Leeds came to the final 4/1 favourites to win and stamped their authority on the game in the early stages with a penalty try which was converted by Kevin Sinfield.

A dreadful Marcus Bai error in his own in-goal area as he tried to keep the ball alive gifted Richard Whiting a try for Hull which was converted by Brough.

It seemed as though Leeds were going to walk away with the spoils as Marcus Bai rectified his earlier error by grabbing a late try which was converted by Sinfield and left the score 24–19.

To immense noise from the Hull fans, Hull-born Paul Cooke broke through the Leeds defence and grounded the ball down underneath the posts to allow for a simple conversion.

In the dying seconds Richard Swain charged down a drop goal attempt to keep the scores as they were and Hull held on for arguably the best Challenge Cup final ever.