Rob Burrow: Daryl Powell moved by 'fitting tribute' to Leeds Rhinos icon after Wakefield Trinity win 1895 Cup

Powell was in charge of Leeds Rhinos when Rob Burrow, who died six days before Saturday’s 1895 Cup final, made his full debut in 2001. Finals day at Wembley was dedicated to Burrow’s memory and Powell - whose side crushed Sheffield Eagles 50-6 - felt the event did his old friend proud.

Play-makers were named man of the match in all three finals and Powell hailed that as “a fitting tribute for Rob”. Speaking in his post-match press conference, he said: “Everything was about him today.

“I spoke to Keith [Senior, one of Burrow’s Rhinos teammates who is assistant-coach of Sheffield] afterwards and he said it has been an awful week. Obviously they lost today, but it pales into insignificance, a game, when you’ve lost a phenomenal young man that we loved so early like we have done with Rob.”

Aside from all the emotion surrounding the day, Powell’s maiden Wembley win as team boss was a special moment in his long coaching career. He was in charge of Castleford Tigers when they lost Challenge Cup finals at Wembley in 2014 and 2021 and stressed: “I’ve lost a couple here so it feels great.

“I thought the boys were class in that second half. I think we got a bit excited at the start of the game, but it’s really pleasing. You look at the potential of the club because you look at the fanbase - people were here in their thousands so that was class and they have supported us well all year. It is rich reward for them and the boys for how hard they are working. They are a great bunch of blokes.”

The 1895 Cup showpiece was captain Matty Ashurst’s first appearance at the national stadium, in his 350th career game. “To captain a team at Wembley is something people dream of,” he reflected. “With a win like that, it couldn’t have gone better. The boys put in a great performance. Sheffield made it tough for us in the first half, but we got the job done in the end.”