"I told them I thought we could get to Wembley and do something special and they looked at me as though I'd been in the pub all afternoon. But we had to sell it to the players," he added. "We planned pre-season to the nth degree. In those days the Challenge Cup rounds and final were played relatively early in the campaign. Kear and his coaching staff came up with a plan for a focused pre-season to target success in the cup. "When we reviewed the season I thought 'we haven't got a bad team here'."
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"We lost to Wigan in the Premiership semi-final at the old Central Park and we gave them a scare that day. Kear had begun to dream several months earlier when he, and possibly he alone, started to believe that creating a Wembley miracle was within Sheffield's capabilities. 5 Live Rugby League podcast: Isolating with John Kear.'We walked up the steps and pretended to pick up the cup' - Aston on Eagles' win.But we played better than them on the day. "They had John Monie as coach and a stellar playing roster. "They had just dominated the competition and they were undefeated in the league in the season up to then," said Kear. And although their power was beginning to wane by 1998, they were still a side packed with superstars.Īndy Farrell, Denis Betts, Jason Robinson, Gary Connolly and Henry Paul were among those to walk out in the Cherry and White that day.
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Wigan had won eight cup finals in a row between 19.
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How does the RFL sort out promotion and relegation?īut before the re-showing of Sheffield's exploits on that day in May, 22 years ago, the coach who guided them to success, John Kear, told this week's 5 Live Rugby League podcast that he had predicted his club's day in the sun several months earlier.The 1998 final is one of five finals from five decades that will feature in a special programme on BBC One on Sunday at 14:05 BST. With odds of 14-1 against them, it was a win almost no-one predicted - apart from the man who masterminded the incredible outcome. It's a match that is written into rugby league legend.