GAME DAY: All of our build-up as Wembley finalists collide
IN just 15 days, Warrington Wolves and Hull KR will step out at Wembley Stadium for the Challenge Cup Final.
First, though, there are two league points on the line tonight as the clubs reunite for the first time since last year's Super League semi-final, which the Robins won 10-8 at Craven Park.
The Wire are scrambling to avoid being cut adrift of the play-off spots while Rovers are aiming to stay top of the table having lost just once all season.As usual, tickets can still be purchased online right up until kick-off while cash turnstiles will be in operation in the South and West Stands.
For those wanting to purchase seated tickets in the North and East Stands, the North Stand ticket windows will be open from 5pm.
Turnstiles will open early to allow those wanting to watch the curtain-raiser between the two clubs' reserve sides entry into the ground at no extra cost. That game kicks off at 5.15pm.
Tonight's game is one of Sky's exclusive picks for Round 12, with live coverage starting at 7.30pm on Sky Sports Action.
Aaron Moore will referee tonight's game, with Ben Thaler on video referee duty.
> Click here to see the 21-man squads named by both head coaches for tonight's game
> Sam Burgess reveals the latest Warrington Wolves injury and selection news here
> Will the real Warrington Wolves please stand up? Pre-Hull KR talking points
> 'We will be a better side for our current struggles,' insists Wire head coach
> Wire's youth system hailed as emerging talent prepares to take to big stage
> Could Wire's left-wing solution become clearer this evening? A look at the three-horse race to replace Matty Ashton
> A special version of a pre-match song with a deep and meaningful connection to Warrington will be played before kick-off - full info
> More information about the curtain-raiser fixture as Wire's reserves bid to stay unbeaten
As always, in-depth coverage of tonight's game will be provided on the Warrington Guardian website live and direct from The Halliwell Jones Stadium.
'Matchday Live' will be up and running from around 6.15pm with pre-match build-up including updates from the reserves curtain-raiser, the latest team news as it comes in and live text commentary of the action from kick-off at 8pm.
From the full-time hooter onwards, we will bring you our full array of post-match content including videos, interviews, analysis and comment as well as our match review podcast "The Wrap-Up."
You can find all of that and more at warringtonguardian.co.uk - your home of unrivalled coverage of The Wire.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
30 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Wigan great Billy Boston to be knighted in historic first for rugby league
The Wigan Warriors legend Billy Boston will become the first rugby league player in the sport's 130-year history to receive a knighthood on Tuesday. Rugby league has never had a player awarded the highest accolade in an honour's list, with calls increasing in recent years thanks to the fundraising done away from the field by the likes of Kevin Sinfield – who is expected to be given a similar honour at some stage – and the late Rob Burrow. But Boston's name has also always been high on the list of candidates overlooked. Advertisement Related: Hull KR end 45-year wait for Challenge Cup glory as late try denies Warrington However, that will finally change this week. Boston is expected to be named as a knight to finally end the sport's wait for such an honour. The 90-year-old is not only one of rugby league's greatest players, but one of the pioneering black figures in British sporting history. Boston was born in Cardiff but his opportunities in rugby union were limited. That led to him signing for Wigan in 1953, where he would remain until 1968, setting a number of astonishing records along the way in a glittering career. In 488 games he scored 478 tries, establishing himself as the club's leading try-scorer with a record that will surely never be beaten. Boston was also a member of Great Britain's World Cup-winning squad of 1960, playing for his country on 31 occasions. His accomplishments laid the platform for more players from Wales to make the transition to rugby league from union, with a statue in the centre of Wigan immortalising his importance to the town's history. There is a similar statue in Cardiff of Boston and two more trailblazers from Wales that starred in league, Clive Sullivan and Gus Risman. Boston's accomplishments will finally be recognised on a national stage. It is a symbolic moment for league as well as Boston, with the sport getting the honour many believe it has undeservedly lacked for decades. Dozens of high-profile figures from rugby union have been knighted over the last century, with nobody from league achieving a similar honour until now.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Bukayo Saka overcomes self-doubt to return ‘more balanced about football and life'
There were some upsides to the first serious layoff of Bukayo Saka's career that enabled him to return with 'a bit more of a balanced head about football and life'. More family time, more reading and more attention to a new puppy, Tucker the cockapoo, lifted the spirits during three months out with the torn hamstring that derailed his and Arsenal's season. But in the lowest moments, which included going under the surgeon's knife at 5am on Christmas Eve, the doubt that all elite sportspeople fear crept in. 'Looking back at it, I was happy with how I managed everything,' Saka says. 'The first two days were the toughest, that realisation that I've got what I've got and I need an operation. You start to think: 'Am I going to be the same?' as players have come back from this injury and they weren't the same. After two days the surgery was done and successful, and you just look forward. I was really positive and put in all the work I needed with my diet, in the gym, on the pitch, and the physios would say the same. I feel I've come back in a good place.' Advertisement Related: Jordan Henderson showed the attitude his England teammates were lacking | Jonathan Wilson Saka's doubts were dispelled over the closing two months of a gruelling season, one that has yet to end for the 23-year-old as he prepares to make his first England appearance under Thomas Tuchel against Senegal on Tuesday. His Champions League performances against Real Madrid and Paris Saint‑Germain in particular brought reassurance at the highest level following several months on the sidelines. They also vindicated his decision to have surgery as soon as possible after tearing the hamstring against Crystal Palace on 21 December. Christmas 2024 was not the best. 'It was horrible,' Saka says. 'Normally you get more time to make a decision [about surgery] but it was Christmas and the surgeons want to be with their families so I decided on the spot that we were doing the surgery. The quicker you do it, the quicker you start the recovery. Then it was deciding what time and was I going to be there on Christmas Day? That was the last thing I wanted. 'So I had to do it at 5am or 6am on Christmas Eve. Credit to the surgeon – he got up early to do it. I was out of the hospital at about 3pm or 4pm and home. Christmas Day, I went to my cousin's house but I was in a big brace and had crutches. I had to get my presents brought to me. It doesn't sound the worst thing [but] when everyone got up to go to the dining room, it took me about 10 minutes to get there.' Advertisement For the first time in more than five years as a fixed part of the Arsenal forward line, Saka was off what he describes as 'a conveyor belt of games, training games and training'. He says: 'I got to spend more time with my family and got to do more of the little things around the house that I wouldn't have even paid attention to when I was playing. On that note it was nice and I've come back with a bit more of a balanced head about football and life, and I'm trying to balance them better. It definitely helped me mentally.' Tucker the cockapoo arrived while Saka was rehabilitating from surgery. 'It was a bit tough at first because he's a puppy and I couldn't really get after him. But it was a good experience.' There was also more time for reading. One book in particular, Eckhart Tolle's The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment, struck a chord. 'I read nonfiction,' Saka says. 'One of the books I was given by Carlos [Cuesta, Mikel Arteta's assistant coach] was called The Power of Now. A really good book. It's about not thinking about the past, not thinking about the future, just being in the moment and always asking yourself what's necessary right now. 'Sometimes I'd think: 'Oh, am I going to come back in the best shape?' Or, in the past: 'What could I have done to prevent injury?' But all that is not necessary. It's only going to bring bad energy, negativity to your body. One of the best things I took from the book is always ask yourself: what's necessary in this moment right now? And try to live that way.' Advertisement It is a philosophy Saka intends to apply to Arsenal's attempt to win silverware next season. Watching Tottenham and Chelsea win European trophies last month hurt. 'Of course, naturally, because you want that to be you.' On Arsenal's campaign, Saka says: 'I was not happy with last season, how it went, how it ended. But the only thing I can do now is look forward and try to be the best version of myself and help my teammates be the same.'
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
‘We have not clicked yet': Tuchel backs England to take on world's best teams
Thomas Tuchel has said England should not have an inferiority complex in relation to the world's strongest teams but must start playing with a smile to realise their true potential. The England head coach said his side 'have not clicked yet' and, as well as criticising the attitude against Andorra on Saturday, believes the performance was too rigid and too serious. England's labours in Barcelona were put into sharper focus by the quality of Portugal and Spain in the Nations League final the following night. Tuchel, however, insists England are not inferior to those nations and will improve, beginning with the friendly against Senegal in Nottingham on Tuesday. Advertisement Related: England's grind, Nations League drama and Ange Postecoglou out at Spurs – Football Weekly 'The level will increase immediately once we are playing against Portugal or Spain. We will rise to the occasion. This will come,' said Tuchel. 'It will bring out the very best in us. We shall not develop a complex because there is no need for it. Spain qualified for the final four with a very lucky win over the Netherlands. Everyone is beatable. They play together in a fluidity and a rhythm which is outstanding and the highest level. 'It is one of the most difficult things to do to play Spain in a final. I struggle to say 'we' because we were not there [in the final of Euro 2024] but it was 1-1 and Spain scored in the last minute and that gave the title to Spain. We have what it takes to compete. We need to improve, for sure. We have not clicked yet.' The former Chelsea and Bayern Munich coach, like many of his predecessors, is already wrestling with the dilemma of why so many gifted individuals do not bring their club form on to the international stage. 'That's the question that needs to be answered,' said Tuchel. 'I think that even Cole [Palmer] struggled lately at Chelsea to have an impact. Phil [Foden], unfortunately, struggled over many months now to have the impact that he can have. Advertisement 'It is a different strategy [with England], it's different principles of the game and to make everyone play to the same rhythm, to make everyone play to the same principles, takes obviously a little bit more time than we would like. I see the structure in the game, I see the control, I see the amount of passes, but we can do better. We can be more fluid. We can be more exciting which since a longer time I feel has been a bit of a problem. I feel it's a bit stuck, serious, I see us train with a smile but not play with a smile.' Jude Bellingham missed training on Monday to attend a family funeral but rejoined the squad later in the day. Tuchel indicated he could change goalkeepers against Senegal and would have to be careful with the minutes given to players heading to the Club World Cup. 'It is not so many players,' he said of the tournament. 'But I think it will have a huge impact and will give Liverpool and Arsenal a huge advantage next season to not be there. We will deal with the effect when the effect comes.'
