The

2013 Challenge Cup The 2013 Challenge Cup (also known as the Tetley's Challenge Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 112th staging of the most competitive European rugby league tournament at club level and was open to teams from England, Wales, Scotland and France. ...

Final was the 112th cup-deciding game of the rugby league

Season. It was held at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

on 24 August 2013, kick off 15:00. The final was contested by

Hull F.C. Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull F.C., is a professional rugby league football club established in 1865 and based in West Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The club plays in the Super League competition and wer ...

and

Wigan Warriors The Wigan Warriors are a professional rugby league club in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the Super League. Formed in 1872 as Wigan Football Club, Wigan was a founding member of the Rugby Football League, Northern Rugby ...

. The game saw Wigan Warriors beat Hull F.C. by 16 points to nill.

Background

The 2013 Challenge Cup Final marks Wigan Warriors's fifth final of the

Super League The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of ...

era and Hull F.C.'s third. In addition it is the third time the two sides had met in the competition, with Wigan Warriors winning in both previous meetings during the

1958–59 Challenge Cup The 1958–59 Challenge Cup was the 58th staging of rugby league's oldest knockout competition, the Challenge Cup. The final was contested by Wigan and Hull F.C. at Wembley Stadium in London. The final was played on Saturday 9 May 1959, where W ...

Final and

1984–85 Challenge Cup The 1984–85 Challenge Cup was the 84th staging of rugby league's oldest knockout competition, the Challenge Cup. The 1984–85 Rugby Football League season's tournament was known as the Silk Cut Challenge Cup for sponsorship reasons. It culminate ...

Final. Wigan had previously won a record 18 challenge cup finals compared to Hull's four.

Route to the final

Hull F.C.

As a 2012 Super League team, Hull F.C. entered in at the fourth round. They drew eventual Championship 1 champions

North Wales Crusaders The North Wales Crusaders ( cy, Croesgadwyr Gogledd Cymru Rygbi'r Gynghrair) is a professional rugby league club based in Colwyn Bay, Wales. They are the successors to the former Super League club Crusaders Rugby League. Crusaders compete in Be ...

thrashing them by 62 points to 6. The fifth round saw Hull face Super League side

Wakefield Trinity Wakefield Trinity is a professional rugby league club in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, that plays in the Super League. One of the original twenty-two clubs that formed the Northern Rugby Football Union in 1895, between 1999 and 2016 the ...

, beating them comfortably 24 points to 6. The quarter finals saw them face

Catalans Dragons The Catalans Dragons (French: ''Dragons Catalans'', Catalan: ''Dracs Catalans'') are a professional rugby league club from Perpignan, Pyrénées-Orientales department, France. The team competes in the Super League and are the only team from ou ...

winning 24–13. The semi-finals saw Hull F.C. draw eventual Super League runners-up

Warrington Wolves The Warrington Wolves are a professional rugby league club based in Warrington, England, that competes in the Super League. They play rugby at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, having moved there from Wilderspool in 2004. Founded as Warringto ...

, winning by a tight margin of 16–12.

Wigan Warriors

As a 2012 Super League team, Leeds Rhinos also entered in at the fourth round. A fourth round thrashing of

Leigh Centurions The Leigh Leopards are a professional rugby league club based in Leigh, Greater Manchester, England, who compete in the Betfred Super League. The club was founded in 1878, and is one of the original twenty-two clubs that formed the Northern ...

60 points to 10 placed them in the fifth round where a comfortable victory over

side

Hull KR Hull Kingston Rovers are a professional rugby league club based in Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, England, that competes in the Super League, the top tier of British rugby league. The club has won five league championships, and one Challenge ...

, beating them 46 points to 14. Warriors faced

Widnes Vikings The Widnes Vikings are an English rugby league club in Widnes, Cheshire, which competes in the Betfred Championship. The club plays home matches at the Halton Stadium. Founded as Widnes Football Club, they are one of the original twenty-two ...

in the quarter finals, thrashing them 48 points to 4 Wigan then faced

London Broncos The London Broncos are a professional rugby league club in London, England. The club competes in the RFL Championship. It was a member of Super League from its inaugural season in 1996 until the end of the 2014 season, when they were relegat ...

in the semi-finals, nilling them by 70 points.

Pre-match

The pre-match entertainment was headlined by British

classical crossover Crossover is a term applied to musical works or performers who appeal to different types of audience. This can be seen, for example, (especially in the United States) when a song appears on two or more of the record charts which track differi ...

band

BLAKE Blake is a surname which originated from Old English. Its derivation is uncertain; it could come from "blac", a nickname for someone who had dark hair or skin, or from "blaac", a nickname for someone with pale hair or skin. Another theory, presum ...

, who also sang the Challenge Cup and FA Cup Final anthem - "

Abide with Me "Abide with Me" is a Christian hymn by Scottish Anglican cleric Henry Francis Lyte. A prayer for God to stay with the speaker throughout life and in death, it was written by Lyte in 1847 as he was dying from tuberculosis. It is most often sun ...

". At the end of their set, BLAKE were joined on the field by British soprano

Natalie Coyle Natalie Rushdie () is a London-based, classically trained jazz singer. She has sung at the Royal Albert Hall, Wembley Stadium and the London Coliseum as well as for numerous charities and on television shows as well as being asked to sing at a ...

to sing the national anthem - "

God Save the Queen "God Save the King" is the national and/or royal anthem of the United Kingdom, most of the Commonwealth realms, their territories, and the British Crown Dependencies. The author of the tune is unknown and it may originate in plainchant, b ...

Match details

Post match

Wigan's win meant that their record Challenge Cup titles was extended to 19 wins in the competition since their first win in 1923–24.

References

{{2013 in rugby league Challenge Cup finals Hull F.C. matches Wigan Warriors matches August 2013 sports events in the United Kingdom 2013 sports events in London