All Golds v North Wales Crusaders LCC3 FINAL

Hull FC - 2001
Stadium Cardiff (2003, 2004, 2005),
Murrayfield (2000, 2002) and Twickenham
(2001, 2006) but returned to Wembley as
soon as the new stadium was available in
2007.
From 1946 the Lance Todd Trophy was
presented to the player of the match in the
final. Todd had played for the New Zealand
“All Golds” in the third test at Cheltenham
against the Northern Union in 1908 and
stayed in this country after the tour, signing
for Wigan almost as soon as the match had
concluded.
He later managed Salford until the Second
World War broke out. Sadly he died in a car
accident when on Home Guard duty and the
Salford Past Players Association presented the
trophy in his honour.
The first team from “South of the Watford
Gap” to contest the final was London Broncos.
They were beaten 52-16 by Leeds Rhinos
in the last final to be played under the Twin
Towers of the old Wembley Stadium in 1999.
Coming from much further south, the Catalans
Dragons contested the 2007 final – the first at
the new stadium – losing to St Helens 30-8, in
the process becoming the first foreign finalists.
Some say the “Magic of the Cup” has lessened
now that the final takes place during the season
rather than at the end but try telling that to the
Hull FC supporters who last season saw their
side come from behind to beat Warrington
and win at Wembley for the first time after so
many heartbreaking defeats there.
Local sides Gloucestershire Warriors and
Bristol Sonics have both appeared in the
Cup, with the Warriors earning their share of
glory thanks to a heart-stopping 25-24 win at
Illingworth in 2006.
For the All Golds the magic started in February
2012 when the University team pulled of one
of the biggest shocks for many years in the
early rounds of the cup by defeating top
Community Club Rochdale Mayfield by 33-14
in Rochdale.
In the squad that day were Phil Cowburn,
James Walter and Callum Mulkeen, all of
whom could appear today, Cowburn and
Walter for the All Golds and Mulkeen for the
Crusaders.
In our first professional season in 2013 we were
drawn against Super League club Salford City
Reds at Cheltenham and were rewarded with
a record crowd and unfortunately but not
surprisingly a record defeat on a memorable
day for the club.
And who could forget last season at the
Racecourse Ground in Wrexham. Trailing
by 20 points with sixteen minutes to go the
All Golds scored 24 unanswered points to
snatch a shock victory against North Wales
Crusaders with Harry Kidd’s match winning
try scored with less than 10 seconds on the
clock!
Magic indeed.
Gloucestershire Warriors - 2006
7
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