BROUGH DREAMING OF WEMBLEY DATE AFTER DITCHING OLD CLUB
Danny Brough, whose drop-goal separated Hull FC and Leeds Rhinos in the 2005 Challenge Cup Final, talks to Oliver Pickup about that magical day at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium and the prospect of gracing the Wembley turf for the first time. Before that can happen the Wakefield stand-off must advance from the semi-finals at the expense of his former team, and some good friends. But he feels as though he owes it to coach John Kear to win Wakefield their first Challenge Cup trophy in 45 years.
THE 2005 Challenge Cup provided arguably the best Final in recent years, as underdogs Hull FC manoeuvred their way through a pulsating game crammed with twists and turns against 4/1 favourites Leeds Rhinos. On that day Danny Brough, a 22-year-old plucked from National League Two obscurity by coach John Kear, proved the difference.
The former plumber’s sublime kicking performance gleaned nine points in the 25-24 win and, after a drop-goal and four goals – the last he converted from Paul Cooke’s score three minutes before the final hooter to gift his team their first silverware in 23 years – he was unfortunate not to win the Lance Todd trophy that found its way into losing captain, Kevin Sinfield’s hands.
But Brough remains philosophical, and hopes that this will be the year that he and his new club, Wakefield Trinity Wildcats, can sweep the board. “The Lance Todd is a massive trophy and I would love to get my hands on it,” beams the 25-year-old Scotland international. “But on the day you can’t think about that – you have to think about winning for your team. If we get past Hull in the semi-finals and lose at Wembley, and I get the Lance Todd trophy, it will be little consolation.
“I will never forget that day, three years ago. It was nerve-wracking from the night before. I was pacing the corridor at five in the morning and I was overwhelmed that we were in the Challenge Cup Final. When I walked out on to the pitch the atmosphere made the hair on the back of my neck stand up on end. When I look back at the video and see Richard Horne and me with our knees knocking, it brings back that feeling. It was a great day for Hull and an outstanding effort by our lads.”
Hull, in Kear’s first season in charge, had surpassed the odds en route to success, toppling Super League Champions Bradford Bulls and Challenge Cup holders St Helens. Former Castleford Tigers back, Kear had already proved a bookies’ nightmare, when he guided Sheffield Eagles to similar heights against the mighty Wigan Warrors in 1998. However, eight months after the jubilation in Cardiff, Kear was handed his P45 and Brough lost favour with new coach, Peter Sharp, before moving to Castleford Tigers in National League One.
When Kear moved to Wakefield in July 2006 he soon rescued Brough’s career again, taking him to the Belle Vue Stadium at the start of this season. And the diminutive lad from Dewsbury is working wonders for Kear once again, at the club where he started out aged 16.
“I owe John a lot, as he has looked after me,” continues Brough. “He got me out of National League Two [with York City Knights] and took me to Hull and then he brought me to Wakefield. John encourages you, tells you what you are doing right, and what you are doing wrong – he’s a great coach.
“I signed for Wakefield the day I left school and I had three years on an apprenticeship. To be back here is fantastic. They are a great bunch of lads and we have great team spirit. That is helping us play better Rugby League and pulling us through games lately.
“It would be outstanding to get to Wembley. I have never played there personally, and I don’t think any of the other boys have either. The trophy, in itself, is one of the biggest in the game – it means such a lot to that many people. It’ll give us a great sense of achievement if we get there.”
His old team Hull stand in the way of his Wembley dream, however, and he is wary that they have been galvanised under Sharp’s successor, Richard Agar – a coach he knew from his time at York, and at Hull, where he was assistant.
“I’m still in good touch with a lot of the lads from Hull,” says Brough. “I spend a lot of time with Lee Radford – he lives across the road from me. We have spoken about the semi-final recently, and we were saying how it is going to be weird that one or the other of us would get to the final. It’s going to be gut-wrenching for the other, but that’s Rugby League for you!
“It is a bit worrying that Hull are finding a bit of form and with Richard coming in it gives them all a kick up the backside. Sometimes change is good; sometimes change is bad. But in Hull’s case it seems to be working for them at the moment. I think Richard is a great coach having worked under him at York. He taught me a lot of things, having playing in my position. He is very tactical, he knows what he is on about and I think he will do a great job at Hull.
“I don’t think it matters that we are not playing the Rhinos or the Saints in the semi-final, because if you win the Challenge Cup then you have to beat the best at some point. We just have to be up for it on the day and then we will get to Wembley.”
Danny Brough, whose drop-goal separated Hull FC and Leeds Rhinos in the 2005 Challenge Cup Final, talks to Oliver Pickup about that magical day at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium and the prospect of gracing the Wembley turf for the first time. Before that can happen the Wakefield stand-off must advance from the semi-finals at the expense of his former team, and some good friends. But he feels as though he owes it to coach John Kear to win Wakefield their first Challenge Cup trophy in 45 years.
THE 2005 Challenge Cup provided arguably the best Final in recent years, as underdogs Hull FC manoeuvred their way through a pulsating game crammed with twists and turns against 4/1 favourites Leeds Rhinos. On that day Danny Brough, a 22-year-old plucked from National League Two obscurity by coach John Kear, proved the difference.
The former plumber’s sublime kicking performance gleaned nine points in the 25-24 win and, after a drop-goal and four goals – the last he converted from Paul Cooke’s score three minutes before the final hooter to gift his team their first silverware in 23 years – he was unfortunate not to win the Lance Todd trophy that found its way into losing captain, Kevin Sinfield’s hands.
But Brough remains philosophical, and hopes that this will be the year that he and his new club, Wakefield Trinity Wildcats, can sweep the board. “The Lance Todd is a massive trophy and I would love to get my hands on it,” beams the 25-year-old Scotland international. “But on the day you can’t think about that – you have to think about winning for your team. If we get past Hull in the semi-finals and lose at Wembley, and I get the Lance Todd trophy, it will be little consolation.
“I will never forget that day, three years ago. It was nerve-wracking from the night before. I was pacing the corridor at five in the morning and I was overwhelmed that we were in the Challenge Cup Final. When I walked out on to the pitch the atmosphere made the hair on the back of my neck stand up on end. When I look back at the video and see Richard Horne and me with our knees knocking, it brings back that feeling. It was a great day for Hull and an outstanding effort by our lads.”
Hull, in Kear’s first season in charge, had surpassed the odds en route to success, toppling Super League Champions Bradford Bulls and Challenge Cup holders St Helens. Former Castleford Tigers back, Kear had already proved a bookies’ nightmare, when he guided Sheffield Eagles to similar heights against the mighty Wigan Warrors in 1998. However, eight months after the jubilation in Cardiff, Kear was handed his P45 and Brough lost favour with new coach, Peter Sharp, before moving to Castleford Tigers in National League One.
When Kear moved to Wakefield in July 2006 he soon rescued Brough’s career again, taking him to the Belle Vue Stadium at the start of this season. And the diminutive lad from Dewsbury is working wonders for Kear once again, at the club where he started out aged 16.
“I owe John a lot, as he has looked after me,” continues Brough. “He got me out of National League Two [with York City Knights] and took me to Hull and then he brought me to Wakefield. John encourages you, tells you what you are doing right, and what you are doing wrong – he’s a great coach.
“I signed for Wakefield the day I left school and I had three years on an apprenticeship. To be back here is fantastic. They are a great bunch of lads and we have great team spirit. That is helping us play better Rugby League and pulling us through games lately.
“It would be outstanding to get to Wembley. I have never played there personally, and I don’t think any of the other boys have either. The trophy, in itself, is one of the biggest in the game – it means such a lot to that many people. It’ll give us a great sense of achievement if we get there.”
His old team Hull stand in the way of his Wembley dream, however, and he is wary that they have been galvanised under Sharp’s successor, Richard Agar – a coach he knew from his time at York, and at Hull, where he was assistant.
“I’m still in good touch with a lot of the lads from Hull,” says Brough. “I spend a lot of time with Lee Radford – he lives across the road from me. We have spoken about the semi-final recently, and we were saying how it is going to be weird that one or the other of us would get to the final. It’s going to be gut-wrenching for the other, but that’s Rugby League for you!
“It is a bit worrying that Hull are finding a bit of form and with Richard coming in it gives them all a kick up the backside. Sometimes change is good; sometimes change is bad. But in Hull’s case it seems to be working for them at the moment. I think Richard is a great coach having worked under him at York. He taught me a lot of things, having playing in my position. He is very tactical, he knows what he is on about and I think he will do a great job at Hull.
“I don’t think it matters that we are not playing the Rhinos or the Saints in the semi-final, because if you win the Challenge Cup then you have to beat the best at some point. We just have to be up for it on the day and then we will get to Wembley.”
Labels: Challenge Cup, Danny Brough, Hull FC, John Kear, Peter Sharp, Wakefield Wildcats
