Challenge Cup: Marc Sneyd makes brilliant return as Warrington Wolves beat Leigh Leopards 21-14 to seal Wembley spot

Marc Sneyd sealed a stunning return from a fractured eye socket by kicking nine of his side's points as Warrington sealed a swift return to Wembley with a 21-14 win over Leigh in their Betfred Challenge Cup semi-final at St Helens.

Sneyd, who sustained the injury against Saints just a fortnight ago and subsequently underwent surgery, was a surprise starter for Sam Burgess' side who shrugged off a shocking start to canter to victory and set up a June final clash against Hull KR.

Edwin Ipape charged down Sneyd's kick to barge over for the Leopards with less than a minute gone but tries from Rodrick Tai and Paul Vaughan swung the momentum in Warrington's direction and Toby King's effort in the corner with 15 minutes remaining all but ended Leigh's gallant resistance.

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Beaten 18-8 by Wigan in last year's final, Warrington arguably started as underdogs having lost three of their last four in Super League and their odds did not get any better after Sneyd's initial error allowed Ipape to outpace Matty Ashton on the right and open the scoring.

Darnell McIntosh was held up over the line as Leigh looked to capitalise on their early advantage but the Wolves gradually grew into the game and levelled on 13 minutes when Tai patted down from Josh Thewlis' intercepted off-load.

Sneyd made amends for his early error by booting a difficult conversion from close to the touchline, before Warrington increased their lead when brute strength carried prop Paul Vaughan in under the posts.

Leigh had their moments in an attritional encounter played out in stifling heat, but Sam Burgess' side maintained the upper-hand, further stretching their advantage through a Sneyd penalty then a drop goal to end an impressively executed first period.

The Leopards threatened to repeat their lightning start to the first period when the impressive David Armstrong surged into the Warrington 20 and played the ball inside to Ipape, who was hauled down by Josh Thewlis inches from the line.

It did not take long for Leigh to take advantage of their new-found momentum, Gareth O'Brien sending Tesi Niu surging clear down the left flank to reduce the deficit to seven and at that stage Adrian Lam's men looked well placed to set up a grandstand finish.

But O'Brien's second missed conversion kept them out of one-score range and a series of lengthy stoppages sapped their new-found momentum and helped Burgess' side reassert their hold on the tie.

A sloppily misplaced pass from Umlya Hanley to McIntosh midway through the second period just about summed up Leigh's frustrations and when King pounced on the end of a pass from the excellent Matt Dufty, Warrington had all but punched their ticket back to Wembley.

Niu slammed the ball down in anger after crossing for his second as Leigh failed to summon the fightback required to set up a repeat of the dramatic 2023 final showdown.

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