Leigh Centurions need late rally to spare blushes against Sheffield Eagles in 1895 Cup semi-final

The Eagles came close to pulling off what would have been one of the upsets of the season in Sunday’s semi-final against big-spending Leigh Centurions, who needed a late rally to spare their blushes.

Kris Welham’s early try and two penalties from Izaac Farrell had given Sheffield a shock 10-8 half-time lead at Leigh Sports Village, little over a week after they were comfortably dispatched 34-6 at the same venue in the pair’s league meeting.

Leigh got their noses in front through Kai O'Donnell after the break before the ever-consistent Farrell kicked for two again to level the scores at 12-12 with an hour played.

It stayed that way until the hosts broke away through Nene MacDonald, Caleb Aekins and Ed Chamberlain to seal their spot in the final at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Saturday 28 May.

They will meet Featherstone Rovers in the final after the West Yorkshire outfit beat Barrow 46-6 in the other semi-final on Saturday.

Leigh began taking pre-orders for 1895 Cup final merchandise earlier this week.

The club insisted this was due to ‘the short turnaround between knowing who the finalists will be and the final itself’.

Sheffield won the inaugural 1895 Cup in 2019 with victory over Widnes Vikings in front of more than 60,000 rugby league fans at Wembley Stadium.

Mark Aston’s side will make their long-awaited return to the city when their new stadium on the Olympic Legacy Park site officially opens on Monday, May 23 for the Championship fixture against Widnes.