R
redunderthebed
Guest
Fox sports are showing both challenge cup semi-finals live! 
I cannot wait to watch the games Go wakey!
I cannot wait to watch the games Go wakey!
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S
St Helens RLFC
Guest
Saints vs. Leeds should be one of the best games of the last decade.
V
Vambo
Guest
Wouldn't surprise me if Hull v Wakefield turns out to be the better game.
B
Bullitt
Guest
R
redunderthebed
Guest
Indeed i'am looking forward to this game however the other game will be good because i cant lose because i hate both teams.
I hope hull doesnt win they dont deserve to be there.
V
Vambo
Guest
Indeed i'am looking forward to this game however the other game will be good because i cant lose because i hate both teams.[/b][/quote]
I'll be a Leeds fan for the day
Aye... I'm hoping that Kear & Wakefield take out the cup although I think the winner will come from Stains v Leeds.
[/b]
S
St Helens RLFC
Guest
Well, Teh Mite will be here in about 6 hours time, all ready for the big game tomorrow.
Never been so pumped up for a game in all my life. COME ON YOU SAINTS.
Never been so pumped up for a game in all my life. COME ON YOU SAINTS.
B
Bullitt
Guest
Make that about 8 hours mate, I be uber pleased if I can make Leicester - St. Helens in under an hour!
V
Vambo
Guest
Excellent piece from the BBC:
That's rugby league entertainment!
By Phil Harlow
If you want pure entertainment on Saturday, forget about Big Brother, Who Dares Sings! or Casualty.
A higher class of performance will be on show at the Galpharm Stadium, with the two most entertaining rugby teams in Britain - of either code - meeting in one of the most eagerly anticipated Challenge Cup semi-finals in years.
With 304 tries between them already this season, St Helens (with 165) and Leeds (a mere 139) are setting new standards in attacking rugby league and their respective prolific wingers Scott Donald and Ade Gardner are enjoying every minute.
The two deadliest try-scorers in British rugby league will come head to head and Gardner - the top try-scorer in Super League - is under no illusions about what is at stake.
"It will be a special game and in terms of the hype, this is probably one of the biggest games I've played in during my career," said Gardner, who has numerous Grand Final, Challenge Cup finals and Test matches under his belt.
He is so quick and he's a game-breaker. He's somebody who you can't give any space to whatsoever because he can be past you in a blink of an eye
Ade Gardner on Scott Donald
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
He's not sitting on the top of the try-scoring table for nothing. He always puts in consistent performances and it's very rare you see him have a bad game
Scott Donald on Ade Gardner
"You can get sense what a big game this is. There's a real buzz about this game, and it's built up in the five or six weeks since the game was drawn out the hat.
"I can just see it being an epic."
Gardner has crossed the try-line 24 times for St Helens this season, not to mention his hat-trick against France for England in June, but the 25-year-old is keen to share the credit for his feats.
"Playing outside (Saints centre) Matt Gidley makes my job a lot easier," Gardner told BBC Sport.
"It's not just him - there's a lot of good work goes on before the ball gets to him - but some of the passes he has given me for tries this year have been absolutely unbelievable.
"Some of them, I think only he could do. He's a legend of the modern-day game with his ability on the ball."
Donald, who arrived at Headingley from Manly Sea Eagles back in 2005, also expects Saturday's game to be something special.
"It's a huge game, probably the biggest of the year so far for us. It's something the whole club is really excited about," Donald told BBC Sport.
"Over the last two years I think it's fair to say that Leeds and Saints have been the best two teams. It's going to a game that could go either way.
"Both teams have been in some very big matches and the more you play in those sort of games, the more you get used to it."
Donald, only three tries behind Gardner in the statistics, is similarly grateful to be playing alongside talented team-mates.
"Having the likes of Rob Burrow, Danny McGuire and Brent Webb on your side makes it a joy to play on the wing in this Leeds team," he said.
"There's no stage of a match when we think we can't win: we always have a chance when you have players of that calibre to call on.
"And it doesn't matter where we are on the field or the time of the game - we can score from anywhere and that's one of our greatest strengths."
Donald should know what to expect against Gardner, with a custom-made DVD of his opposite number forming a major part of his viewing this week.
"It's no secret that videos are done on the opposition," he said.
"It's good to be able to look at what your opponent has done in the past, whether he tends to favour a step to one side or always tries to offload. We do our homework on the opposition and I'm sure they'll do the same for us."
St Helens have won the last two Challenge Cup finals, with their last defeat in the tournament coming against Hull FC in the 2005 semi-final.
"We'll take some confidence from our winning run in the tournament but it's all about what happens on the day," added Gardner.
"The Challenge Cup is such a difficult competition and it has so much history and I know Leeds are going to be revved up.
"They haven't been to a Challenge Cup final for a few years and they haven't won one for even longer so they will be fully focused. We're the champions of this competition and we don't want to give up the trophy by any means."
Donald, meanwhile, has got motivation of his own for making it through to the final against either Wakefield or Hull.
"I've never been to Wembley before. To be honest, I've never even seen it," he said.
"I think (veteran Leeds centre) Keith Senior - who is a dinosaur - is the only one in our team to have played there so we're pretty keen to get there. It would be amazing to walk out on that Wembley pitch."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
and for one day only:
Marching on together
We're gonna see you win (na na na na na na)
We are so proud
We shout it out loud
We love you Leeds! Leeds! Leeds!
:cheers:
That's rugby league entertainment!
By Phil Harlow
If you want pure entertainment on Saturday, forget about Big Brother, Who Dares Sings! or Casualty.
A higher class of performance will be on show at the Galpharm Stadium, with the two most entertaining rugby teams in Britain - of either code - meeting in one of the most eagerly anticipated Challenge Cup semi-finals in years.
With 304 tries between them already this season, St Helens (with 165) and Leeds (a mere 139) are setting new standards in attacking rugby league and their respective prolific wingers Scott Donald and Ade Gardner are enjoying every minute.
The two deadliest try-scorers in British rugby league will come head to head and Gardner - the top try-scorer in Super League - is under no illusions about what is at stake.
"It will be a special game and in terms of the hype, this is probably one of the biggest games I've played in during my career," said Gardner, who has numerous Grand Final, Challenge Cup finals and Test matches under his belt.
He is so quick and he's a game-breaker. He's somebody who you can't give any space to whatsoever because he can be past you in a blink of an eye
Ade Gardner on Scott Donald
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
He's not sitting on the top of the try-scoring table for nothing. He always puts in consistent performances and it's very rare you see him have a bad game
Scott Donald on Ade Gardner
"You can get sense what a big game this is. There's a real buzz about this game, and it's built up in the five or six weeks since the game was drawn out the hat.
"I can just see it being an epic."
Gardner has crossed the try-line 24 times for St Helens this season, not to mention his hat-trick against France for England in June, but the 25-year-old is keen to share the credit for his feats.
"Playing outside (Saints centre) Matt Gidley makes my job a lot easier," Gardner told BBC Sport.
"It's not just him - there's a lot of good work goes on before the ball gets to him - but some of the passes he has given me for tries this year have been absolutely unbelievable.
"Some of them, I think only he could do. He's a legend of the modern-day game with his ability on the ball."
Donald, who arrived at Headingley from Manly Sea Eagles back in 2005, also expects Saturday's game to be something special.
"It's a huge game, probably the biggest of the year so far for us. It's something the whole club is really excited about," Donald told BBC Sport.
"Over the last two years I think it's fair to say that Leeds and Saints have been the best two teams. It's going to a game that could go either way.
"Both teams have been in some very big matches and the more you play in those sort of games, the more you get used to it."
Donald, only three tries behind Gardner in the statistics, is similarly grateful to be playing alongside talented team-mates.
"Having the likes of Rob Burrow, Danny McGuire and Brent Webb on your side makes it a joy to play on the wing in this Leeds team," he said.
"There's no stage of a match when we think we can't win: we always have a chance when you have players of that calibre to call on.
"And it doesn't matter where we are on the field or the time of the game - we can score from anywhere and that's one of our greatest strengths."
Donald should know what to expect against Gardner, with a custom-made DVD of his opposite number forming a major part of his viewing this week.
"It's no secret that videos are done on the opposition," he said.
"It's good to be able to look at what your opponent has done in the past, whether he tends to favour a step to one side or always tries to offload. We do our homework on the opposition and I'm sure they'll do the same for us."
St Helens have won the last two Challenge Cup finals, with their last defeat in the tournament coming against Hull FC in the 2005 semi-final.
"We'll take some confidence from our winning run in the tournament but it's all about what happens on the day," added Gardner.
"The Challenge Cup is such a difficult competition and it has so much history and I know Leeds are going to be revved up.
"They haven't been to a Challenge Cup final for a few years and they haven't won one for even longer so they will be fully focused. We're the champions of this competition and we don't want to give up the trophy by any means."
Donald, meanwhile, has got motivation of his own for making it through to the final against either Wakefield or Hull.
"I've never been to Wembley before. To be honest, I've never even seen it," he said.
"I think (veteran Leeds centre) Keith Senior - who is a dinosaur - is the only one in our team to have played there so we're pretty keen to get there. It would be amazing to walk out on that Wembley pitch."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
and for one day only:
Marching on together
We're gonna see you win (na na na na na na)
We are so proud
We shout it out loud
We love you Leeds! Leeds! Leeds!
:cheers:
S
St Helens RLFC
Guest
Leeds Rhinos 16-26 St Helens
Leeds (2) 12
Tries: Lauitiiti, Donald, Leuluai Goals: Sinfield 2
St Helens (12) 26
Tries: Flannery, Pryce, Wilkin, Hargreaves Goals: Long 5
St Helens are on course to win their fifth Challenge Cup in seven years after an outstanding semi-final win over Leeds at Galpharm Stadium. Sean Long starred for the holders, kicking 10 points and setting up tries for Chris Flannery and Leon Pryce. A Jon Wilkin score made it 18-2 after the half-time break before the Rhinos fought back with two quick tries from Ali Lauitiiti and Scott Donald. A late effort from Bryn Hargreaves all but sealed the victory for Saints.
Saints deserved the win for their high-tempo, slick display that was all the more impressive in the 29C heat at Huddersfield's ground.
But they were also helped by several key injuries to opposition players.
Leeds full-back Brent Webb was unable to start the game after suffering a back spasm while scrum-half Rob Burrow and centre Clinton Toopi were struck down during the match. The influential Burrow was helped off with concussion midway through the first 40 minutes when he went in head first on a tackle on Lee Gilmour. By that stage, Leeds were a try and conversion down after a thrilling burst from Long led to a simple score from the obliging Flannery.
Leeds captain Kevin Sinfield was largely quiet in the first half but got two points on the board from a penalty. But just as Brian McClennan's side were beginning to mount a fightback, the team were hit by injury again when Toopi was left clutching his knee after making a tackle near his own tryline. St Helens took full advantage of the situation when Long made use of the clever dummy run of Gilmour to feed mammoth stand-off Pryce, who strode through from 15 metres. Long converted to give Daniel Anderson's men a 12-2 lead going into the break - and that advantage was extended thanks to an extraordinary effort from Francis Meli.
The Kiwi cut in from the left, eluded two tackles before finding Gilmour, who offloaded for Wilkin to canter in under the posts. It seemed that Saints would run away with the match, but Lauitiiti had other ideas. The second-rower, who was earlier seen encouraging his team-mates, powered over from five metres, with Sinfield converting to cut the gap to 18-8.
Moments later, Donald found the left corner from Keith Senior's pass, having earlier been denied a score from a yard out. After Sinfield had missed the conversion, Leeds made yet another error in front of their posts, allowing Long to strike his penalty from dead centre to extend the lead to 20-12. The Rhinos were made to pay again 10 minutes before the end when a lapse in concentration 10 metres out allowed 22-year-old prop Bryn Hargreaves to fly over.
New Zealand-born Kylie Leuluai went over late for Leeds but it could not prevent Saints from booking their place at Wembley, where they will face either Hull FC or Wakefield.
Leeds: Smith, Hall, Toopi, Senior, Donald, McGuire, Burrow, Leuluai, Diskin, Peacock, Lauitiiti, Ellis, Sinfield.
Replacements: Scruton, Kirke, Ablett, Worrall.
St Helens: Wellens, Gardner, Gidley, Talau, Meli, Pryce, Long, Hargreaves, Cunningham, Graham, Gilmour, Wilkin, Flannery.
Replacements: Roby, Cayless, Clough, Fa'asavalu.
Referee: A Klein (London).
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_league/7518172.stm
:cheers:
Leeds (2) 12
Tries: Lauitiiti, Donald, Leuluai Goals: Sinfield 2
St Helens (12) 26
Tries: Flannery, Pryce, Wilkin, Hargreaves Goals: Long 5
St Helens are on course to win their fifth Challenge Cup in seven years after an outstanding semi-final win over Leeds at Galpharm Stadium. Sean Long starred for the holders, kicking 10 points and setting up tries for Chris Flannery and Leon Pryce. A Jon Wilkin score made it 18-2 after the half-time break before the Rhinos fought back with two quick tries from Ali Lauitiiti and Scott Donald. A late effort from Bryn Hargreaves all but sealed the victory for Saints.
Saints deserved the win for their high-tempo, slick display that was all the more impressive in the 29C heat at Huddersfield's ground.
But they were also helped by several key injuries to opposition players.
Leeds full-back Brent Webb was unable to start the game after suffering a back spasm while scrum-half Rob Burrow and centre Clinton Toopi were struck down during the match. The influential Burrow was helped off with concussion midway through the first 40 minutes when he went in head first on a tackle on Lee Gilmour. By that stage, Leeds were a try and conversion down after a thrilling burst from Long led to a simple score from the obliging Flannery.
Leeds captain Kevin Sinfield was largely quiet in the first half but got two points on the board from a penalty. But just as Brian McClennan's side were beginning to mount a fightback, the team were hit by injury again when Toopi was left clutching his knee after making a tackle near his own tryline. St Helens took full advantage of the situation when Long made use of the clever dummy run of Gilmour to feed mammoth stand-off Pryce, who strode through from 15 metres. Long converted to give Daniel Anderson's men a 12-2 lead going into the break - and that advantage was extended thanks to an extraordinary effort from Francis Meli.
The Kiwi cut in from the left, eluded two tackles before finding Gilmour, who offloaded for Wilkin to canter in under the posts. It seemed that Saints would run away with the match, but Lauitiiti had other ideas. The second-rower, who was earlier seen encouraging his team-mates, powered over from five metres, with Sinfield converting to cut the gap to 18-8.
Moments later, Donald found the left corner from Keith Senior's pass, having earlier been denied a score from a yard out. After Sinfield had missed the conversion, Leeds made yet another error in front of their posts, allowing Long to strike his penalty from dead centre to extend the lead to 20-12. The Rhinos were made to pay again 10 minutes before the end when a lapse in concentration 10 metres out allowed 22-year-old prop Bryn Hargreaves to fly over.
New Zealand-born Kylie Leuluai went over late for Leeds but it could not prevent Saints from booking their place at Wembley, where they will face either Hull FC or Wakefield.
Leeds: Smith, Hall, Toopi, Senior, Donald, McGuire, Burrow, Leuluai, Diskin, Peacock, Lauitiiti, Ellis, Sinfield.
Replacements: Scruton, Kirke, Ablett, Worrall.
St Helens: Wellens, Gardner, Gidley, Talau, Meli, Pryce, Long, Hargreaves, Cunningham, Graham, Gilmour, Wilkin, Flannery.
Replacements: Roby, Cayless, Clough, Fa'asavalu.
Referee: A Klein (London).
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_league/7518172.stm
:cheers:
R
redunderthebed
Guest
I miss the first game sounded like a cracker. But the wakefield vs hull match was awesome it had everything and wakefield gave there all congratulations to hull.
As much as i dont like the fact hull are there ill be happy if they beat staines.
But the wakefield vs hull match was awesome it had everything and wakefield gave there all congratulations to hull.As much as i dont like the fact hull are there ill be happy if they beat staines.
S
St Helens RLFC
Guest
The Hull vs Wakefield game was a cracker.
V
Vambo
Guest
Like I was saying...
S
St Helens RLFC
Guest
I thought both games were of a quality standard to be fair Vambo.
V
Vambo
Guest
Aye... both good games.
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