St Helens 26-12 Castleford Tigers — 2021 Challenge Cup Final
Wembley Stadium, London · Attendance: 40,000 (a reduced, government-approved pilot crowd as part of the Events Research Programme piloting the return of larger crowds after Covid-19 lockdowns; some secondary sources describe the approved capacity as roughly 45,000 — treated as a capacity-vs-turnstile distinction, not a contradiction)
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
2021 Challenge Cup Final: St Helens 26-12 Castleford Tigers, at Wembley Stadium, London.
Sourcing caveat: Lineups added from Rugby League Project's match-page team sheets — squad numbers are non-sequential (e.g. St Helens' 15, 18, 20; Castleford's 21, 25, 31) confirming they are genuine shirt numbers, not a position-order renumbering. Castleford's fourth interchange, Alex Foster, is shown on the source page with no shirt number printed at all; a targeted re-fetch confirmed the blank is genuine rather than a fetch artifact, so it is recorded as UNCONFIRMED.
Scoring timeline
| 10′ | St Helens — try, Fages |
| 16′ | Castleford Tigers — try, Evalds |
| 25′ | Castleford Tigers — try, Trueman |
| 42′ | St Helens — try, Roby |
| 51′ | St Helens — try, Makinson |
| 78′ | St Helens — try, Amor |
Tries with a sourced minute, in order scored. Tries whose exact minute isn't recorded in available sources appear in the Scorers table below but not here.
Scorers
| St Helens | Tries: Fages 10'; Roby 42'; Makinson 51'; Amor 78' Goals: Coote (5/5 conversions: 11', 43', 66', 71', 79') |
| Castleford Tigers | Tries: Evalds 16'; Trueman 25' Goals: O'Brien (2/2 conversions: 18', 26') |
Teams
| St Helens | Castleford Tigers | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lachlan Coote | Fullback | Niall Evalds | 1 |
| 2 | Thomas Makinson | Wing | Derrell Olpherts | 2 |
| 3 | Kevin Naiqama | Centre | Peter Mata'utia | 3 |
| 4 | Mark Percival | Centre | Michael Shenton | 4 |
| 5 | Regan Grace | Wing | Jordan Turner | 25 |
| 6 | Jonny Lomax | Five-eighth | Gareth O'Brien | 31 |
| 7 | Théo Fages | Halfback | Jacob Trueman | 6 |
| 8 | Alex Walmsley | Front row | Grant Millington | 10 |
| 9 | James Roby | Hooker | Paul McShane | 9 |
| 15 | Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook | Front row | George Griffin | 15 |
| 11 | Joel Thompson | Second row | Oliver Holmes | 11 |
| 20 | Joe Batchelor | Second row | Jesse Sene-Lefao | 21 |
| 13 | Morgan Knowles | Lock | Nathan Massey | 14 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| 10 | Matty Lees | Liam Watts | 8 | |
| 16 | Kyle Amor | Adam Milner | 13 | |
| 17 | Agnatius Paasi | Alex Foster | UNCONFIRMED | |
| 18 | Jack Welsby | Daniel Smith | 22 | |
| Kristian Woolf | Coach | Daryl Powell | ||
Match officials
| Referee | Liam Moore (his second consecutive Challenge Cup Final) |
| Lance Todd Trophy | Niall Evalds (Castleford Tigers) — Lance Todd Trophy despite finishing on the losing side |
Match report
St Helens won their first Challenge Cup since 2008, overturning a half-time deficit to beat Castleford 26-12. Théo Fages struck early for Saints, but Castleford, appearing in their first final since 2017, responded through electric full-back Niall Evalds and Jake Trueman to lead at the break. St Helens, the reigning Super League champions, took control after half-time as James Roby, Tommy Makinson and Kyle Amor crossed to pull away, with Lachlan Coote metronomic off the tee. Despite finishing on the losing side, Evalds' constant threat with ball in hand, including his own try and repeated line breaks, earned him the Lance Todd Trophy, one of only a handful of times the award has gone to a player from the beaten finalist. The match was played as a step in the UK Government's Events Research Programme piloting the return of larger crowds after Covid-19 lockdowns, with capacity well below Wembley's normal size. The Challenge Cup remains rugby league's oldest knockout competition, first played in 1896/97 and interrupted only by the two World Wars.
Round by round
Round 1
| Result | Venue | Attendance | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| York City 30–6 Sheffield Eagles | Keepmoat Stadium | — | 19 March 2021 |
| London Broncos 24–10 Keighley Cougars | The Rock | — | 20 March 2021 |
| Oldham 20–6 Barrow Raiders | Bower Fold | — | 20 March 2021 |
| Whitehaven RLFC 23–16 Dewsbury Rams | Recreation Ground (Whitehaven) | — | 20 March 2021 |
| Batley Bulldogs 19–6 Halifax Panthers | The Shay Stadium | — | 20 March 2021 |
| Widnes Vikings 58–4 West Wales Raiders | Stebonheath Park | — | 21 March 2021 |
| Featherstone Rovers 41–16 Bradford Bulls | Millennium Stadium | — | 21 March 2021 |
| Swinton Lions 28–16 Newcastle Thunder | Heywood Road | — | 21 March 2021 |
Round 2
| Result | Venue | Attendance | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Featherstone 30–22 Batley | Millennium Stadium | — | 27 March 2021 |
| Swinton 23–14 Oldham | Heywood Road | — | 28 March 2021 |
| York City 14–2 London | The Rock | — | 28 March 2021 |
| Widnes 34–10 Whitehaven | DCBL Stadium | — | 28 March 2021 |
Round 3
| Result | Venue | Attendance | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Castleford Tigers 33–32 Hull KR | Hull College Craven Park | — | 9 April 2021 |
| Wigan Warriors 26–0 York City Knights | LNER Community Stadium | — | 9 April 2021 |
| Salford Red Devils 68–4 Widnes Vikings | AJ Bell Stadium | — | 10 April 2021 |
| St Helens 26–18 Leeds Rhinos | Totally Wicked Stadium | — | 10 April 2021 |
| Catalans Dragons 26–6 Wakefield Trinity | Totally Wicked Stadium | — | 10 April 2021 |
| Hull FC 34–14 Featherstone Rovers | Millennium Stadium | — | 10 April 2021 |
| Warrington Wolves 32–8 Swinton Lions | Heywood Road | — | 11 April 2021 |
| Huddersfield Giants 36–18 Leigh Centurions | Leigh Sports Village Stadium | — | 11 April 2021 |
Quarter-finals
| Result | Venue | Attendance | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Warrington Wolves 16–6 Catalans Dragons | Emerald Headingley Stadium | — | 7 May 2021 |
| St Helens 23–18 Huddersfield Giants | Emerald Headingley Stadium | — | 7 May 2021 |
| Hull FC 20–10 Wigan Warriors | Emerald Headingley Stadium | — | 8 May 2021 |
| Castleford Tigers 19–18 Salford Red Devils | Emerald Headingley Stadium | — | 8 May 2021 |
Semi-finals
| Result | Venue | Attendance | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Helens 33–18 Hull FC | Leigh Sports Village Stadium | 4,000 | 5 June 2021 |
| Castleford Tigers 35–20 Warrington Wolves | Leigh Sports Village Stadium | 4,000 | 5 June 2021 |
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.