Sourcing caveat: Lineups added from Rugby League Project's match-page team sheets — squad numbers are non-sequential (e.g. Wigan's 21, 26; Warrington's 19, 32) confirming they are genuine shirt numbers, not a position-order renumbering.
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.
Warrington struck first via a Thewlis penalty, but Wigan seized control with two tries in quick succession, Zach Eckersley finishing a set move, then Bevan French adding a second inside six minutes, to lead at the break. A further French try was ruled out just before half-time for a marginal double-movement. Both sides had players sin-binned early for high tackles. Liam Farrell's try shortly after half-time put the result close to beyond doubt, and although Matt Dufty crossed late for Warrington's first try, Wigan controlled territory and possession for long stretches. French, back to his best after injury struggles, was given the Lance Todd Trophy for an all-round attacking display, as Wigan won their 21st Challenge Cup and completed the first leg of what would become a domestic double that season. The Challenge Cup, first contested in 1896/97, is rugby league's oldest knockout competition, interrupted only by the two World Wars (four editions lost between 1915/16 and 1918/19, one more in 1939/40). Wembley Stadium has been the final's traditional home since 1929, barring a six-year spell at the Millennium Stadium and Twickenham while the new Wembley was built, and this was Wigan's fourth Wembley final win of the 2020s, underlining the club's dominance of the competition in the post-Super-League era. The victory extended Wigan's all-time record as the competition's most successful club and marked their fourth Wembley final win in five seasons, a run of Cup dominance matched by few clubs across the competition's long history stretching back to 1896/97.
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.
We use cookies for analytics and, in future, to serve relevant advertising that keeps this site free and lets us keep building out full historical depth for every sport. You can accept or decline non-essential cookies.