Hull FC 14-14 (drawn; replay 18-9) Widnes — 1981/82 Challenge Cup Final

Wembley Stadium, London / Elland Road, Leeds · Attendance: 92,147 (drawn game) / 41,171 (replay)

Data last verified: 11 August 2026.

1981/82 Challenge Cup Final: Hull FC 14-14 (drawn; replay 18-9) Widnes, at Wembley Stadium, London / Elland Road, Leeds.

Sourcing caveat: Sources disagree on some details — Topliss's try minute, the exact split of Widnes' goal-kicking in the drawn game, and whether Hull scored three or four tries in the replay; treat those specific details as unconfirmed. Lineups added subsequently, from Rugby League Project's team-sheet summary for this final — but that source only gives the drawn-game XVs (both squads, plus each side's coach), which is what's reproduced here; team1/team2 below match this entry's existing team1=Widnes/team2=Hull convention. The replay lineup was not separately confirmed — the context above notes Hull brought in Clive Sullivan and Tony Duke as injury cover for that game, but which drawn-game player(s) they replaced, and the two teams' replay shirt numbers generally, could not be confirmed.

Scorers

Hull FC	Tries: Eddie Cunningham (10', drawn game); Eddie Cunningham (51', drawn game); Stuart Wright (~60', drawn game) Goals: Mick Burke and/or Eric Hughes (drawn game, exact kicking split unclear)
Widnes	Tries: Gary Kemble (early second half, replay); David Topliss (replay, minute reported inconsistently); Lee Crooks (73', replay) Goals: Lee Crooks (replay, conversions)

Teams

Hull FC			Widnes
1	Mick Burke	Fullback	Gary Kemble	1
2	Stuart Wright	Wing	Dane O'Hara	2
3	Keiron O'Loughlin	Centre	Terry Day	3
4	Eddie Cunningham	Centre	Steve Evans	4
5	John Basnett	Wing	Paul Prendiville	5
6	Eric Hughes	Five-eighth	David Topliss	6
7	Andy Gregory	Halfback	Kevin Harkin	7
8	Mike O'Neill	Front row	Trevor Skerrett	8
9	Keith Elwell	Hooker	Ron Wileman	9
10	Brian Lockwood	Front row	Charlie Stone	10
11	Les Gorley	Second row	Mick Crane	11
12	Eric Prescott	Second row	Sammy Lloyd	12
13	Mick Adams	Lock	Steve Norton	13
Substitutes
14	Tony Myler		Lee Crooks	15
15	Steve O'Neill

Doug Laughton		Coach	Arthur Bunting

Match officials

Referee	Fred Lindop (confirmed for the replay; unconfirmed for the drawn Wembley game)
Lance Todd Trophy	Eddie Cunningham (Widnes) — Lance Todd Trophy for the drawn game; no separate winner could be confirmed for the replay

Match report

This was rugby league's first drawn Wembley Challenge Cup final since 1953/54, forcing a replay. In the first match, Widnes led by eight points with around 15 minutes left but Hull FC fought back to level it 14-14 in front of 92,147. In the replay at Elland Road, Leeds — played just four days after Hull had lost the Premiership final to Widnes — Hull's veterans Clive Sullivan and Tony Duke came in as injury cover, and Hull won 18-9 as Norton and captain David Topliss combined to send Gary Kemble in near the posts, before Topliss himself jinked through four defenders for a decisive second try. The replay crowd of 41,171 was praised for exemplary conduct. Widnes had been defending champions, having won the Cup for the sixth time the previous season. For much of the competition's early history the final rotated around northern club and representative grounds such as Headingley, Fartown, Central Park and the Athletic Ground, Rochdale, before Wembley Stadium became the final's permanent home from 1928/29 onward (with a short break during Wembley's 2000-2007 reconstruction, when finals were staged at Murrayfield, Twickenham and the Millennium Stadium instead). This was the 81st Challenge Cup final played, and, under the name “Hull FC,” the 2nd Challenge Cup title for the club.

Round by round

Jump to round:

Preliminary Round

Result	Venue	Attendance	Date
Hull KR 22–18 Featherstone Rovers	Craven Park	8090	1982-02-02

Round 1

Result	Venue	Attendance	Date
St Helens 12–20 Wigan	Knowsley Road	7611	1982-02-13
Workington Town 32–8 Blackpool Borough	Derwent Park	1410	1982-02-13
Batley 23–15 Huyton	Mount Pleasant	908	1982-02-14
Bradford Northern 14–12 Dewsbury	Odsal Stadium	4176	1982-02-14
Bramley 4–16 Wakefield Trinity	McLaren Field	3180	1982-02-14
Cardiff 8–19 Widnes	Ninian Park	6484	1982-02-14
Carlisle 2–17 Castleford	Brunton Park	5452	1982-02-14
Doncaster 6–7 Rochdale Hornets	Crown Flatt	736	1982-02-14
Fulham 14–4 Hunslet	Craven Cottage	3392	1982-02-14
Halifax 17–12 Huddersfield	Thrum Hall	3991	1982-02-14
Hull 29–15 Salford	The Boulevard	13697	1982-02-14
Keighley 6–12 Barrow	Lawkholme Lane	4015	1982-02-14
Leigh 28–17 Warrington	Hilton Park	10366	1982-02-14
Swinton 5–15 Oldham	Station Road	4095	1982-02-14
Whitehaven 7–17 Hull KR	Recreation Ground	3965	1982-02-14
York 6–34 Leeds	Wigginton Road	6862	1982-02-14

Round 2

Result	Venue	Attendance	Date
Hull KR 17–18 Leigh	Craven Park	12034	1982-02-27
Barrow 1–9 Leeds	Craven Park (Barrow)	9677	1982-02-28
Batley 6–31 Castleford	Mount Pleasant	3754	1982-02-28
Bradford Northern 17–8 Workington Town	Odsal Stadium	5134	1982-02-28
Fulham 5–11 Hull	Craven Cottage	9481	1982-02-28
Halifax 28–7 Rochdale Hornets	Thrum Hall	3919	1982-02-28
Wakefield Trinity 18–12 Oldham	Belle Vue	6567	1982-02-28
Wigan 7–9 Widnes	Central Park	17467	1982-02-28

Round 3

Result	Venue	Attendance	Date
Bradford Northern 8–8 Widnes	Odsal Stadium	9570	1982-03-13
Hull 16–10 Halifax	The Boulevard	16555	1982-03-14
Leigh 3–8 Castleford	Hilton Park	11791	1982-03-14
Wakefield Trinity 2–20 Leeds	Belle Vue	10579	1982-03-14
Widnes 10–7 Bradford Northern	Naughton Park	11877	1982-03-17

Semi-Finals

Result	Venue	Attendance	Date
Hull 15–11 Castleford	Headingley	21207	1982-03-27
Widnes 11–8 Leeds	Station Road (Swinton)	13075	1982-04-03

Final

Result	Venue	Attendance	Date
Hull 14–14 Widnes	Wembley Stadium, London	92147	1982-05-01

Final Replay

Result	Venue	Attendance	Date
Hull 18–9 Widnes	Elland Road, Leeds	41171	1982-05-19

Early rounds feature amateur and community clubs alongside professional ones; team names are linked only where this site has a team page for that exact club, matching the same safety-first approach used for the Final's own results table.

Sources

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