Giants walk tall to Wembley
Huddersfield secured a place in the Challenge Cup final with an historic 24-14 victory over holders St Helens on Sunday.
By Simon Dilger
Last Updated: 09/08/09 7:49pm
Some brilliantly innovative rugby and a ferocious defensive display saw Huddersfield secure a place in the Challenge Cup final with a 24-14 victory over holders St Helens on Sunday.
The Giants scored five tries to book their first appearance at Wembley since 1962 and deny the reigning champions the opportunity to defend their crown for a fifth successive time.
Huddersfield opened the scoring after just five minutes, whipping the ball out wide to put Leroy Cudjoe into space through some excellent use of their dummy runners.
The Giants full-back needed only to draw his man before sending the return pass back inside for skipper Brett Hodgson to cross unopposed. Hodgson however was unable to add the extras.
Five minutes later came the defending champions' reply after a poor attempt at a tackle from Cudjoe allowed Francis Meli to power over.
This time though, it was Saints kicker Kyle Eastmond who fired his conversion attempt wide to leave the two sides on equal terms at 4-4.
St Helens' Leon Pryce also went close when he burst over after some sustained pressure on the Huddersfield line.
Magnificent
But consultation with the TV official revealed that the ball had been held up by Hodgson, who had managed somehow to get underneath Pryce.
Huddersfield extended their lead with a magnificent breakaway try eight minutes before the half time whistle in a move started by Kevin Brown .
Collecting the ball inside his own half Brown slipped his tackler to burst through and, with men over on the left, moved the ball out to Stephen Wild for the score
This time Hodgson was on target to add the extras and take the Giants into a 10-4 lead.
Eastmond was denied a try by some fantastic defending in the dying moments of the first half after he split the Giants line with an electric burst of speed.
Again it was Hodgson at the centre of things, covering considerable ground to wedge himself between ball and grass and take his side into the break with a six-point lead.
The Giants exploded out of the blocks at the start of the second half with a brilliantly unpredictable move that left a stunned St Helens only able to watch as Cudjoe crossed within a minute of the restart.
Still on the first tackle, Luke Robinson, spotting the Saints defence lying flat, opted for shock tactics and chipped over for the full back to burst through a largely static line and chase down to score.
Magic
Kevin Brown added Huddersfield's fourth in the 47th minute, collecting neatly to dive over after another crossfield kick from Robinson bounced off Saints winger Ade Gardener's head.
Hodgson failed again with his conversion attempt, taking to six his tally of points missed and leaving the score at 18-4.
St Helens, by now looking under severe pressure, managed to regroup and show just how dangerous they can be with a breakaway try from deep inside their own half, finished by Meli between the posts.
Eastmond's straightforward conversion under the sticks closed the gap to 18-10.
Saints, needing two scores for a ticket to Wembley, continued to pile on the pressure as they tried desperately to crack a resolute Huddersfield defence.
But the Giants line held firm and with just three minutes to go they sealed a historic victory with a little piece of magic from man-of-the-match Hodgson.
The Australian utility back broke from the halfway line with an exquisite sidestep to open up the Saints defence before chipping neatly into the path of the charging Wild.
This time Hodgson was on target to convert Wild's second and, with the scores at 24-10, give St Helens a mountain to climb.
Meli completed his hat-trick, crossing in the corner in the 78th minute but with the missed conversion leaving them still 10 points adrift, there was no way back for Saints.
