Friday Interview: Aston hoping another Cup upset is written in the stars

It was the night before the 1998 Challenge Cup final and the Sheffield Eagles scrum-half was in his hotel room preparing for the game they could not win – against indestructible Wigan at their second home of Wembley. In comparison, David versus Goliath looked a fair fight.

Aston's mother phoned to wish him luck, although it would not be needed as she had just been to see a clairvoyant who said the 14-1 underdogs were destined to defeat the cup-kings. Apparently, her son would also win the Lance Todd Trophy as man of the match.

"She put a few quid on, although it won't have been much knowing her," Aston recalled. "But she was adamant. I was rooming with Dave Watson who kept himself to himself.

"Not long after, though, he said his missus had rung and told him she'd just been to a clairvoyant who'd said we were going to win as well. It was destiny."

If truth be known, the Eagles had already started to realise it themselves, although not when coach John Kear declared six months earlier before the very first training session of pre-season.

"We thought he was drunk, mad and had lost his marbles," said Aston.

"But as we went through the rounds we started believing it thinking 'maybe this man isn't crazy'.

"In the end, there was no way we were going to lose out.

"We were 18-0 down against Salford in the semi looking dead and buried and I remember Johnny Lawless shouting out '98 – year of the Eagles'. We went on to win 22-18, Dale Laughton scoring the winning try in the last few minutes.

"He was a lad who used to come training in his string vest and Y-fronts after being down the pit."

The Eagles then produced the biggest shock in rugby league history by stunning star-studded Wigan 17-8.

There were no day jobs for the likes of Great Britain stars Jason Robinson, Gary Connolly and Andy Farrell, all full-time professionals long before Super League had got underway, but it mattered little against the fiery Yorkshire side, Aston duly collecting the man-of-the-match award after he studiously applied Kear's game plan to the letter.

Now coach and chief executive of the Eagles, he goes up against Wigan again tomorrow when they face the Super League's leaders at Bramall Lane in the Carnegie Challenge Cup fourth round.

Many of the '98 heroes will attend a celebration dinner before kick-off with Laughton, Lawless, Darren Turner and Matty Crowther among those set to recollect that memorable afternoon.

Now in the Championship, they are 500-1 to repeat their success of 12 years ago but played their first game at Sheffield United's ground last week, with an encouraging attendance of nearly 3,000 turning up for the loss against Featherstone Rovers.

"We were getting only around 1,000 at Don Valley so it was really pleasing," said Aston, ahead of a massive sporting weekend for Sheffield sport with the Steel City football derby on Sunday.

"We've not been getting those numbers for a lot of years and moving to Bramall Lane is what we've needed.

"This cup tie couldn't have happened at a better time. The club has now got the facilities to host high-quality rugby league and it doesn't get any better than Wigan.

"What a prospect. We're hoping to get up to five or six thousand tomorrow and some will be coming for the first time since Wembley but we want them to see what we are offering."

He is well aware of the size of the task ahead against a powerful and skilful Wigan side that has swept to the top of Super League, losing just once all year.

But Aston, whose side have struggled to just one league win so far, admitted: "As a coach, you can't lose.

"Everyone expects us to get beaten but if we defeat them, we've made history and everyone will remember this day as much as '98.

"We just want to make a good fist of it. We've got to play smart and play them at our tempo. Everybody cracks under pressure.

"We beat Wigan in '98 and it can be done. You just have to want it. A lot of things are similar. Nobody expected us to beat them back then except ourselves."

Sheffield almost pulled off a shock in the fifth round last season.

Aston recalled: "Hull KR were at the top of Super League and had just beaten Leeds Rhinos a fortnight before while we'd won only two out of our first eight.

"With just two minutes to go we were only trailing 28-24. We lost but it kicked our season on."

Much has been made of Wigan's wrestling technique in the tackle which is making it so hard for opponents to gain any momentum in attack.

Kear, now in charge at Wakefield with the Eagles' cup final-winning captain Paul Broadbent as his assistant, has been a staunch critic.

"I saw John last week," said Aston, whose own assistant is Waisale Sovatabua, the strong-running Fijian full-back at Wembley.

"It was our first ever scholarship game and it was against Wakefield.

"We had a chat and he wanted to be at the celebration dinner but they are down at Harlequins on Saturday so he wished us all well.

"As for Wigan, their wrestle does control the speed of the ruck but they can only do that if you let them get numbers into the tackle.

"You have to isolate defenders one-on-one, pass the ball fast and try and get them moving around; they can't wrestle in a one-on-one.

"Obviously, a lot of Super League clubs have tried to stop them and failed while they get more done in one training session than we probably get all week.

"But we'll look at how we need to play. It's a one-off. We pushed Hull KR very close last year by sticking to a plan."

The South Yorkshire club finished third last season and, with a thriving academy and community programme, will apply for a Super League franchise from 2012.

In the meantime, what will Aston's final words be before the action gets underway tomorrow?

"Put a smile on your face and enjoy it," he said.

"This is what it's all about, playing against the best side in Super League.

"We want the city of Sheffield to be proud of our efforts and who knows, stranger things have happened."