‘I thought Christmas had come early’ says disappointed Sheffield Eagles coach mark Aston after 50-6 defeat by Wakefield Trinity in the 1895 Cup final at Wembley

Braces from Oliver Pratt, Josh Griffin and Jermaine McGillvary helped Wakefield to claim an unrelenting win in the 1895 Cup final against a battling Sheffield side.

Eagles head Coach Mark Aston said: “I’m disappointed, we didn’t compete for eighty minutes and sometimes when you’re in a final you’re either good or you’re bad and others the good, the bad and the ugly and we had a bit of all of that today”

“I thought for 20 minutes we competed and obviously we scored first and then after that.

“I thought Christmas had come early because we were presented with a few opportunities to score tries quite easily so that was a bit disappointing.”

Despite the scoreline, the Eagles showed some promise against the Championship league leaders throughout the match with a spirited performance coming from the team.

Captain and 2019 Ray French Award winner Anthony Thackeray opened the scoring with a clever play in the first 20 minutes but this would prove to be Sheffield’s only try of the match.

On Thackeray’s try and the Eagles attack, Aston said: “You know finals are finals and you’ve got to nail it and you’ve got to play well and deliver game plans.”

“With the ball we were a bit ropy and you know we got caught out so I’ve got to give credit to Wakefield they are by far the best team in the Championship, they are the benchmark and what everybody’s striving to be.”

The large stadium screen showed a tribute to former Leeds Rhinos’ Rob Burrow during the seventh minute, with Thackery scoring for the Eagles before an intercept try from last year’s 1895 cup winner with Halifax, Alex Walmsley, brought the sides level.

Wakefield’s scrum-half Luke Gale then added a second try just five minutes later.

As the hooter sounded for the end of the first half Trinity’s Thomas Doyle gave his side a two-score lead after a competitive first 40 minutes between the two sides.

Wakefield were quick to add two more tries at the start of the second half with Oliver Pratt and Josh Griffin adding their names to the score sheet.

Pratt crossed over for his second of the evening despite a chance for Sheffield’s Kris Welham down the other end of the field, which saw the centre pushed into touch by a strong Wakefield defence.

Former Great Britain international Jermaine McGillvary forced his way over in the corner despite a last-ditch tackle from Sheffield’s full-back Jack Hansen before Josh Griffin added his second of the night with around 15 minutes remaining.

A late try from McGillvary ensured Wakefield maintained their dominance in the closing stages of the match despite some moments of promise from the Eagles.

The disappointment of the loss must be short and sweet for the Eagles as they get ready to face Featherstone Rovers in the Championship next week

Fixtures against Widnes Vikings and York Knights will follow soon after as the Eagles look to reclaim second place in the league standings.

On this next couple of weeks after the loss, Aston said: “The boys are hurting .

“At finals there’s winners and there’s losers, we’re a little bit disappointed because of the manner we lost.”

“It’s great isn’t it Featherstone, Widnes and York I couldn’t wish for it any better and there’s some players in there that are a bit sore and they’re all going to be really disappointed and we’ve got to make sure we earn the money this week and get that put to bed and crack on.”