Having been treated to the exploits of the Classy Cas team of the 1960s and early 1970s, by 1986 Cas fans were eager to return to Wembley.

Since Malcolm Reilly had returned from his spell in Australia to become player/coach Cas had won the Players No 6 Trophy, the Yorkshire Cup (finally), the BBC2 Floodlit Trophy (again) and reached the 1984 Premiership Final. But, having been beaten by Hull in three Challenge Cup semi-finals in four years between 1981/82 and 1984/85, a return to Wembley still seemed a long way away.

And 1985/86 didn’t appear to be the season when their luck would change. A combination of poor form and injuries to key players left Cas towards the wrong end of the league table as the cup campaign approached, winning only one of the eight league matches immediately preceding the 1st Round tie against Hunslet. The match was played on 9th February at a snowbound Elland Road and a Cas team including youngsters Greatbatch, Payne, Horton, Mountain and 17 year-old Roy Southernwood secured a comfortable 60-6 win. Australian loose forward Ian French took the headlines with a club record equalling five tries.

Fixture backlog

After the first round win the weather intervened and Cas didn’t play again until 5th March, suffering another league defeat at Featherstone. As a result of the disruption caused by the weather, the remaining Challenge Cup rounds were then played on three consecutive weekends during March. After a 30-6 win at Barrow in the 2nd Round Cas were drawn to face Cup holders Wigan away in the Quarter Final. Despite still being without several key players, another weakened team defied their league form to win 10-2 in front of a crowd of 18,646.

The draw for the semi-final paired Cas with Oldham, who were optimistic about their chances of finally making their first appearance in a Wembley Challenge Cup Final. They were even more optimistic at half-time as they held a narrow 7-6 lead. However, Cas were not to be denied and second half tries by Bob Beardmore (his second of the match) and Tony Marchant overcame Oldham’s challenge with a final score of 18-7. The match was a personal landmark for Cas captain John Joyner who made a club record-equalling 431st appearance for the club.

Only two days later Cas returned to league football, losing 18-12 against Leeds as, despite qualifying for their first Challenge Cup Final for 16 years, their poor league form continued. The threat of relegation remained until wins against Bradford Northern, Salford and cup final opponents Hull KR finally ended fears of the drop and all eyes could be focused on Wembley.

The scramble for tickets

After the miners’ strike of 1984 had created considerable hardship for the local community and local businesses, the club’s success provided a much-needed financial boost, not only for the club, but also local traders. It also provided a feelgood factor for the community as they looked forward to the final with everyone clamouring for a ticket and transport to the final. Special trains were laid on from Castleford, Normanton, Wakefield and South Elmsall and bus travel plus a match ticket was advertised for £11.50. For those wanting to “push the boat out” a weekend trip including coach travel, match tickets and overnight accommodation with continental breakfast could be theirs for £49.90 per person. And it wasn’t just the locals who were excited about the prospect of Wembley. Two friends who had emigrated to South Africa shortly after watching Cas at Wembley in 1970 travelled back for the final at a cost of £600 each. One supporter who nearly missed the match was a 12-year-old boy from Horbury, who got his finger stuck in a tumble drier on the morning of the match. Fortunately, the local fire brigade came to his rescue and managed to free him in time to catch his bus.

Following a training session on the Wednesday morning before the final, the team left Castleford on their way to a secret location near Watford. It was chosen as they had been given permission to use the facilities of a nearby police sports ground for training. One thing that didn’t travel with them was their “lucky” white strip with the black and amber hoops that they had worn in previous rounds. The Rugby Football League had ruled that it would clash with Hull KR’s predominantly white kit, so Cas were instructed to wear their more familiar strip of amber shirts with black hoops.

After training on Thursday the team enjoyed a theatre visit to London to see the Hull Truck Company production of “Up and Under” – appropriately a play about rugby league. The players were joined by their wives and girlfriends who travelled down to London on the Friday for a visit to Wembley Stadium in the afternoon.

Cas had only one player in their squad with previous experience of Wembley. Winger David Plange had played for Hull Schoolboys against Leeds Schoolboys in the 1976 curtain-raiser. Ironically, one of his teammates was Hull KR winger Gary Clark who was expected to line up against Cas in the final. In the week before the final there was much speculation about who would be joining Plange in the Cas team for the final. Neil Greatbatch had played in the first three rounds and Phil Payne, Stuart Horton and Dean Mountain had featured in all four Cup ties on the way to Wembley. Much of the gossip amongst supporters was whether any of these young players would feature in the final. In the end, Malcolm Reilly went with experience, bringing back Gary Hyde and Kevin Beardmore, who had returned to fitness. Ian French and Jamie Sandy, who had both returned to Australia after the semi-final, were also included having flown back to appear in the final. The only surprise selection was that of Gary Lord at full-back in place of David Roockley, who had to be content with a place on the substitutes bench. Lord had put in some strong performances in the weeks leading up to the final, but Roockley was considered by many to be unlucky not to make the starting thirteen. Of the youngsters who had featured in the earlier rounds only Stuart Horton would feature, from the substitutes bench.

Off to Wembley

Game day, Saturday 3rd May, finally arrived. The 82,134 fans assembled in the stadium were entertained by Tony Christie during the traditional community singing before the teams finally emerged from the tunnel. The walk to the half-way line was followed by the presentation to the assembled dignitaries, headed by HRH Princess Alexandra. The teams’ line-ups for the final were:

Castleford: 1 Lord 2 Plange 3 Marchant 4 Hyde 5 Sandy 6 Joyner 7 R Beardmore 8 Ward 9 K Beardmore 10 Johnson 11 England 12 Ketteridge 13 French Subs: 14 Roockley 15 Horton

Hull K R: 1 Fairbairn 2 Clark 3 M Smith 4 Prohm 5 Laws 6 Dorahy 7 Harkin 8 Johnston 9 Watkinson 10 Ema 11 Kelly 12 Harrison 13 Miller Subs: 14 G Smith 15 Lydiat

Referee: R Whitfield (Widnes)

Their poor league form meant that Cas went into the match as underdogs, although they were determined to prove the doubters wrong and started the match strongly. Their well drilled pack were on top in the early stages and Joyner almost opened the scoring, being held up just short of the line. Hull KR’s only early effort was a drop-goal attempt by Harkin which was deflected wide by England. Then, after 20 minutes, came the first try. Kevin Ward made a strong run from deep in the Castleford half, breaking a tackle and drawing in another defender before slipping a pass to Tony Marchant. The centre began a 70-yard run to the try line and looked to draw the defence to create an overlap for his winger, David Plange. However, he saw Hull KR full-back Fairbairn was anticipating this, so he used Plange as a foil before stepping inside to give a clear run to the line to complete a memorable solo try. Martin Ketteridge stepped up to convert the try to give Cas a 6-0 lead. Cas remained in the ascendancy but when Keith England was penalised at a play the ball a few minutes later, Dorahy kicked a penalty to reduce the Cas lead to 6-2. Cas continued to dominate and Hyde went close to scoring before Bob Beardmore took an opportunity to drop a goal to increase the lead to 7-2 a few minutes before half time. Cas were not a team with a reputation for dropping goals but had been working on such a move in the week leading up to the final – probably because their failure to reach Wembley in 1985 was largely due to their inability to convert one in the 10-10 drawn semi-final against Hull. In the event, it was to prove a master stroke. However, shortly after, much of the good work was undone when a loose pass by Keith England was picked up by Kelly who sent Prohm away for a try to bring the half time score to 7-6.

Second half started well

The score so late in the half didn’t disrupt the Cas effort and they started the second half strongly, showing their resilience by scoring a second try just three minutes after the restart. Bob Beardmore slid a grubber kick into the Hull KR in-goal area and set off in chase. Hull KR centre Prohm looked to be favourite to be first to the ball but Beardmore was able to reach past him to ground the ball before it went out of play. Ketteridge missed the conversion but Cas had regained a five-point lead at 11-6. Hull KR responded by putting the Cas line under pressure, but the Cas defence stood firm, with Gary Lord repaying his coach’s faith with a couple of strong tackles. Play was stopped for a while when Hull KR forward Harrison took a heavy knock and had to be stretchered off with concussion. Then, in the 62nd minute, Cas took an opportunity to extend their lead. From a scrum near centre field, John Joyner drew in a couple of tacklers and winger Jamie Sandy appeared at his shoulder to take a pass and race 40 yards towards the Hull KR line. As defenders closed in from all sides he held them at bay just long enough to complete his diagonal run to the line. In a skirmish after Sandy had grounded the ball, Gary Lord was flattened by Lydiat and, as Martin Ketteridge lined up the conversion attempt, he was replaced at full back by David Roockley. Ketteridge was unable to convert the try but Cas now held what looked like a fairly comfortable 15-6 lead with little over a quarter of an hour remaining. Roockley was quickly into the action as Hull KR launched a number of high kicks towards the Cas line in an attempt to break their defence. Hull KR were now moving the ball quicker and wider than they had for the entire match as their desperation grew. Finally, with just over ten minutes left, they breached the Cas defence. They moved the ball to their left and, despite the efforts of three defenders, Prohm was able to sneak the ball over the line to score his second try. The conversion was missed but, at 15-10, Hull KR were now within one converted try.

Nervous times

The Cas line now came under intense pressure as Hull KR moved the ball from one wing to the other as they sought another try. Stuart Horton came on to replace Kevin Beardmore for the closing stages as a desperate tackle by Johnson, Joyner and Roockley prevented Laws scoring what would probably have been a winning try at the side of the posts. However, the ball was moved swiftly across field for Prohm to provide a pass for Lydiat to squeeze in for a try at the corner. So, having been the dominant side for almost the entire match and never having been behind, the Cas players had to stand behind the line and watch as Hull KR’s Dorahy lined up a conversion attempt from the touchline that would have snatched victory away from them. Some players from both sides turned away rather than watch the conversion attempt. But, as the ball left Dorahy’s foot, the sight of Bob Beardmore leaping in the air between the goalposts told everybody that the ball was drifting harmlessly across the face of the goal. Cas fans will remember the sight of Johnny Walker jumping off the bench at this point with arms flailing as he reminded the players that it wasn’t full time yet and urging them to stay focused. Although play continued for a couple of more minutes he needn’t have worried. Hull KR’s effort had fallen short and Cas had held on to a 15-14 win. Bob Beardmore’s all-round performance, including his try and decisive drop-goal, won him the Lance Todd Trophy after being voted player of the match. It felt much closer than it should have been but the win was all that mattered.

John Joyner led his team up the steps to receive the cup and the winners’ medals from Princess Alexandra before the team set off on their lap of honour around the stadium. Much to the annoyance of many television viewers, they were unable to see this as the BBC decided to switch directly to Stamford Bridge to interview Kenny Dalglish as Liverpool secured the League Championship with a win at Chelsea. Not that anyone inside the stadium knew about it – or cared. Cas had won the cup for the first time since 1970.

Uncanny coincidence

Malcolm Reilly had been so confident of victory that he had prepared his post-match speech before kick-off. One detail he needed to add related to the irony of the team having watched the play Up and Under on the Thursday before the final. The play ends with a team from Castleford beating a team from Hull by one point after kicking a decisive drop-goal. It was clearly an omen for the final.

An after-match reception was held at a hotel in Surrey before the Castleford entourage set off home on Sunday morning. They travelled by coach as far as Knottingley before the players and coaching staff transferred to an open topped double decker bus for the final few miles to Castleford Civic Centre where a civic reception awaited. Although the distance wasn’t great, it took longer than expected, largely due to the numbers of fans lining the route. However, there was an additional delay when the bus approached a railway bridge near the Wheldon Road ground and the driver realised he couldn’t get under it. Everyone had to get off the bus while the driver took a detour round the local neighbourhood and returned to collect them on the other side of the bridge. On finally reaching the Civic Centre the players appeared on the balcony to display the cup and receive the cheers of the thousands of supporters who had gathered there. There was a special cheer for diminutive try-scoring hero Jamie Sandy, who had to be held aloft by his teammates so the watching crowds could see him. As the light faded, the group retreated inside to be welcomed by the Mayor, Councillor Laurie Harrison who told the players they had done more for the town than the council could have done in ten years. Following the reception, the cup was handed over to the local constabulary for safe keeping – and spent the night in the cells of the local police station.