Just like the story about London buses, Castleford fans had waited 34 years for a Challenge Cup Final and then two came along at once.

Having beaten Salford in the previous year’s final, Castleford now had the chance to become only the third team in Challenge Cup history to win consecutive Wembley finals. Having conceded only seven points in the four Cup ties on their way to the final, only Wigan could now prevent them from retaining the trophy.

In the wake of the 1969 cup final victory, not as many fans were expected to make the journey this time round. However, the club still sold over 14,000 tickets and six trains full of supporters left Castleford between Friday night and Saturday morning. In addition, over 100 coaches left the town early on the day of the match, along with many others travelling by car.

The squad for the final was very much the same as for the previous year’s final. Of the starting thirteen from 1969 only Johnny Ward – who had moved to Salford – and Keith Howe – who had retired – were no longer at the club. The forwards had been bolstered by the signing of Bill Kirkbride from Halifax and Ian Stenton, whose career had previously been blighted by injury, was the ideal replacement for Howe at centre. There were more difficult decisions to be made regarding the substitutes. Danny Hargrave had proved his utility value, playing mainly at centre but also being able to cover the half-back positions. He seemed an obvious choice as substitute back, although Glyn Jones, who had been part of the 1969 Cup winning squad, was also in contention. The choice of the other substitute was a more difficult one. Tony Miller had appeared in the 2nd Round win at Barrow and could cover a number of positions in the pack. And two young players, Alan Ackroyd and Steve Norton, had played an important part in the semi-final win against St Helens. Both had only made their first team debuts earlier in the season – Norton’s only eight weeks before the final – but had become strong contenders for a place on the bench.

The eighteen-player squad, which included Jones, Ackroyd, Norton and Miller, set off for London from the North Eastern Hotel on Station Road on Wednesday May 6th. There was a slight delay as Bill Kirkbride was late arriving having been held up in traffic following an accident on the drive from his home in Halifax. Also in the party were Chairman Ronnie Simpson, Secretary Len Garbett, coaches Tommy Smales and John Sheridan and backroom staff Stan Bolstridge, Frank Whitehead, Albert Lunn and Tommy Hart. They were heading for the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre which would be their base for the weekend. They trained there on the Thursday before visiting the stadium the following day. A party including the other directors and wives plus players’ wives and girlfriends travelled down on the Friday and junior players travelled down on the morning of the match.

After an early lunch on the Saturday morning the team travelled to Wembley, arriving 90 minutes before kick-off. Confidence was high as they had won the toss for dressing rooms and would be using the same room as they had used for the previous year’s final. They would also be wearing the same “lucky” kit of white shirts with a black and amber “V”. The team was at full strength, with Alan Lowndes having overcome a thigh injury and, as expected, Brian Lockwood returning after a six-week absence due to a broken bone in his hand. Coach Tommy Smales had made his decision regarding the substitutes, opting for the versatility of both Danny Hargrave and Steve Norton.

Castleford: 1 Edwards 2 Briggs 3 Thomas 4 Stenton 5 Lowndes 6 Hardisty 7 Hepworth 8 Hartley 9 Dickinson 10 Redfearn 11 Kirkbride 12 Lockwood 13 Reilly Subs: 14 Hargrave 15 Norton

Wigan: 1 Tyrer 2 Jones 3 Francis 4 Rowe 5 O'Loughlin 6 D Hill 7 Parr 8 Ashcroft 9 Burdell 10 Hogan 11 Ashurst 12 Robinson 13 Laughton Subs: 14 C Hill 15 Clarke

Referee: G F Lindop (Wakefield)

Attendance: 95,255

The weather was hot and sunny as the teams entered the field. They marched to the half-way line for the pre-match formalities and were presented to the dignitaries headed by the Earl of Derby before the action could finally start.

The match started badly for Cas. In the first minute Clive Dickinson was penalised and Colin Tyrer kicked the penalty to give Wigan a two-point lead. However, the lead didn’t last long as, just five minutes later, Keith Hepworth charged down an Ashurst kick and was obstructed by Laughton as he went to regather the ball when a try seemed likely. Mick Redfearn converted the penalty to level the scores.

The Castleford backs had started in confident mood and were applying early pressure to the Wigan line. After just ten minutes, Lockwood, Hardisty and Stenton moved the ball quickly to the left to create an overlap for Alan Lowndes to cross for what turned out to be the only try of the match. Redfearn failed to convert and Wigan came back strongly from the restart, with a Hardisty cover tackle halting Tyrer when a try looked inevitable.

Then, in the 16th minute came an incident which is still being talked about today. Wigan full-back Tyrer was in the process of passing to a colleague when he was hit by a high tackle from Keith Hepworth. “Heppy” claimed that he thought Tyrer was about to kick the ball so went to block the kick. Tyrer was forced to leave the field and being unable to return he was replaced by Cliff Hill who became the first substitute to play in a Challenge Cup Final. Many people believe it was a deliberate high tackle but after a stern talking to from referee Fred Lindop, Hepworth’s only punishment was to concede a penalty.

Having kicked 168 goals in the season so far, Tyrer was a major loss to Wigan. This was emphasised five minutes later when Bill Francis missed a very kickable penalty. They were awarded three more other penalties that may well have resulted in points had Tyrer still been on the pitch, although, in truth, we will never know. Wigan responded strongly with a period of pressure near the Cas line. But Cas defended their line superbly and Clive Dickinson’s superiority in the scrums provided them with enough possession to clear their lines and maintain their 5-2 half time lead.

Cas continued to defend their line in the second half despite the efforts of Ashurst and Ashcroft who led the Wigan pack. In addition to defending strongly, the backs also looked sharper and livelier in attack. However, they suffered a blow in the 61st minute when captain Alan Hardisty was forced to leave the field after suffering a blow to the kidneys to be replaced by Danny Hargrave.

After another scrum win Cas were able to set up an attacking position near the Wigan line. Bill Kirkbride almost scored what would have been a vital second try but was thwarted by a desperate ankle tap. However, Cas didn’t leave empty handed as a Wigan infringement enabled Redfearn to convert another penalty to extend the lead to 7-2. Then, with less that ten minutes remaining, Wigan threw everything at the Castleford line. In the last five minutes both Ashurst and Burdell looked likely try scorers but the Cas defence stood strong and managed to repel them both. The defence that had conceded only one try in the entire cup campaign stood firm until referee Lindop’s whistle signalled the end of the match.

Castleford had deservedly won the final. Their backs outplayed their opposite numbers and the pack was dominant. Clive Dickinson’s superiority in the scrums was vital and Dennis Hartley and Mick Redfearn were towers of strength. The back three of Kirkbride, Lockwood and Reilly overcame their sternest challenge of the season against top quality opponents in Ashurst, Robinson and Laughton. Bill Kirkbride received the additional honour of being awarded the Lance Todd Trophy as player of the match.

Despite his injury, Alan Hardisty was able to lead the team up to receive the cup and their winners’ medals from the Earl of Derby before the team embarked on the traditional lap of honour.

Celebrations continued in the dressing rooms before the team and other members of the party completed the evening with a dinner at a London hotel.

The team returned home the following day. After travelling up the A1, they arrived at Barnsdale Bar at 4pm to pick up a police escort for the rest of the journey. With crowds of supporters lining much of the route they travelled through Pontefract, Airedale, Glasshoughton, Four Lane Ends, Three Lane Ends, Methley Road and Castleford town centre before arriving at Castleford Boys Modern School. After what was a chilly open topped bus ride the players emerged on the roof to display the cup to an estimated 6,000 supporters. Alan Hardisty, Tommy Smales, Bill Kirkbride and Dennis Hartley all spoke to the assembled crowd to thank them for their support.

The party and their wives were then welcomed by the Mayor, Alderman Henry Goodall to a civic reception at the new Civic Centre to bring the celebrations to a close.

Having already won the Lance Todd Trophy for his performance in the final, Bill Kirkbride was also presented with the club’s Player of the Year award at a ceremony held at the Civic Centre the following Monday. Although he only made 43 appearances for the club before moving on to Salford towards the end of the year, he certainly made his mark with Castleford.

At the same event, a special presentation was also made to the five players – Alan Hardisty, Keith Hepworth, Derek Edwards, Dennis Hartley and Malcolm Reilly – who were about to depart on the Great Britain tour to Australia and New Zealand. This remains the last time Great Britian won a three-match series against Australia.