Winners and losers in Cup battle honoured

Triumphant Leeds Rhinos players were “overwhelmed” by the turnout, which filled the Carnegie and North Stands, as they celebrated their 23-10 Wembley victory over neighbours Castleford Tigers.

The homecoming crowd was the biggest seen at Headingley since Leeds’s previous Challenge Cup final triumph.

The players and staff in Leeds’s 12th Challenge Cup victory were introduced to the crowd individually.

Rhinos had lost their previous six Cup finals and captain Kevin Sinfield admitted Saturday’s success – which means he has now led Leeds to every available honour – has “not sunk in yet”.

He told the crowd: “I didn’t know what to expect. I thought there would be a few here, like there has been for Grand Final celebrations, but I have never seen anything like this.”

Meanwhile, defeated Castleford Tigers were still applauded by more than 3,500 supporters at their own homecoming.

Fans welcomed their team back to the Mend-A-Hose Jungle at the event to recognise their achievement.

Michelle Cooper, media and marketing manager for Castleford Tigers, said; “The last few weeks have been amazing for the town of Castleford and we are overwhelmed by the buzz reaching the Tetley’s Challenge Cup Final has created in our town.”

Rhinos bosses admitted a spelling mistake had crept into the special Challenge Cup winners’ T-shirts worn by the squad at the homecoming. The T-shirts spelled Castleford as ‘Castelford’. A Rhinos spokesman said the garments were produced hurriedly.

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