC with some thrilling hands.

:42:23.:42:30.

What a fantastic try and it all came about with that penalty, the

:42:31.:42:34.

Minichiello one and that part of the field position and they did what was

:42:35.:42:38.

suggested, played through. They wept back on the inside, inside ball.

:42:39.:42:42.

With lots of support and that is what got them.

:42:43.:42:47.

There's Minichiello, working so hard to bring the ball back in. Wins the

:42:48.:42:52.

penalty. Thnd Anne off it goes. The offload.

:42:53.:42:57.

It is a bit of broken play. It is a little bit of an inside ball and

:42:58.:43:01.

there's been an overchase. They switched off a little on the inside

:43:02.:43:04.

of Wigan. That is when they almost get through. It is still needed

:43:05.:43:10.

finishing and so by Michaels in the corner. Great hands from Hull.

:43:11.:43:16.

Speculative. Shaul has nowhere to go. He runs across the line. Dumps

:43:17.:43:26.

off to Ellis. To Tautai.

:43:27.:43:31.

Michaels is in the corner. A great try.

:43:32.:43:37.

Hull fans are finding their voice. Steve Michaels is having a party.

:43:38.:43:44.

He'll be having two if he scores another. That was a great try,

:43:45.:43:49.

wasn't it? And I think that is an indication. I think this half will

:43:50.:43:54.

be a little bit loser, because the element of fatigue will start to

:43:55.:43:57.

kick in. You would have to think that the

:43:58.:44:04.

athletic prowess in the Tuimavave and the Minichiello and the Ellises

:44:05.:44:10.

may just prove the balance. I have been mightily impressed. Wigan,

:44:11.:44:15.

their system, with all the kids in there, really bringing the fruit

:44:16.:44:20.

home. So Marc Sneyd. Whose kick in the

:44:21.:44:25.

first half took his tally to 400 points. This, his 53rd game. A

:44:26.:44:31.

kick... My word: He rattles that home.

:44:32.:44:35.

Even most of us try that kicking style, we end up in on faces. He

:44:36.:44:43.

gets it in. Intense pressure. A semi time final. What a lovely -- a

:44:44.:44:50.

semi-final. What a lovely try. In greasy conditions, to nail that try.

:44:51.:44:54.

There's the celebration. At last we've done it. At least we've broken

:44:55.:44:58.

the defence down and Sneyd come pounds that by making aen

:44:59.:45:04.

six-pointer from the touchline. Eight points a piece. A timely

:45:05.:45:10.

reminder. Extra time, if necessary. But there are 31 big minutes before

:45:11.:45:16.

that happens. The last semi-final here, Leeds and castle ford was a

:45:17.:45:21.

golden point extra time. Kevin Sinfield with a penalty late

:45:22.:45:29.

on. Was that 2013? 2012? It was a good semi and this is as well.

:45:30.:45:36.

Going, it passes and here comes Shaul. Shaul darts into that pocket

:45:37.:45:42.

that opened up ahead of him. It closed, snapped shut just as quick.

:45:43.:45:51.

Hull have the mood here. A bounce by Sika Manu. Look at them,

:45:52.:45:57.

all over his back. They only just pull him down... Eventually.

:45:58.:46:03.

Back it comes again to Sneyd. Sneyd now. Shaul, with a kick through.

:46:04.:46:11.

Testimony kins has missed it. Shaul has it touched down. There are about

:46:12.:46:18.

8,000 in black and white behind the goal line who say, try Try." The

:46:19.:46:22.

referee, on the field, says "No try." Let's hear from the video are.

:46:23.:46:30.

Can we just check the offside. Yes, it is from a kick. So, I have got

:46:31.:46:38.

that clip. Thank you. OK, yeah. So, Shaul is going to kick and in front

:46:39.:46:43.

of him, that appears to be Ellis. OK, run that through on that angle

:46:44.:46:45.

just to see. I think, I just want to check that

:46:46.:46:57.

again, if I can. Manu is in front of the ball. I want to see what Manu

:46:58.:47:01.

does. He's ahead of the ball because of the break in play. Just that

:47:02.:47:05.

replay again, please. I can see what Manu does, who is ahead of the ball.

:47:06.:47:20.

Ellis stays outside the ten. OK, so Ellis is in front of the

:47:21.:47:24.

ball, as is Manu. I think that is Manu. Play it on from here, nice and

:47:25.:47:28.

slow, please. OK, so that is - now what happens

:47:29.:47:33.

here, Manu could be ten metres from Sneyd. The decision was onside. So,

:47:34.:47:39.

can I see it from behind the six? Have you got anything from behind,

:47:40.:47:41.

just to see the width? Manu, he's not interfering. I was OK

:47:42.:48:01.

with the onside. Can I look at the knock-on by testimony kins first? --

:48:02.:48:07.

Tomkins first? If it is a knock-on to it, it would be a free play.

:48:08.:48:21.

OK, so Tomkins, a knock-on by him. We are on free play. What happens

:48:22.:48:28.

from Shaul? One from behind the sticks was a good angle, to be

:48:29.:48:36.

honest. So, OK... So... Shaul, I think it is just a collision. That's

:48:37.:48:42.

play on. Shaul now has the ball. Then he loses it. It is two knock

:48:43.:48:47.

ones. No try. First knock-on by Tomkins. Hull, head and feet.

:48:48.:48:54.

So no try. But Hull will get the ball back.

:48:55.:49:00.

Head and ball for Hull. No try, but they have the second best outside in

:49:01.:49:08.

that they get another set of six to rattle this Wigan line again. It

:49:09.:49:12.

looks like they have upped a gear in the last five minutes. They are

:49:13.:49:16.

asking some real questions when they go back against the grain of the

:49:17.:49:19.

Wigan defence which is pressure from the inside. You just feel there may

:49:20.:49:25.

be another score. On the immediate horizon for the

:49:26.:49:31.

black and whites. It has done Wigan a favour, because they have a chance

:49:32.:49:34.

to get some oxygen back into their lungs here. It is not always the

:49:35.:49:38.

case. Sometimes you relax, you think we didn't concede the try and they

:49:39.:49:43.

come up with the play and they are ready physically, but mentally they

:49:44.:49:47.

are not ready. Let's see if Hull can come up with it, then. There may be

:49:48.:49:53.

a short side play here. It will be on YouTube by the end of the night,

:49:54.:49:57.

won't it? Six from here. Having a go.

:49:58.:50:07.

An increasingly common pattern, Hull captured but not stopped. Here is

:50:08.:50:15.

another big fella, Watts. He is again striding up. The Wigan

:50:16.:50:19.

defenders are having to work twice as hard to stop the Hull players

:50:20.:50:23.

from moving forward. Sneyd puts it back. Shaul. Yeaman... Couldn't

:50:24.:50:32.

quite roll around the defender. Sneyd again.

:50:33.:50:38.

Pritchard with a soft hand. They are going across the line. Looking for

:50:39.:50:40.

an angle. Fonua... Williams on the last

:50:41.:50:49.

occasion. Pritchard again. Battering forward. Wow, we are asking some

:50:50.:50:54.

questions here, Hull. All been answered.

:50:55.:50:58.

How much fuel have Wigan got left in attack? Manu gets the ball away.

:50:59.:51:04.

Will they go down with possession? Sneyd again. Now he puts the kick to

:51:05.:51:21.

the corner. And it is scored. He's dropped it and Wigan's problems have

:51:22.:51:27.

just doubled. It is given. He says try on the field. But we need

:51:28.:51:30.

another video referee here. So we are checking onside.

:51:31.:51:44.

So, we are checking to see the winger. We need to check from the

:51:45.:51:49.

kick. If we can pause it on the foot and look to see if anybody is in

:51:50.:51:58.

front of the kick. Sneyd has the ball. Kicks the BA

:51:59.:52:02.

everybody in the shot looks to be onside. We cannot see beyond that.

:52:03.:52:07.

Have we got anything that shows... What about from behind the post?

:52:08.:52:12.

Does that show any other... ? Does anything show... The winger.

:52:13.:52:21.

Everybody else looks onside. We cannot see the winger, the live

:52:22.:52:25.

decision is a triesmt he's not in shot there.

:52:26.:52:30.

And that's, are they the only two angles we've got? OK. I have nothing

:52:31.:52:34.

that disproves it. Can I check the grounding now. That is just the end

:52:35.:52:36.

of the process. Right, he's onside off that. The

:52:37.:52:52.

decision is he's onside. We need to check the grounding, please.

:52:53.:53:03.

It is off this Wigan man. Picked up. Try.

:53:04.:53:10.

The flow of the game is changing. It is all going black and white at

:53:11.:53:30.

the moment. We have to say it has been about the

:53:31.:53:37.

pressure and the ball-carrying and the prowess. Too much pressure for

:53:38.:53:45.

Wigan. Sneyd came up, you would expect

:53:46.:53:50.

Manfridi to come up with every day of the week. It is Talanoa... This

:53:51.:54:02.

by Manfriedi and that is all about the stress and pressure that Hull

:54:03.:54:04.

have put on Wigan. I think he liked that concentration.

:54:05.:54:16.

19 times out of 20. In the most important game of his

:54:17.:54:18.

life. That would have cheered the kid up.

:54:19.:54:30.

Here is Sneyd. 12-8 at the moment.

:54:31.:54:41.

Starts it left. Drifts it in. The chant of "Sneyd" goes up again. It

:54:42.:54:50.

is Fetuli Talanoa t man whose coach calls a front row winger. The big

:54:51.:54:55.

fella has touched down. Well if there is one way this Hull

:54:56.:54:59.

team will get over the line tonight it will be with all these

:55:00.:55:02.

supporters. There are loads of people in this stadium. They have

:55:03.:55:07.

got about, oh, I have to say about two this thirds of the stadium.

:55:08.:55:15.

I think Robin may have been distracted there by the company he

:55:16.:55:19.

was keeping. Old faithful, rattles out again. Well the, the point is

:55:20.:55:30.

about Manfridi, they can cope with the big play after. Let's see if

:55:31.:55:37.

they can do that. At the minute, Hull FC are dominanting proceedings.

:55:38.:55:40.

You wonder how much energy that first half took out of the Wigan

:55:41.:55:44.

Warriors. Such a great defensive effort. I think it is more about

:55:45.:55:49.

what the coach Radford said to his troops. They look more energised.

:55:50.:55:56.

Watts, the big man. I think Wigan need to, have a bit of patience. Get

:55:57.:56:01.

themselves into the rhythm and they have got plenty in the tank left.

:56:02.:56:06.

They are young and athletic. It may be stressful now they have gone

:56:07.:56:07.

behind. Wigan, they need a big play, Dave, I

:56:08.:56:23.

tell you, the Warriors, just to turn this Hull FC tie.

:56:24.:56:26.

Smith... Here is Bateman... Five gone. Here comes the last.

:56:27.:56:42.

Williams... Threatens to... Well he threatened to kick it. Everyone had

:56:43.:56:46.

run past him and the ball goes to ground. It is a handover. That is a

:56:47.:56:50.

big defensive play from Hull. Williams has took them on there and

:56:51.:56:55.

boom... Hooch, that would have hurt him address well. He is a tough kid.

:56:56.:57:00.

-- as well. He is a tough kid. Has not come off. I don't know if it is

:57:01.:57:04.

the right decision there. It would have been better to put it into the

:57:05.:57:11.

air to Talanoa. Still 25 minutes left in this game.

:57:12.:57:14.

It is a long, long, long way from being over.

:57:15.:57:20.

It is Hull in the ascendancy at the moment.

:57:21.:57:25.

Carries like that from Taylor t ball carrying, taking a little bit of

:57:26.:57:33.

juice out of this Wigan team. Yeaman...

:57:34.:57:43.

Yeaman, 22 years of age. Three Challenge Cup finals, with Hull FC.

:57:44.:57:56.

16 16th season here, Kirk Yeaman. There's the kick from Sneyd again.

:57:57.:58:02.

Tomkins underneath this. Sarginson... Got a strapped nose at

:58:03.:58:25.

the moment. Some tired Wigan bodies, you know,

:58:26.:58:30.

out there. You can tell it is taking them some time to regroup and get

:58:31.:58:33.

behind the ball after the kick. Williams going left.

:58:34.:58:39.

Gildart going nowhere. A penalty. A penalty for Hull to give away. It is

:58:40.:58:45.

a cheap one as well. In the ascendancy and a leg up for

:58:46.:58:47.

Wigan. Hull are in the ascendancy, but it

:58:48.:58:57.

is only a try and a goal, and it all changes here. I am thinking golden

:58:58.:59:01.

point here. You are thinking of the overtime. Oh, we have a bad injury

:59:02.:59:06.

here. We have a bad injury because instantly the reaction on the

:59:07.:59:09.

field... Concern from the coach, Lee Radford.

:59:10.:59:38.

His head is in the wrong place there, Fonua.

:59:39.:59:45.

It is good to see how the medics are out there so quickly w the prompt

:59:46.:59:48.

attention. I am certain this will be a head

:59:49.:59:53.

injury assessment. No doubt about that. He got his head

:59:54.:59:59.

in the wrong side for the tackle. And it seemed to knock the kid out.

:00:00.:00:09.

In my era, growing up, it was about getting on with it but this is

:00:10.:00:15.

brilliant, the medical attention that they get nowadays. They have 15

:00:16.:00:23.

minutes to assess them. Here is Williams, try number one that gave

:00:24.:00:28.

Wigan the lead. That was a tremendous off-load. He keeps the

:00:29.:00:32.

ball alive and it ends up with Michael 's Crossing in the corner,

:00:33.:00:44.

that is a strong drop. Talanoa took advantage.

:00:45.:00:53.

Concern here for the Tongan, Mahe Fonua. He was new to the side this

:00:54.:01:06.

year having arrived from Melbourne in the off-season. He has pulled his

:01:07.:01:11.

weight, hasn't he? He has been very good. You can see, technically his

:01:12.:01:20.

head should have been on the other side. And you can see, with his

:01:21.:01:25.

arms. He looked as though he had been knocked out before he hit the

:01:26.:01:30.

ground. There is some movement, there, which is always reassuring

:01:31.:01:33.

but they will take no arrests, they will give him all of the necessary

:01:34.:01:39.

medical care and attention. Less serious is the injury to Dan

:01:40.:01:46.

Sarginson. A fashion piece that Jon Wilkin have. There was a fashion

:01:47.:01:51.

piece about that guy, the elephant man. What is going on? He has a

:01:52.:01:57.

badly broken nose and it's a nastier one according to the doctor, he has

:01:58.:02:01.

manipulated it to allow him to breathe more easily. But he's a hard

:02:02.:02:06.

man and he wants to stay out there. Look at that. I said about the

:02:07.:02:11.

medical practice, he has broken his nose and there is blood everywhere,

:02:12.:02:16.

but they just want to get on with it. What do you think? They are

:02:17.:02:22.

great athletes. Their psyche is tremendous and sometimes you have to

:02:23.:02:25.

protect them from themselves and that is one of the reasons for the

:02:26.:02:29.

15 minute concussion assessment, they remove the player from the

:02:30.:02:34.

field and the doctor has 50 minutes to check that there is no problem

:02:35.:02:38.

and if that is the case he can go back out there. -- has 15 minutes.

:02:39.:02:43.

And if not he is kept off the field for the rest of the game. We

:02:44.:02:51.

heard... A quick reminder of what is happening tomorrow, Warrington

:02:52.:02:55.

against Wakefield. The other semifinal in the Challenge Cup

:02:56.:02:58.

semifinal series. The final is on August 29. What about this fella?

:02:59.:03:09.

Billy Boston, one of the great wingers of all time in the 1950s and

:03:10.:03:15.

60s for Wigan. He was a tough one as well. He was a great player. In the

:03:16.:03:20.

Hall of Fame, and in the Welsh Hall of Fame after dinner last year. He

:03:21.:03:30.

was one of the first two to be inducted. Josh Charnley. Not playing

:03:31.:03:33.

tonight because of suspension. The Doncaster team would like to

:03:34.:03:47.

have an atmosphere here every week. How good would that be?

:03:48.:04:00.

Let's have a look at those tackles. Danny Haughton, as you can see.

:04:01.:04:09.

Before tonight began he had pulled off 1017 tackles and he was the

:04:10.:04:13.

leading tackler by a distance but Sam Powell has done well tonight.

:04:14.:04:18.

They have had a lot of work to do because possession has been in their

:04:19.:04:22.

favour, Hull. Territory has been in their favour. They have had to work

:04:23.:04:27.

so hard defensively to keep in the game. Do you think this break takes

:04:28.:04:32.

the sting out of what Hull are doing? It could do. That is a moment

:04:33.:04:43.

he will not want to be reminded of Ulster that has given them the lead.

:04:44.:04:48.

That gentleman is very happy indeed, and the crowd behind are impressed.

:04:49.:04:53.

By the way, I know we get a lot of viewers across this country but

:04:54.:04:58.

around the world as well, and a big shout out to the Chicago Stock

:04:59.:05:12.

Yarders. Apparently they are watching on the Fox Soccer Network.

:05:13.:05:17.

You are playing in English rugby league next year? Yes, a massive

:05:18.:05:23.

expansion for the game in North America and everyone is very

:05:24.:05:26.

enthusiastic, 3000 season tickets sold already to watch the great

:05:27.:05:31.

game. There are 13 teams in North America at the moment and we should

:05:32.:05:36.

embrace that. We are on our way, you are going to see the greatest game

:05:37.:05:40.

of all, played in the right way and it absolutely has legs. Are you

:05:41.:05:50.

joining him next year? No. We are doing a six-week trip around North

:05:51.:05:54.

America to trial the overspill is from the athletes that don't make

:05:55.:05:57.

the professional grade over there as part of a telly show, we will take a

:05:58.:06:03.

couple of buses to Detroit and Chicago and Boston and Ottawa and

:06:04.:06:07.

Montreal and we are going to get some contracts out at the end of it,

:06:08.:06:11.

so we are really excited about that and the talent that we might

:06:12.:06:15.

unearth. Hopefully someone like that man on the screen can get us there.

:06:16.:06:21.

One or two signings already. One Super League chairman told me he

:06:22.:06:25.

wanted to sign a certain player from Toronto. You have serious

:06:26.:06:31.

intentions? Absolutely. The board of directors and the CEO... As we see

:06:32.:06:39.

him being carried from the fields to generous applause, they are serious

:06:40.:06:42.

about spreading the gospel of rugby league. Interesting as well, the

:06:43.:06:49.

Wigan fans there, joining in with the Hull FC fans and applauding the

:06:50.:06:57.

efforts of Fonua. He has been very, very good today. It will be

:06:58.:07:02.

interesting, as you rightly say, it has been a long hold-up and rightly

:07:03.:07:07.

so, but how will the teams react? Just a reminder that before the

:07:08.:07:11.

break Hull were in the ascendancy, looking on top, leading as they

:07:12.:07:18.

still do by 14-8, and there is now the thumbs up from Mahe Fonua to say

:07:19.:07:22.

that he's OK. They are looking after me. I will be OK. He might not be

:07:23.:07:30.

coming back tonight. Wigan with four tackles still to go in this

:07:31.:07:35.

particular set. Joe Bretherton, the youngster on the field, the

:07:36.:07:43.

20-year-old. He is a very yeast -- he has become very recently

:07:44.:07:47.

involved. Looking to wrap things up. O'Loughlin kicks it into the in-goal

:07:48.:07:54.

area. Tierney was chasing it. Frustration, so close. It was so

:07:55.:07:59.

near, that one. Good play by Tomkins, you can understand the

:08:00.:08:02.

decision from O'Loughlin but he just does not execute the skill well

:08:03.:08:10.

enough. It gives Hull a free 20 metres, I would be tempted to play

:08:11.:08:14.

out the last couple of plays. I would agree with you, they have had

:08:15.:08:19.

so little territory, Wigan, they need to camp on the Hull line to

:08:20.:08:23.

build some pressure. Instead of absorbing it. A very, very decent

:08:24.:08:27.

carry. Ellis, a couple of tackles to go. 20

:08:28.:08:47.

minutes still to play. Going on a little bit. That was the fifth

:08:48.:08:53.

tackle. And they have given away a penalty. Danny Haughton immediately

:08:54.:09:01.

tells the referee, we are going to go over two here because these

:09:02.:09:04.

points might be enough to win us the game. Danny Houghton there, and

:09:05.:09:11.

Sneyd has been picking the ball up with his eyes closed. In a game like

:09:12.:09:15.

this it gives them two scores, they have had an injury break. It's the

:09:16.:09:24.

carry, tremendous again by Tuimavave. He forces Flower to

:09:25.:09:28.

illegally try to slow down the game, and as Dave Woods pointed out,

:09:29.:09:34.

tackle five. My word. That is a heartbreaker. Marc Sneyd settling

:09:35.:09:51.

the ball on the tee. Averaging over four points per game since is

:09:52.:09:55.

signing from Castleford a couple of years ago. Played in the final for

:09:56.:10:01.

Castleford in 2014, part of the side that made US Open our eyes and be

:10:02.:10:07.

dazzled by classic Castleford. Everything was going right for him

:10:08.:10:12.

tonight but nothing went right for him that day. Certainly settled into

:10:13.:10:17.

the Hull team this year. Real fans favourite. He will be elevated in

:10:18.:10:22.

that favouritism if he gets this and he does. The flags are up. Four out

:10:23.:10:31.

of four, 100 ascent kicking tonight. Dick 's team goes to eight, Wigan

:10:32.:10:35.

have the scored twice and in a low scoring semifinal that will not be

:10:36.:10:40.

easy. The possession that Hull have dominated will ensure they have

:10:41.:10:43.

plenty of energy to defend their own line should they be called upon to

:10:44.:10:49.

do that. If Wigan snatch this, I tell you, it will be one of the

:10:50.:10:54.

greatest fight backs of all time. Hull bring it forward without Mahe

:10:55.:11:00.

Fonua. Do you have news on his injury? A fantastic response by the

:11:01.:11:05.

medical team, he has been taken to the medical room and is being seen

:11:06.:11:08.

to buy a doctor and paramedics. He is in a neck brace, but he gave a

:11:09.:11:17.

thumbs up to the whole supporters. No news of hospital yet. He looks in

:11:18.:11:24.

decent shape. Knock-on by you man. That is what Wigan wanted. That is

:11:25.:11:31.

the leg up that Wigan needed. -- Yeaman. Needing to form the scrum in

:11:32.:11:36.

the correct place. Great defence, forcing the error. The time is off.

:11:37.:11:47.

A real squeezing tackle from Bateman to make that happen. I know this

:11:48.:11:54.

sounds crazy in a really high-intensity, highly emotional

:11:55.:11:58.

game, but they need a bit of clarity, they can get themselves

:11:59.:12:02.

back into this. Tomkins skips back on the inside again. He makes the

:12:03.:12:05.

tackle. Sam Powell. He has O'Loughlin to his

:12:06.:12:21.

right but it goes to Williams and Tomkins has to reach him. Outcomes

:12:22.:12:30.

are wily reader of attacking plays. -- the wily reader. He has Isa left

:12:31.:12:40.

and Gildart. A couple of tackles to go here. Wigan are ten metres away.

:12:41.:12:53.

O'Loughlin, running it in hard. The last play, in this set anyway. That

:12:54.:12:59.

is very untidy and the referees says penalty and again it is a fifth

:13:00.:13:03.

tackle penalty. They have to forget about gold kicks, tapped the ball

:13:04.:13:08.

and build some pressure. You never know what might occur, it might be a

:13:09.:13:12.

ricochet, might get lucky kick. Just stay up there and work to make some

:13:13.:13:22.

thing happen. Bateman. Five metres away with four tackles to go.

:13:23.:13:25.

Spinning left. He goes large and long. Tierney catches it but he had

:13:26.:13:32.

to stop his run to make that catch. Some of the defenders came out to

:13:33.:13:37.

meet him. Getting frustrated here. Wigan need numbers in motion, they

:13:38.:13:45.

really do. Williams, skipping away. Dummying. And then certain. That's

:13:46.:13:52.

the fifth and here comes the last. Bateman is that the me half but he

:13:53.:13:56.

will go himself and he realises it is closed up. Smith puts in the

:13:57.:14:03.

kick. That is going nowhere. Hull survived that moment of drama. That

:14:04.:14:09.

is the element of composure, it needed to be a structured last

:14:10.:14:14.

tackle play, really. They have been comfortable with this all season.

:14:15.:14:19.

The Hull defence was magnificent as well, Bateman is hard to stop, it is

:14:20.:14:25.

hard to criticise him if he sees a hole that he thinks he can get

:14:26.:14:31.

through. Give credit to the defence of Hull. Here is Haughton, 17

:14:32.:14:38.

minutes to go. He gets a good pass away and suddenly there is a

:14:39.:14:40.

marvellous opportunity. He goes wide. Michaels is dragged down from

:14:41.:14:46.

behind but it's a great recovery by the Wigan defence. This is the last

:14:47.:14:54.

play. Out it comes. Sneyd cuts back inside and Ellis goes down the

:14:55.:14:57.

middle but he is chopped down and they will have two handed over five

:14:58.:15:01.

yards out from the Wigan line. Great success, Hull, with inside plays. It

:15:02.:15:15.

was the inside play. There he is. Almost ripping them open, it was an

:15:16.:15:25.

inside ball, Tuimavave has in side support. Scrambling thereby Gildart

:15:26.:15:31.

and Tomkins, they have seemingly done that all day. Hull have Wigan

:15:32.:15:38.

on their heels again and Wigan are looking to punch their way out of

:15:39.:15:42.

trouble. Did that get a touch from a Hull player? O'Loughlin spins it

:15:43.:15:52.

back into the middle. Putting the left shoulder in. Leading from the

:15:53.:15:57.

front, Ellis. The last three tackles he has been involved in. Smith plays

:15:58.:16:06.

it to Bateman. They have already got to tackle 4, deep inside their own

:16:07.:16:10.

half, so Matty Smith knows that they need a clearance. It has been reined

:16:11.:16:20.

in. Over the 20. But not much further. Tuimavave has had a decent

:16:21.:16:29.

game, a couple of decisive breaks down the right-hand side, perfect.

:16:30.:16:37.

He has certainly justified the coach Lee Radford's decision to pick him

:16:38.:16:38.

in that position. Some heavy duty work down the

:16:39.:16:56.

middle. It is so physical, the Hull FC side, they are so big and

:16:57.:17:04.

physical and relentless tonight. Six is the next. They go to the boot, a

:17:05.:17:15.

clever kick through. Using the modern expression that everybody

:17:16.:17:22.

loves. I think he mis-hit it. He wanted it to go there. I think it

:17:23.:17:29.

might have been the outside of his foot, Brian. They practice that. Not

:17:30.:17:43.

in my book, they don't. That is called dexterity with the foot. They

:17:44.:17:57.

think they are going to Wembley. Well, they think they are going.

:17:58.:18:02.

They think they are going. More importantly, the blokes on the field

:18:03.:18:07.

think they are going but that won't help, first tackle penalty. There is

:18:08.:18:12.

still 14 minutes left to play. Wigan need to inject energy into the game

:18:13.:18:16.

because they look really tired, as if all of the defensive work has

:18:17.:18:20.

taken its toll. This is a man who can make an impact down the middle.

:18:21.:18:26.

They have to score twice, Wigan. They have to score twice. They have

:18:27.:18:35.

had 17 more tackles today. That is virtually three sets. It drains you.

:18:36.:18:52.

Gildart is going to have a -- from dummy half. Tomkins again. His

:18:53.:19:06.

footwork got him Pat the first danger but he could not recover any

:19:07.:19:15.

further. They are hunting. Last tackle again, Matty Smith with the

:19:16.:19:20.

kick and it is a take. Tuimavave loses it in the tackle and Wigan get

:19:21.:19:26.

it back for another set of six. What about that for a pass from the prop

:19:27.:19:31.

forward? This is a free play. Tomkins is chasing. He hits the

:19:32.:19:37.

post. That could be anybody's. Eventually out of play. They will go

:19:38.:19:38.

back to the original knock-on. Again, good tackle, underneath the

:19:39.:19:55.

ball, forcing the error. This was worth doing. Clever little kick from

:19:56.:20:02.

Williams. Almost pays off for Tomkins but the lack of energy, just

:20:03.:20:07.

one chaser, five Hull FC defenders around the ball, just one Wigan

:20:08.:20:12.

player chasing, that might be an indication of fatigue. This is a

:20:13.:20:17.

massive set of six. If Wigan can get a score back here, the game will be

:20:18.:20:22.

wide open but if Hull holdout, then their competence or is a little

:20:23.:20:28.

higher. There is the first effort from Bateman. Sarginson ships it to

:20:29.:20:37.

Smith and now Tautai rattles it forward again. Powell stands and

:20:38.:20:46.

weights. Four tackles in the set left to go. Searching, desperately.

:20:47.:21:01.

O'Loughlin. Three tackles gone. Play on. The referee says play on.

:21:02.:21:09.

Bateman takes three, four defenders, dragging him to stop his determined

:21:10.:21:13.

effort towards the line. Two tackles left. Here is certain. Like a

:21:14.:21:24.

bowling ball, racing in. But it's another set of six. It's another

:21:25.:21:36.

penalty! What was that one for? He stepped and you caught him high.

:21:37.:21:41.

Let's keep it low. High tackle. Is there a temptation to go for two?

:21:42.:21:46.

They need an energy lift, and that will only come if they cross the

:21:47.:21:47.

whitewash. Another five tackles for Hull to

:21:48.:22:02.

survive. These are heroic moments, these are moments where cup ties are

:22:03.:22:05.

won and lost, where energy levels drained. But from somewhere you have

:22:06.:22:13.

to find something. Either with the ball or without. Tomkins! Has he

:22:14.:22:17.

knocked it on? It went backwards. Trying to flick it over the top, was

:22:18.:22:21.

that a bit of a rush of blood? Definitely. It was play 3, wasn't a

:22:22.:22:31.

knock-on, didn't go backwards. You live or die by your decisions. If

:22:32.:22:35.

you are going to kick on tackle three, you have to go with

:22:36.:22:38.

something. The refs gets it right, that went backwards. Just a lack of

:22:39.:22:46.

composure, there. Wigan are not giving up their position and Hull

:22:47.:22:50.

are not out of trouble just yet because this is a big effort in

:22:51.:22:56.

defence. Four tackles gone, and Hull are restricted to the minimum. They

:22:57.:23:02.

could stick this ball 60 metres and it will be to no avail. Here it

:23:03.:23:06.

comes, but it goes straight to Tomkins and he should return it to

:23:07.:23:10.

at least the 40 metre mark and maybe beyond. He gets to the halfway line

:23:11.:23:14.

and he gets the pass away to Gildart. He runs to the middle and

:23:15.:23:19.

looks for support but he can't find it yet but Wigan are back. What

:23:20.:23:25.

scrambling defence from Hull. Right back where they have been for what

:23:26.:23:28.

seems like an eternity now. Sarginson. Manfredi plays it inside

:23:29.:23:37.

for Smith. Sutton, just winds himself up.

:23:38.:23:44.

Powell, out of dummy half. Smith carries it in. Williams. And they

:23:45.:23:54.

have got the try through Willie Isa. The Hull defence is finally

:23:55.:23:58.

breached, this semifinal is not over yet. Not by a long way. What a game

:23:59.:24:03.

we have got here. Absolutely fantastic entertainment. With two

:24:04.:24:10.

sets of players who are giving absolutely everything in their quest

:24:11.:24:15.

for Wembley. This is the kick return, tremendous work by Tomkins,

:24:16.:24:21.

pushing up by Gildart, that is the play that injected the energy into

:24:22.:24:26.

the Wigan Warriors, they have good movement on the dummy half play, the

:24:27.:24:30.

ball is shifted and that was a perfect pass for Willie Isa, soaking

:24:31.:24:35.

the defender out of the line and Isa goes into the gap. Powles, Smith and

:24:36.:24:40.

Williams are pivots to get Isa over the line. That is a great score from

:24:41.:24:48.

Wigan on the back of relentless pressure, five penalties, a

:24:49.:24:55.

knock-on, an error by Tuimavave. Relentless pressure in this

:24:56.:24:58.

semifinal. How much is George Williams coming-of-age in this

:24:59.:25:02.

semifinal? Big game, big expectations. He has really

:25:03.:25:08.

delivered tonight. Absolutely. All of the players have had a few brain

:25:09.:25:13.

explosions, but Williams has been special for Wigan as well as

:25:14.:25:17.

Tomkins. It was his start to get Gildart through the line. We have

:25:18.:25:21.

been waxing lyrical about Hull for the past 20 minutes! Hats off to the

:25:22.:25:27.

unbreakable spirit that Wigan have shown. To get themselves back. As he

:25:28.:25:42.

put it wide? Yes, he has! Well, it is not absolutely devastating, but

:25:43.:25:45.

they still had to score a try to win the game, but now they could have

:25:46.:25:51.

been within a goal-kicking penalty taking the game to a golden point.

:25:52.:25:56.

Psychologically changes everything, they need to keep playing because

:25:57.:26:00.

they need to get a try and Hull will feel as though they had a let off

:26:01.:26:03.

will Eight minutes left and four points

:26:04.:26:12.

in it, the prize on offer, the Challenge Cup final at Wembley.

:26:13.:26:22.

Eight minutes to go. Who is going to Wembley Stadium? Well, we knew that

:26:23.:26:31.

it would take a very special effort from one side or the other to get

:26:32.:26:36.

through this particular semifinal. It has taken a very special effort

:26:37.:26:42.

so far. Is there a winning moment still to come or do they hang on

:26:43.:26:46.

from here? They are good early tackle yards. Up to the halfway

:26:47.:26:58.

point. Tackle 4. That is Sutton. Ten yards inside Hull territory.

:26:59.:27:04.

Bateman. He looked out on his feet not that long ago. He has lost it.

:27:05.:27:10.

Minichiello would suggest that he should have been allowed to play on,

:27:11.:27:14.

there. The tackle was completed and then the ball was lost. I was about

:27:15.:27:21.

to say on commentary, don't rely on your defence, but what do they do?

:27:22.:27:27.

He comes up with the error, but your mindset, if you're going to rely on

:27:28.:27:32.

your defence,... I think he drops it. He did drop that. It is the

:27:33.:27:37.

physicality of the Hull side, when they carry the ball, those metres

:27:38.:27:43.

after contact, it is hard work to put them to ground and when they

:27:44.:27:48.

defend, the big man, they hit with the shoulder, every collision is

:27:49.:27:54.

draining against this physically massive Hull FC team. We have said

:27:55.:28:05.

it before and we will say it again, floodlit rugby league on BBC Two,

:28:06.:28:10.

what is not to like? Colourful, exciting...

:28:11.:28:23.

Sneyd's feed. Hull know that they don't have the scorer again. That

:28:24.:28:30.

was my point before, thinking, don't rely on your defence, you still have

:28:31.:28:34.

do offer something so that they don't get into the comfort zone,

:28:35.:28:38.

Wigan will just think, we can have another crack because we know we

:28:39.:28:43.

will always get the ball. Dragging himself over the halfway line. Five

:28:44.:28:49.

Hull players who played for Hull the last time they were here. He was

:28:50.:28:57.

playing for Wigan that day. Helped on from dummy half. There is no

:28:58.:29:00.

value in a drop goal at also they will kick it towards the corner.

:29:01.:29:07.

Well, he has underplayed that. That was not the best end to the set but

:29:08.:29:11.

I'd tell you what, he would settle for Wigan playing the ball eight

:29:12.:29:17.

metres from their own line. Six minutes to go, there is plenty of

:29:18.:29:20.

time when Wigan have the ball in their hands. Here is Powell. Running

:29:21.:29:31.

hard from O'Loughlin again. Not on that occasion. Williams, the ball

:29:32.:29:42.

squeezes free. Minichiello has it. This is to win the cup tie. He goes

:29:43.:29:48.

in underneath the sticks. But... It's a big but, we will go to the

:29:49.:29:54.

video referee. It's going to be a video referee, because for my money

:29:55.:30:00.

he knocked on as he picked it up. I agree totally, Williams knocks it

:30:01.:30:05.

backwards and Minichiello... Well, we will soon find out. I think he

:30:06.:30:10.

said try on the field. Let's hear from the video referee.

:30:11.:30:20.

VIDEO REFEREE: See what happens on the offload first. So, comes out on

:30:21.:30:29.

impact and goes behind him. That looks like it hits Minichiello's

:30:30.:30:39.

hand. That has come out on impact. It has gone behind him. It has not

:30:40.:30:44.

hit a Hull player. That has then hit Minichiello's hand. It has to be a

:30:45.:30:50.

no try. It is not finished yet. It is not

:30:51.:31:01.

finished yet. No try.

:31:02.:31:07.

Five minutes to go. So, for the majority of the time they have the

:31:08.:31:10.

ball here, they will be inside the Hull half. They will. And that is

:31:11.:31:14.

the correct decision. What about that? That is the correct decision.

:31:15.:31:27.

Hull fans furious. Absolutely the right decision.

:31:28.:31:34.

As he explained it came out on impact and went backwards and

:31:35.:31:36.

Minichiello attempting to pick the ball up.

:31:37.:31:43.

The nerves are tingling here. What a game! Two sets of fans who

:31:44.:31:53.

can barely look. It a east no wonder the teams are tired. It is tiring

:31:54.:31:56.

watching this, isn't it? It is nerve-racking. Warrington against

:31:57.:32:03.

Wakefield tomorrow. They are sitting in their hotel rooms, their own

:32:04.:32:06.

homes, watching tonight, nervous about tomorrow. It will be a cup

:32:07.:32:11.

tie. This is very much a cup tie. Here's Williams.

:32:12.:32:18.

Gildart... Of Tierney. Manfredi went chasing after this.

:32:19.:32:40.

Hang on... A 20-metre restart. They are just checking. It is not a

:32:41.:32:45.

try they are looking for here. They are just having a look to see

:32:46.:32:48.

how they restart here. It is not a try decision. It is the

:32:49.:32:55.

two replays. OK. Live it looked right.

:32:56.:33:01.

A good chase from Manfredi. And It has touched the floor.

:33:02.:33:12.

By the way if you are tuning in to watch Claire Balding Meets, that

:33:13.:33:30.

will now be shown on Tuesday night, 10pm. We are staying with this. I am

:33:31.:33:35.

sorry. I am sure she's watching and enjoying every moment of this. The

:33:36.:33:40.

show which should be on after us will now be on Tuesday night at

:33:41.:33:44.

10pm. We are not peeling our eyes from this.

:33:45.:33:47.

I tell you what, this game is going to be closed out or won by Wigan on

:33:48.:33:52.

the will and the will and the desire to get over the line and get that

:33:53.:33:57.

prize. Tautai down the middle.

:33:58.:34:00.

Three-and-a-half minutes to go. Smith again.

:34:01.:34:13.

Tomkins. Sarginson... : Smith. Oh, it is O'Loughlin. His pass.

:34:14.:34:17.

It shows an element of fatigue there.

:34:18.:34:22.

Gildart bustles in again. Two tackles for Hull to survive. Two

:34:23.:34:26.

tackles for Wigan to have a real go again. Williams dribbles it through.

:34:27.:34:32.

Wants to do it in one. He's forced another set. It is a drop out under

:34:33.:34:37.

neath the sticks. They will take their time will the

:34:38.:34:42.

black and whites at Hull FC, they really will. Still in the melting

:34:43.:34:49.

pot. Less than three minutes to go. The referee stopped the clock here.

:34:50.:34:53.

All of a sudden the possession has gone back towards Wigan. That might

:34:54.:34:59.

be why they look more energised. That may be why they are building

:35:00.:35:03.

pressure. I tell ya, the prize is big.

:35:04.:35:07.

Never mind possession and position, it is all about heart and soul at

:35:08.:35:11.

this stage of the game. Who's got the bigger hearts to see the job

:35:12.:35:13.

through? Tautai put down. Powell from dummy half. Bateman

:35:14.:35:24.

takes it on again. They are within striking range and full tackles to

:35:25.:35:28.

probe and prod. Smith throws a lose pass. They have lost ground. Tierney

:35:29.:35:34.

loses the ball. Backwards, backwards. So, they have lost

:35:35.:35:41.

ground. Tomkins. ... Sutton, he's lost it.

:35:42.:35:48.

Knock-on. Knock-on... Two minutes to go.

:35:49.:35:54.

Wigan will rush here to pack down and stop the clock, I am sure. It is

:35:55.:35:59.

in Hull's hands now. It is. There is no doubt Hull FC will be a very

:36:00.:36:05.

conservative set, a very slow set. I have no doubt the ball will be

:36:06.:36:08.

kicked out of bounds the last tackle. This

:36:09.:36:22.

The clock starts as soon as the ball is in the scrum.

:36:23.:36:39.

Yeaman... His ambitions are minimal. Keep the ball right at the top of

:36:40.:36:41.

them. This is Talanoa, running the clock

:36:42.:36:53.

down. Wigan should get the ball back.

:36:54.:36:56.

There's enough time for them to have at least another two, maybe three

:36:57.:37:01.

full tackles here. Depending on how well Hull manage this. And how well

:37:02.:37:06.

they finish it. Game management is essential once

:37:07.:37:09.

again. Ellis... Halfway.

:37:10.:37:20.

Houghton goes right. Hull are on to tackle five. They wanted a penal

:37:21.:37:26.

tismt here comes the sixth. Sneyd finds the touchline. How quickly do

:37:27.:37:32.

Wigan get together here? How quickly before the referee stops the clock.

:37:33.:37:38.

Now. 55 seconds for a Challenge Cup semi-final to be won or lost. It is.

:37:39.:37:44.

And you can understand, a tremendous game tonight. Rolling over the

:37:45.:37:52.

sideline. Trying to hot the clock up by putting it out of bounds. There

:37:53.:37:56.

is a set to defend and for me that man, Marc Sneyd has really achieved

:37:57.:38:02.

a great deal tonight. They are trying to sing them home.

:38:03.:38:06.

There's a bit of physical work on the field to be done as well. Hull

:38:07.:38:12.

FC are five tackles away from Wembley. Wigan are now 50 yards away

:38:13.:38:18.

from rescuing the game. O'Loughlin... Williams... Gildart

:38:19.:38:23.

with a kick and a chase. It is all on this. Shaul picks it up. It is

:38:24.:38:30.

behind the ball line. So, it is a drop out. How long before the

:38:31.:38:34.

referee stops the clock here? Well the touch is in position. It is the

:38:35.:38:39.

signal of the outcome, get into position.

:38:40.:38:43.

20 seconds. The Man of the Match? For me it has to go to the Hull FC

:38:44.:38:49.

number seven, Minichiello has had a great game. For me, Marc Sneyd with

:38:50.:38:54.

his kicking in the general play and with his goal kicking also and how

:38:55.:38:59.

he's controlled the game. He deserve toss be taking his team on the road

:39:00.:39:04.

to Wembley. But there are still 20 seconds for

:39:05.:39:09.

someone to potentially write their name into their club's legend.

:39:10.:39:14.

That's a huge kick from Sneyd. That is exactly what his side wanted.

:39:15.:39:20.

So, a couple of tackles, at most, here. Sutton takes it in. This will

:39:21.:39:25.

be the last play of the game. Unless Wigan score. It is a

:39:26.:39:30.

knock-on. It is a knock-on. And Hull rejoice.

:39:31.:39:36.

Black and white all over. It has been whole hearted from both

:39:37.:39:46.

sides, but it is Hull FC who are going to Wembley for the Ladbrokes

:39:47.:39:52.

Challenge Cup final. What a magnificent game of rugby league

:39:53.:39:55.

that was. Both team have absolutely given everything.

:39:56.:40:00.

I do think over the fullness of the 80 minutes probably the results is

:40:01.:40:03.

just right. It has been a close game. Hull FC shaded it. They had a

:40:04.:40:08.

purple patch after half time when they built that lead. My word, those

:40:09.:40:14.

Wigan Warriors can be proud. They hung in there. They came back. It

:40:15.:40:19.

has been a classic semi-final of the Ladbrokes Challenge Cup. Well the

:40:20.:40:22.

difference on the score board has been very small. But the difference

:40:23.:40:28.

in emotions is immeasurable. From the sheer delight of those in black

:40:29.:40:33.

and white... They are on their way to Wembley.

:40:34.:40:38.

And the absolute crushing, disappointment of those in cherry

:40:39.:40:43.

and white, who know how close they came, and yet were denied that

:40:44.:40:47.

prize. Let's hear from the Man of the

:40:48.:40:51.

Match, Marc Sneyd, who is down there with Damian Johnson.

:40:52.:40:54.

Receiving his Man Man of the Match bubbly. You are in the Challenge Cup

:40:55.:41:00.

final. How does it feel? Unbelievable.

:41:01.:41:06.

I am absolutely just speechless, to be fair. The effort towards that

:41:07.:41:11.

back end was unbelievable. To be able to defend like that against

:41:12.:41:16.

Wigan, it's just amazing. What did the manager, the coach say at half

:41:17.:41:20.

time? You had to come from behind to win it and dig deep? We kind of knew

:41:21.:41:26.

our defence could hold out against good attacks, anyway. We have a

:41:27.:41:32.

great defence. It was just a case of keeping patient, not getting carried

:41:33.:41:35.

away and panicking. Obviously it paid off. We got a couple of tries.

:41:36.:41:40.

In a moment when you thought it would not be your day, try

:41:41.:41:45.

disallowed after the video ref decision. We played outstanding

:41:46.:41:50.

together. Worked for each other. And yeah, buzzing. Congratulation, the

:41:51.:41:56.

Ladbrokes Man of the Match. Lee Radford is with us. The winning

:41:57.:42:02.

coach, he is congratulating. E-Lee, you are in the final. Howson does it

:42:03.:42:08.

feel? Not -- how does it feel? Not a great deal between the two sides. It

:42:09.:42:13.

really was one of the most, towards that back ends I felt we had that

:42:14.:42:17.

little bit extra. It must have been talk of your life at half time, was

:42:18.:42:22.

it, as a coach? We spoke about that special play. There was nothing

:42:23.:42:27.

between the two teams. Somebody has to come up with it and somebody has

:42:28.:42:31.

to be responsible for not coming up with it. It is important we found

:42:32.:42:36.

it. On a couple of occasions we done it. Concern for Mahe Fonua - how is

:42:37.:42:45.

he? We will see how he is when we get the report. You never won at

:42:46.:42:49.

Wembley and a chance to put that right now. I want to wrong that

:42:50.:42:54.

right. I really do. I want to get this fixed up and put and end to

:42:55.:42:58.

that song, that is for sure. Well done. Gareth Ellis, the winning

:42:59.:43:02.

captain. You have been to Wembley and lost before. You have got

:43:03.:43:06.

another chance now. At the age of 35. You sometimes think these

:43:07.:43:09.

opportunities will not come. But we have been outstanding all year. I

:43:10.:43:14.

thought we were outstanding tonight. If I would be critical, not clinical

:43:15.:43:19.

enough in that first half. It is outstanding. A bruising encounter.

:43:20.:43:24.

You looked outon our feet at the end, all of you? The effort was

:43:25.:43:28.

unbelievable. We had a lot of work to do. Wigan are a top, top side.

:43:29.:43:32.

They put you under the pump. We had to do it tough tonight and I thought

:43:33.:43:39.

we stood up to it. What kind of advert was that for rugby league?

:43:40.:43:42.

Toughness. Working out when you are tired. That is what it felt like to

:43:43.:43:48.

me, anyway. Two tough teams. Some tough lads out there. They

:43:49.:43:54.

went-to-toe to toe. Happy to come out the right side. Warrington or

:43:55.:43:59.

Wakefield? Nice to see my old club get there. It would be something

:44:00.:44:06.

special. Happy tonight and we're in that final. Well done, Gareth. Thank

:44:07.:44:08.

you. Well, the Hull fans here inside are

:44:09.:44:19.

staying put. Very few have left. They are applauding their players. A

:44:20.:44:22.

few of whom are still out there on the pitch. The Wigan fans have

:44:23.:44:27.

already gone, we are not going anywhere, either. We will stay until

:44:28.:44:33.

10. 30pm. If you were tuning in for Clare Balding Meets this evening. It

:44:34.:44:37.

will be shown Tuesday evening at 10pm. If there was one thing Clare

:44:38.:44:41.

wouldn't mind being bumped for it is the rugby league and the Challenge

:44:42.:44:46.

Cup semi-final. The players are out there. I don't know which of you

:44:47.:44:51.

said in commentary, not a game full of skill, but a game full of

:44:52.:44:55.

intensity and admirable defence. Would that be fair? It was

:44:56.:45:01.

breathtaking. Typical semi-final fare. It was emotional. Hull tried

:45:02.:45:08.

their best. To lose it, the way they played, technically. Emotionally

:45:09.:45:11.

they were brilliant. They stuck in there. Ellis has said it, Howton has

:45:12.:45:18.

said it, their desire was there all r for all to see. All the energy

:45:19.:45:23.

Wigan used up defending the Hull team at the start of the second

:45:24.:45:28.

half, it was hard and going to ground and kept seeing the desire

:45:29.:45:31.

from both teams. Fabulous game. Right in the middle of the Hull

:45:32.:45:38.

huddle at the moment. I am assuming Jamie Peacock, knowing how teams are

:45:39.:45:42.

in semi-finals, enjoy this, but the job is not done yet. It is not done

:45:43.:45:46.

yet. The right to enjoy it because it is a classic game between two

:45:47.:45:50.

closely-matched side. You could tell at the end the will and the want was

:45:51.:45:55.

greater for Hull. That is why they came away with it in the end. It

:45:56.:46:01.

with us a spectacular -- it was a fabulous spectacle.

:46:02.:46:05.

At the start of the second half, Hull edged. They edged it when Wigan

:46:06.:46:10.

had the ball for a long time. Their defence was better than Wigan's

:46:11.:46:15.

attack. Also when you have a team's desire and enthusiasm, I think it is

:46:16.:46:20.

measured by how many shirts you saw in the frame. You saw more black

:46:21.:46:24.

than red and white. Hull's defence was spectacular at times. Their

:46:25.:46:28.

willingness to work for each other on the goal line was a big lesson in

:46:29.:46:34.

how to win a big game of rugby league. I think we have to credit

:46:35.:46:38.

Hull's defence. Hull put Wigan under pressure. Wigan struggled to break

:46:39.:46:45.

Hull down at any time. There was a break when Tomkins made a break, got

:46:46.:46:50.

some field position. Aside from that Wigan struggled to break this Hull

:46:51.:46:54.

team down. It was a huge effort from them. I agree with you, John. I

:46:55.:46:59.

think the individual prowess we spoke about at half time came to the

:47:00.:47:02.

fore at the start of the second half. A lot of the Hull players,

:47:03.:47:07.

Minichiello was making a break, Watson was getting out there and

:47:08.:47:11.

that willingness to offload the ball and take advantage of that at the

:47:12.:47:14.

start of the second half broke the game up for Hull. Hull's execution

:47:15.:47:20.

and the way they passed the balls, there were a couple of players, in

:47:21.:47:26.

the first half they were not sticking. In the second half, they

:47:27.:47:31.

set. They do not want to leave do the Hull players or the fans. You

:47:32.:47:36.

can understand that. Reminiscent of the scenes with Hull KR and their

:47:37.:47:41.

fans and their players. I know you are a Hull KR man now, Jamie. We

:47:42.:47:46.

said it last year after Hull KR made the final, it is great for the city.

:47:47.:47:51.

I know for a lot of us around this table, me, you, John it is a city

:47:52.:47:58.

close to our heart. That is a great effort. It is from Hull. You cannot

:47:59.:48:02.

knock how they played this year. They should talk it up. When you win

:48:03.:48:06.

a semi-final and you've had an atmosphere and a following like

:48:07.:48:10.

that, you deserve to stay out there and enjoy the moments. That is what

:48:11.:48:14.

you play sport for - these big moments where you have nailed a

:48:15.:48:19.

performance you soak it up. We can contrast that with the Wigan

:48:20.:48:27.

dressing room, as Shaun Wane and the team talk to the players. Heads are

:48:28.:48:31.

bowed and nobody saying anything at the moment. The worst place to lose,

:48:32.:48:40.

the semi-final. At least you get the Wembley experience. No-one there

:48:41.:48:43.

remembers who was in the semi-final. A lot of young guys will be

:48:44.:48:47.

learning. On the flip side we have Hull players who are having a

:48:48.:48:49.

picture. They have a lot of experience. You know the power in

:48:50.:48:54.

that group of players there, if you look at Pritchard, fan fan, Talanoa,

:48:55.:49:03.

when they carry the -- Fonua, when they carry the ball were magnificent

:49:04.:49:08.

tonight. Hull's defence won them the game tonights. Frustrated Wigan to

:49:09.:49:13.

death. Credit to them. It is an interesting contrast to earlier in

:49:14.:49:16.

the season, Brian, and I am interested in all of your thoughts.

:49:17.:49:23.

They went to Widnes early in the Super League, got smashed by

:49:24.:49:29.

widness. Ness. Widnes, at the end of that game the managers were kicked

:49:30.:49:32.

out of the dressing room and dealt with it themselves. Crisis, what

:49:33.:49:38.

crisis? It is easy for the focus to be oh an coach in what is going --

:49:39.:49:43.

focus to be on a coach and what is going on. I never used to minds

:49:44.:49:47.

players getting together and saying this is what is wrong, so long as

:49:48.:49:51.

the plan of action to put it right afterwards. The players have a huge

:49:52.:49:56.

amount of ownership. Once you get into a game you have a plan. The

:49:57.:50:00.

players have got to dictate that. We will come back to Hull in a moment.

:50:01.:50:04.

Back to Wigan, the defeated side and Shaun Wane is talking to Damian

:50:05.:50:07.

Johnson. Thank you for joining us. When the

:50:08.:50:12.

dust settles, would you concede that the better team won marginally on

:50:13.:50:16.

the night? Absolutely. They were the best team. On the back of that I

:50:17.:50:20.

would say I am very proud of our efforts. People don't understand,

:50:21.:50:26.

but the efforts of those 17 players was outstanding. Hull were the best

:50:27.:50:30.

team, they deserve to be at Wembley. They have been good all year. All

:50:31.:50:36.

the best to them. The first half was extraordinary? It was. We gave

:50:37.:50:40.

ourselves too much to do. Turn the ball over and play two again T

:50:41.:50:44.

desire my team showed was outstanding. It will help us further

:50:45.:50:47.

in the year. This is very, very tough to take. I thought all was

:50:48.:50:53.

there for the taking. If we had been smarter at certain areas of the

:50:54.:50:56.

field. Did the defensive effort take so much out of you could not find

:50:57.:51:03.

the line to cross in the second half? You've got it. Our attack was

:51:04.:51:07.

not crisp. In the final third, we scored a try. We had a try

:51:08.:51:11.

disallowed. We didn't really test them in the second half. I feel the

:51:12.:51:16.

decision we had was poor. We didn't really give ourselves a chance to

:51:17.:51:21.

get a foothold in the game. That was bruising and as intense as it gets,

:51:22.:51:28.

wasn't it? It was a tough game. What my team has, a lot of desire, a lot

:51:29.:51:34.

of toughness. The players are absolutely as sad as I have ever

:51:35.:51:39.

seen them. They were devastated. We felt we deserved something today. In

:51:40.:51:42.

the end it was not enough. I appreciate your time. Thank you. He

:51:43.:51:46.

is proud of the earth fof of his players. He is proud of how they

:51:47.:51:49.

perform. If you look at the Super 8s to come

:51:50.:51:54.

and a potential Grand Final, that will be their aim. How concerned

:51:55.:51:58.

will he be about their attacking threat? Only Leeds have scored less,

:51:59.:52:03.

and they struggled gone tonight. It has been a consistent problem for

:52:04.:52:07.

them all year. The points for and against don't lie. The defence has

:52:08.:52:12.

been immaculate. Fantastic. They have struggled to break the teams

:52:13.:52:18.

down. There are a million reasons. We would get technical as to why it

:52:19.:52:23.

has not worked this year. If they can bring that attitude to the

:52:24.:52:25.

majority of games they would win. The problem up against Hull, a side

:52:26.:52:30.

who is equally as good as defending as well. With the ball were more

:52:31.:52:34.

potent. This game they were a kick or a pass away from getting over the

:52:35.:52:40.

line. So you said it, it has been mentioned, they were bitterly

:52:41.:52:42.

disappointed. That will fuel their end of season and generally see you

:52:43.:52:47.

in a loss like that it gives, it galvanises you and you think, we

:52:48.:52:51.

didn't get those spoils, but it will make them have a decent charge

:52:52.:52:54.

towards the Super League title. Shall we look at the two tries in

:52:55.:53:01.

the second half. We spoke about Hull's

:53:02.:53:04.

ineffectiveness to come one a player. One player involved, second

:53:05.:53:09.

player involved. They were patient. Explored the defensive line. Three

:53:10.:53:13.

players involved. They are trying to engineer an opening. Pritchard

:53:14.:53:17.

offload. Six players, seven players, Michaels

:53:18.:53:20.

is in the corner. That's a little bit of quality in the game. I think

:53:21.:53:26.

your attack is not fine and when your big set players are not working

:53:27.:53:29.

and you go to the unorthodox, this is where you get tries from. They

:53:30.:53:35.

managed through great skill. Every team practicing defending against

:53:36.:53:40.

structure and players. So we all set starts and defend those set starts.

:53:41.:53:44.

We look at Wigan's players and defend Wigan's players. We look at

:53:45.:53:48.

Hull's players and defend them. You cannot defend against things you

:53:49.:53:52.

have not seen. The things Hull have not done before. It has not been

:53:53.:53:56.

created in the history of rugby league. You will not see those tries

:53:57.:53:59.

again. They had to make the decision at the

:54:00.:54:03.

start of the second half. They were stifled by a good Wigan defend, who

:54:04.:54:07.

handled everything thrown at them. So those individuals who have the

:54:08.:54:14.

ability to offload took a chance at the start, they expand game. The

:54:15.:54:19.

second with Sneyd was off the back of offloads. If I will not see that

:54:20.:54:24.

try again in the history of rugby league. I might see the Talanoa

:54:25.:54:28.

again. One million things have gone on. You will never see this try

:54:29.:54:33.

again, either. Look, it was another offload. It

:54:34.:54:38.

looks frantic, but it is not. Steve gets composure. Kicks. Isolates

:54:39.:54:42.

Manfredi. Manfredi, he's got to do better.

:54:43.:54:46.

Normally catches those. He will think about that all night. He

:54:47.:54:50.

needed to catch it. Good sides can have a bit of that and go back to

:54:51.:54:54.

structure. Kick to the corner for a winger. That is when structure is

:54:55.:54:58.

helpful. When you go away from it and the game is frantic. It is

:54:59.:55:02.

dropped back into your structure and Wigan's try came off the back of

:55:03.:55:09.

something similar. A great kick. You cannot make those big mistakes in a

:55:10.:55:13.

big game. We talked about how close it was. Mistakes like that kill you.

:55:14.:55:18.

Isn't there an argument, I don't want to get too philosophical,

:55:19.:55:22.

thatly never see an identical try again. On BBC iPlayer you can watch

:55:23.:55:29.

it again if you want. It is too deep for a Friday night. Going back to

:55:30.:55:35.

what we heard about and the Hull players taking responsibility - can

:55:36.:55:38.

we read too much into that, given how their season has gone now? I

:55:39.:55:43.

think it was a turning pointed this season. I think great sides have

:55:44.:55:46.

players who own the game, they will understand that the ebb and the flow

:55:47.:55:51.

and the feel of a game and are able to mash up. The rest of the players

:55:52.:55:55.

around there and you look at any team sported that the great teams

:55:56.:55:59.

have three or four, five, six players in there who own that team,

:56:00.:56:05.

who know how to move it around. This is where Hull's recruitment has been

:56:06.:56:09.

fantastic. It is off the back of recruiting five or six international

:56:10.:56:15.

players. Hull five years ago didn't have these players. We have Pryce,

:56:16.:56:19.

we have Frank Pritchard, we have Gareth Ellis, we have Houghton,

:56:20.:56:25.

experienced senior players. And... Let's hear from Gareth Ellis, shall

:56:26.:56:29.

we? Not from an interview, but from the whole of the 80 minutes because

:56:30.:56:33.

we had worn the player mic for us this evening.

:56:34.:56:38.

Let's turn the screw on him. Wherever happens we go straight into

:56:39.:56:44.

this. Awesome... Stay strong for us in the

:56:45.:56:51.

last stages. Too tense for me, this.

:56:52.:57:02.

Well done! Well done!

:57:03.:57:03.

Best of luck. Thank you. A nice touch from O'Loughlin at

:57:04.:57:13.

tend. He is a world-class player. To meet in the middle, they are icons

:57:14.:57:18.

of our game. How much will the fact they have not

:57:19.:57:28.

had a play at Wembley play on them? That will motivate them to win. They

:57:29.:57:33.

will get that monkey off their back. You have to give him the credit.

:57:34.:57:38.

He's got his team going, after adversity, that at the start of the

:57:39.:57:42.

season we spoke about, it takes some turning around, that. He seems to

:57:43.:57:48.

done it in emphatic style. Two teams have run their blood to water. To

:57:49.:57:53.

run it to the line, it was exemplary. They will look for more

:57:54.:57:57.

attacking prowess. They are there. They have done it. Hull will think

:57:58.:58:00.

they have a chance of the double? Definitely. They will stick with one

:58:01.:58:06.

at a time at the moment. Says, that is the coach in you, isn't it?

:58:07.:58:10.

Listen. Thank you very much, we will see you all tomorrow. Tomorrow of

:58:11.:58:14.

course, we have got Warrington against Wakefield on BBC One. All

:58:15.:58:17.

the build-up from 2pm. Hull will be waiting for one of them in the

:58:18.:58:19.

final. Good night.

:58:20.:58:25.

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