Home

Stories

Collections

Explore

Hall of Fame

Timeline

About Us

Contact Us

More stories will be added on a weekly basis, so keep coming back to see what's new. Very soon the search function will be added allowing you to easily search the entire site for stories, players, games or any other reference.

Learn more about Sheffield Eagles through the stories we've researched and focused on. If you'd like to share your memories and stories with the project then get in touch. 



Few could have imagined after winning their first game 29-10 in 1984 , that just 14 years later the Eagles would be responsible for the biggest upset in Challenge Cup, perhaps rugby league, history.

What the win means to the Sheffield Eagles The Challenge Cup victory in 1998 is a key part in the history of the Sheffield Eagles and continues to be celebrated on a regular basis.

Celebrations in Sheffield After the win at Wembley and when the players had returned to Sheffield there was an open top bus tour of the City and a civic reception at the Town Hall. Thanks to Dave Goodlad for sharing his photos from that time.

[Image: Celebrations in Sheffield]
[Image: Celebrations in Sheffield]
[Image: Celebrations in Sheffield]
[Image: Celebrations in Sheffield]
[Image: Celebrations in Sheffield]
[Image: Celebrations in Sheffield]
[Image: Celebrations in Sheffield]


Recognition from Sheffield City Council In June 1998 Sheffield City Council formally congratulated Sheffield Eagles on their victory and their contribution to life in Sheffield. 
[Image: Congratulations from Sheffield City Council]

10 Years On In 2008 the Eagles celebrated the 10th anniversary of the win with a souvenir brochure and series of events. You can read that brochure here.
[File: undefined]

25 years on The Sheffield Eagles and Sheffield Eagles Heritage Project worked together to organise a celebration dinner on the evening of the 2nd May at the OEC Sheffield. It was attended by over 220 people including fans, players, coaching staff, former board members, sponsors and those associated with the Club over its lifetime. 
The evening opened with the 17 staff and players from the 1998 squad who joined us that evening being welcomed to the room and the players receiving their heritage certificates. John Kear presented Paul Broadbent as the captain from 1998 with his certificate first before being joined on stage by: Waisale Sovatabua, Nick Pinkney, Keith Senior, Bright Sodje, Matt Crowther, Mark Aston, Johnny Lawless, Dale Laughton, Gareth Stephens, Darren Turner, Neil Law and Steve Molloy. 
[Image: 1998 Squad Receive their Heritage Certificates]
After the three course meal there was a twenty minute film shown including highlights of the quarter final, semi final and final, followed by video messages from Rod Doyle, Marcus Vassilakopoulos and Michael Jackson who couldn't join us. We were then able to show never before seen footage from 1998 including interviews, behind the scenes and celebrations.
[Video: Rod Doyle Challenge Cup 25th Anniversary Celebrations Video Message]
[Video: Michael Jackson Challenge Cup Video Message]
[Video: Marcus Vassilakopoulos Challenge Cup Video Message]
John Kear and the three try scorers from the game - Nick Pinkney, Matt Crowther and Darren Turner - took to the stage to share their memories through discussions with the compere for the night Pete Emmett. Pete then made his way to the players' tables and we were treated to a range of stories and memories from that 1998 season. It was clear from hearing John and all the players talk how much the 1998 season meant to them and the bond they have with each other.
[Video: Sheffield Eagles Challenge Cup winners 25th anniversary celebration dinner on stage interviews]
The evening closed with a chance for people to have their photos taken with the Challenge Cup as well as catch up with each other and share memories. The evening was filmed and we will be looking to share highlights of the evening in the next few weeks, along with the video messages from those who couldn't be there and short interviews with a number of players.
You can watch highlights of the evening below. 
[Video: Challenge Cup Celebrations 25 Anniversary Dinner Highlights]
Also as part of the As part of the night Keith Senior, Dale Laughton, John Kear, Mark Aston and Matt Crowther were asked for their favourite memories of the 1998 victory and how it feels to look back on it after 25 years.
[Video: Reflections on the 1998 Challenge Cup win]
A special commemorative brochure was produced for the evening including an introduction from the captain in 1998 Paul Broadbent, a look back to where the Club started, the road to Wembley, the final, newspaper headlines, quotes from the time, a timeline of the Club and what happened when the Eagles returned to Wembley in 1998. 
[Image: 25th Anniversary Commemorative Brochure]
[File: undefined]
A very special limited edition pin badge was produced for those attending on the night. Just 250 have been made and each one is individually numbered, with the players from the 1998 squad given the badge corresponding to their squad number for that season. 
[Image: Challenge Cup 25th Anniversary Pin Badge ]

Author Richard King

Credits Photography: Jake Borrill & Alex Coleman
Filming: Lensgo Visual Media
Brochure Design: Make a Brew
Pin Badge Design: House of Logos

How the Challenge Cup win was celebrated in 1998 and continues to be celebrated over the years.

Challenge Cup Celebrations



Quotes from 1998 after the Sheffield Eagles won the Challenge Cup final.

Quotes 
[Quote: "I’ve been at the Club a long time and we’ve had some high points and some low points but this is unbelievable. I’m really proud of the team today. We had such a never say die approach. We never gave Wigan an inch. They are a great bunch of lads – it’s a real family atmosphere at the Club." Author: Paul Broadbent]
[Quote: "I’m on top of the world. We were the underdogs but we had self-belief and we really gave it to Wigan. The last 10 minutes seemed like for ever but when it got to the 78th minute and they had to score twice we knew we had the game." Author: Michael Jackson]
[Quote: "I’ve never had a feeling like this before in a rugby league side. We were so focused we could have played anyone and beaten them." Author: Dave Watson]
[Quote: "It’s unbelievable – especially as so many people said we had no chance. We had so much control and they were always playing catch up." Author: Paul Carr]
[Quote: "Their tactics were superb. Paul Broadbent led from the front and their pack was really up for it." Author: Andy Farrell, Wigan]
[Quote: "It was fantastic, I still can’t believe it. It was the way we won. I’m so proud of the team" Author: Kath Owen, fan]
[Quote: "We’re not individuals, we are a team and when you’ve got a team that believes in itself look what happens." Author: Mark Aston]
[Quote: "I’m the proudest man from South Yorkshire, the proudest man in London and the proudest man in England. The whole day was unbelievable, much more than I expected. I’m not an emotional fella but I couldn’t stop the tears from coming. I had to wipe them away as we went up to get the Cup and collect our medals." Author: Dale Laughton]

What players, staff and fans said at the time

Reaction after the Game



Many of the players have said when they think back to the Final that the game was won the night before within a circle of chairs in a room within the Runnymede Hotel.

The Night Before John Kear asked everyone to visualise how they had prepared for the game in training and to make it a reality. Paul Broadbent, the captain, has described the intensity and the passion at the team meeting that night. Each player had the chance to say what the game meant to them, how much they wanted the win, what they were going to do and why they were going to do it. It was a chance for everyone to be aware of how much a win meant to each of them.
[Quote: "Just listening to everybody talk, you could feel the passion and it brought tears to your eyes. There was never going to be another result than us winning because of the emotion and the desire in everyone who spoke." Author: Paul Broadbent]

Mind Games in the Tunnel Many of those in the tunnel that day, as the players were preparing to go out onto the pitch, have said this was another critical element of the victory for the Eagles. There were repeated shouts from the Eagles’ players of “98” and “98, it’s the year of the Eagles”. As John Kear told the BBC in 2020.
[Quote: "All these stellar superstars (from Wigan) at the side of them (the Eagles) were just looking at them as if they were crazed. They thought they were as mad as March hares. They were shouting that to unsettle them. That's how wound up they were. My worry was they were too wound up, but as the game started the quality of rugby league they played was first class. We didn't make an error until minute 32." Author: John Kear]
[Quote: "It was probably in the tunnel that Wigan lost some of that composure. But the game was very much won and lost on the field and that is what all great games are remembered for." Author: Stuart Cummings, Referee]
[Image: Before the game]

First Half The game went to plan, the plan John Kear had created with the players. The first try came after just 4 minutes from a high kick from Mark Aston to the corner where Nick Pinkney beat Jason Robinson in the air to catch the ball and keep hold of it to score, with Aston failing to convert, meaning it was 4-0. It was Wigan that seemed the most nervous whilst the Eagles managed to continue to resist the pressure. The Eagles scored a second try in the 28th minute, after Aston managed to win possession back at the play the ball. He passed straight out to Rod Doyle whose pass went behind Matt Crowther but he managed to pick it up to score, with Aston converting, bringing the score to 10-0. Following a penalty for holding down Wigan managed to score, bringing it to 10-2 before Mark Aston, just before half time, put over a drop goal to keep the pressure on Wigan, with it 11 - 2 at half time. 
[Image: Nick Pinkney out jumps Jason Robinson to score the Eagles first try. ]
[Image: Dave Watson makes a break]
[Image: Waisale Sovatabua is tackled]

Second Half The second half was when it was expected that Wigan would come out much stronger after the shock of the first half. The Eagles, through Darren Turner burrowing to the line, managed to score first after 51 minutes bringing the score to 17-2. Just 5 minutes later Wigan scored their only try through Mark Bell, meaning it was now 17-8. Was this to be the fight back? To the Eagles’ fans the final 20 minutes seemed to last forever. Wigan threw everything at the Eagles defence but without any success – it was the first time they had lost at Wembley since 1984. The final score was 17-8 and the photos and footage show what it meant to the players.
[Quote: "Sheffield Eagles pulled off the greatest shock in Challenge Cup history as they turned over a Wigan Warriors side regarded as the biggest certainties the competition has ever seen." Author: League Express]
[Image: The Eagles celebrate their third try]
[Image: The final scoreboard at Wembley]
[Image: The squad celebrate victory]
[Image: The Eagles receive the trophy]
[Image: Mark Aston celebrates with his son Cory, who now plays for the Sheffield Eagles]
[Image: Darren Shaw, Martin Wood and Michael Jackson celebrate]
[Image: Dale Laughton celebrates with his winner's medal]

Photographs Photographs are used with the kind permission of the Rugby Football League and the League Express.

Author Richard King

How self-belief and teamwork won the game

The Challenge Cup Final



In an article in the Sheffield Star before the fourth round game journalist Simon Meeks said “A decent cup run, maybe the final four, is a realistic target and attainable with reasonable luck in the draw.” It proved to be more than that.

1998 - Year of the Eagles The Eagles had finished the 1997 season in 8th position, with John Kear having taken over as coach part way through that season. The last game of 1997 was a loss against Wigan in the Premiership Semi-Final. Through those 19 games in charge that season, John Kear saw the potential that the squad of players had. Not just as individuals but their ability to play together as a team and for each other. Before the start of the 1998 season John Kear approached the board of The Club and set out his idea of winning the Challenge Cup in 1998.
[Quote: "They didn't believe me. But as the campaign went on, and after such a great pre-season, the belief grew and grew." Author: John Kear]
Once he had convinced the board it was then a case of convincing the players.
[Quote: "No-one ever gave us a chance, we thought John was mad when he came into our first pre-season training camp and said 'we're going to Wembley and we'll win it'" Author: Mark Aston]

Fourth Round The fourth round game was the Eagles first competitive game of the 1998 season. They played Leigh away, who they had knocked out of the Challenge Cup five times in the previous nine seasons. They went on to beat Leigh 66-11, with Matt Crowther scoring four tries, a career best for a game for him at that point.

Fifth Round The fifth round saw the Eagles drawn against the amateur team Egremont Rangers, this time at home. The Eagles won comfortably 84-6, with Nick Pinkney this time scoring four tries, meaning the Club were in the Challenge Cup quarter finals for the first time in their history.

Quarter Final This first ever quarter final appearance was against Castleford, live on Grandstand – another first for the Eagles. This was a much tougher challenge for the Eagles, with a strong Castleford team who has beaten both Leeds and Bradford in previous rounds. The Eagles scored first through Paul Carr with them leading 16 – 8 at half time, before winning the game 32-22 with a man of the match performance from Waisale Sovatabua.The Yorkshire Post described the Eagles performance as an “exciting, clinical and high speed approach in scoring six tries against the competition’s in form team.” After the game John Kear said “I think everyone’s got to take us seriously now.’

Semi Final The semi-final against Salford was played at Headingley. The Eagles scored first through Whetu Taewa, before Salford levelled the scores then pulled ahead. A converted try by Michael Jackson meant the scores were 10-10 at half time. Despite being 18-10 down with 14 minutes to go the Eagles managed to pull it back with tries from Mark Aston and man of the match Dale Laughton, with two conversions from Aston. The players started celebrating as the hooter went but Salford had played the ball just before it was sounded. The Eagles players had quickly switch focus chase down Steve Blakely who made a break down the pitch. The victory was marred by a Salford supporter running onto the pitch after the final hooter to attack the referee Stuart Cummings, with the Eagles players quickly on hand to rescue the referee.

The Cup Run Going into the final the odds of the Sheffield Eagles beating Wigan were 14-1 against. With the Super League season starting after the semi-final the Eagles weren’t in the best of form – losing three out of the four games before the Challenge Cup final. Wigan had won the Challenge Cup eight times between 1988 and that point. No one outside The Club was predicting a victory for the Eagles, in fact many fans doubted it themselves. For them it was a day out and a chance to experience the atmosphere at Wembley, as it may never happen again. The coaches and players had a different idea.

Author Richard King

How the Sheffield Eagles Reached the Challenge Cup Final

The Road to Wembley



Does programme from the 1998 Challenge Cup bring back memories for you? Would you like to share them with the Heritage Project as part of the 25th Anniversary celebrations?

Share Your Memories Were you at the 1998 Challenge Cup final at Wembley? Did you watch it on television? What are your memories of that game, the previous rounds, the build up to the final and what happened afterwards?
As part of the celebrations for the 25th Anniversary of the historic win we'd like you to share your memories. Let us know by email or by commenting on our Facebook page. Have you got photos from the day? Have you got any memorabilia? Why not send us a voice note or short video of your memories and we'll include it as part of the activities we're putting together to mark the day. 

You can contact us ,HERE,. 

Read the Programme You can read the full version of the 1998 programme below.

Part 1


[File: undefined]
Part 2

[File: undefined]
Part 3

[File: undefined]

Share your memories from the historic 1998 Challenge Cup victory

Share Your Memories of 1998



Work was completed on the stadium in September 1990 ahead of the World Student Games which were to be held there in July 1991.

The Stadium The grandstand could hold 10,000 spectators with capacity for a further 15,000 in open air terrace seating. The whole of the athletic running track and infield was lit up by floodlights. The track was designed and built sunken 16 feet below ground level resulting in it being sheltered, thus giving ideal viewing conditions for the crowd and the athletes the ability to produce peak performances.
In addition to being a sporting venue Don Valley was also used as an open air concert facility with a 15,000 seating area and room for a further 50,000 standing. The first concert was in 1993 when Sheffield band Def Leppard performed there. Other major stars followed, such as Bon Jovi, U2, The Rolling Stones, Tina Turner, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Michael Jackson, Celine Dion and The Spice Girls.
Don Valley was the training base of the City of Sheffield Athletics Club and held the Sheffield Half Marathon. Rotherham United played their home league games there between 2008 – 2012 when the New York Stadium was being completed. Sheffield FC and Sheffield Wednesday Ladies also for a time played at Don Valley and American football was held at the stadium between 1999 – 2007.
The celebrity sports show The Games also used the facilities at Don Valley as part of its filming.


A home for the Sheffield Eagles  In 1991 Don Valley Stadium was the new home of Sheffield Eagles.The club’s record attendance was set in August 1997 when a crowd of 10,603 watched The Eagles play Bradford Bulls.

Personal Memories At the time, the World Student Games was the largest sporting event to be held in the United Kingdom since the 1948 summer Olympics and the only time the event has taken place in the UK. More than 3,000 athletes took part from 101 nations. Hyde Park flats in Sheffield were refurbished and used to house the athletes village. Three new venues were purpose built, all on land which had previously been industrial works in Sheffield - Don Valley, Ponds Forge and Sheffield Arena.
I can clearly remember attending the opening ceremony and being in awe of the grand spectacle of it all, seeing the athletes proudly parade around the track carrying flags to represent their countries, I had never seen anything like it before. There was a wonderful atmosphere in Don Valley and Sheffield as a whole at that time as the city got behind the event to support it.
As a spectator, I attended the swimming and diving at Ponds Forge and also badminton which was held at a local sports facility close to where I lived at the time, but it was Don Valley which I loved the best. There was something about the venue unlike anything I had experienced before which I think the athletes and spectators alike could appreciate. 
The World Student Games and Don Valley Stadium have remained fondly in my memory and hopefully also in the memories of the competitors who spent a couple of weeks in Sheffield in July 1991.
[Image: Don Valley Stadium - Caroline Guest]
[Image: Don Valley Stadium - Caroline Guest]
[Image: Don Valley Stadium - Caroline Guest]
[Image: Don Valley Stadium - Caroline Guest]
[Image: Don Valley Stadium - Caroline Guest]

Share your memories If anyone else has any memories of what made Don Valley Stadium special to them please do get in touch and let us know, it would be lovely to hear your stories and to remember this special place. Contact us ,HERE,. 

Author Caroline Guest