Wigan 27-0 St Helens — 1988/89 Challenge Cup Final

Wembley Stadium, London · Attendance: 78,000

Data last verified: 11 August 2026.

1988/89 Challenge Cup Final: Wigan 27-0 St Helens, at Wembley Stadium, London.

Sourcing caveat: Full try-scorer list for Wigan's 27 points could not be fully confirmed — only Kevin Iro's two tries and Joe Lydon's 3 goals are explicitly documented, and the arithmetic doesn't account for all 27 points, indicating at least one more scorer is undocumented in sources checked. Full lineups, benches and coaches for both sides were subsequently confirmed via Rugby League Project.

Scorers

WiganTries: Kevin Iro (2 tries)
Goals: Joe Lydon (3 goals)
St HelensNo scorers recorded.

Teams

WiganSt Helens
1Steve HampsonFullbackGary Connolly1
2Tony IroWingMichael O'Connor2
3Kevin IroCentrePhil Veivers3
4Dean BellCentrePaul Loughlin4
5Joe LydonWingLes Quirk5
6Shaun EdwardsFive-eighthShane Cooper6
7Andy GregoryHalfbackNeil Holding7
8Ian LucasFront rowTony Burke8
9Nicky KissHookerPaul Groves9
10Adrian ShelfordFront rowPaul Forber10
11Andy PlattSecond rowBernard Dwyer11
12Ian PotterSecond rowRoy Haggerty12
13Ellery HanleyLockPaul Vautin13
Substitutes
14Denis BettsDarren Bloor14
15Andy GoodwayStuart Evans15
Graham LoweCoachAlex Murphy

Match officials

RefereeRay Tennant (Castleford)
Lance Todd TrophyEllery Hanley (Wigan) — Lance Todd Trophy

Match report

Wigan delivered a ruthless 27-0 whitewash of St Helens at Wembley, the first of what would become eight consecutive Challenge Cup final victories. Kevin Iro scored twice as St Helens were shut out completely, a rare feat in a Wembley final of this era. Captain Ellery Hanley, who inspired the performance, won the Lance Todd Trophy. The scoreline underlined the gulf that was opening up between Wigan and the rest of the competition as they began to establish their all-time-record cup dynasty. 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). Since 1946/47, the competition's individual award, the Lance Todd Trophy, has been presented to the final's outstanding player, voted for by a panel of media representatives at the final whistle — on several notable occasions the trophy has gone to a player on the losing side, an unusual honour that reflects the award's focus on individual performance rather than simply reflecting the final scoreline. This was the 88th Challenge Cup final played, and, under the name “Wigan,” the 10th Challenge Cup title for the club.

Round by round

Qualifier

ResultVenueAttendanceDate
Thatto Heath 18–11 Barrow IslandCraven Park (Barrow)—1989-01-15

Preliminary Round

ResultVenueAttendanceDate
Leeds 32–6 HunsletHeadingley90901989-01-15
Swinton 36–0 Milford AmateursMcLaren Field—1989-01-15
Wakefield Trinity 18–10 BramleyBelle Vue (Wakefield)28551989-01-15
Doncaster 48–2 West HullThe Boulevard—1989-01-15
York 35–8 Workington TownWigginton Road19591989-01-15

Round 1

ResultVenueAttendanceDate
Castleford 7–4 Hull FCThe Boulevard91941989-01-28
Barrow 38–16 HuddersfieldCraven Park (Barrow)18591989-01-29
Carlisle 58–1 MansfieldGillford Park6631989-01-29
Chorley 8–4 Thatto HeathVictory Park7361989-01-29
Oldham 40–9 DewsburyWatersheddings23561989-01-29
Wigan 38–6 DoncasterCentral Park52741989-01-29
Bradford Northern 28–10 FulhamOdsal Stadium14871989-01-29
Hull Kingston Rovers 28–24 Rochdale HornetsCraven Park (Hull, Old)16251989-01-29
Keighley 28–10 RuncornCougar Park4281989-01-29
Widnes 18–14 SalfordThe Willows70941989-01-29
Sheffield Eagles 23–17 LeighOwlerton Stadium18981989-01-29
St Helens 16–5 SwintonKnowsley Road53171989-01-29
Wakefield Trinity 34–4 BatleyBelle Vue (Wakefield)28951989-01-29
Warrington 25–8 HalifaxWilderspool62091989-01-29
Featherstone Rovers 32–0 WhitehavenRecreation Ground (Whitehaven)27291989-01-29
Leeds 28–9 YorkHeadingley113471989-01-29

Round 2

ResultVenueAttendanceDate
Widnes 32–18 CastlefordWheldon Road107651989-02-11
Wigan 17–4 Bradford NorthernOdsal Stadium167381989-02-12
Hull Kingston Rovers 28–4 ChorleyCraven Park (Hull, Old)34711989-02-12
Leeds 24–4 CarlisleHeadingley94841989-02-12
St Helens 28–6 BarrowKnowsley Road86611989-02-12
Oldham 32–20 Sheffield EaglesOwlerton Stadium36361989-02-12
Featherstone Rovers 10–4 Wakefield TrinityBelle Vue (Wakefield)76951989-02-12
Warrington 56–7 KeighleyWilderspool41841989-02-12

Round 3

ResultVenueAttendanceDate
Wigan 12–4 OldhamWatersheddings94021989-02-25
Warrington 30–4 Hull Kingston RoversCraven Park (Hull, Old)72831989-02-26
Widnes 24–4 LeedsHeadingley263031989-02-26
St Helens 32–3 Featherstone RoversKnowsley Road110631989-02-26

Semi-Finals

ResultVenueAttendanceDate
St Helens 16–14 WidnesCentral Park171191989-03-11
Wigan 13–6 WarringtonMaine Road265291989-03-25

Final

ResultVenueAttendanceDate
Wigan 27–0 St HelensWembley Stadium780001989-04-29

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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