London see off spirited Widnes to lift 1895 Cup

1895 Cup final, Halliwell Jones Stadium, Warrington

London (12) 32

Tries: Tchamambe 2, Hawkins, Smith, Walker, Mathias Goals: Hawkins 4

Widnes (8) 10

Tries: Langtree Goals: Richardson 3

London Broncos picked up their second trophy of the season as they held off a determined effort from Widnes Vikings to lift the 1895 Cup.

The Broncos won the Championship's League Leaders' Shield last week and were heavy favourites ahead of the match at Warrington's Halliwell Jones Stadium.

First-half tries from Neil Tchamambe and Dean Hawkins were sandwiched by one from Widnes forward Danny Langtree as London were restricted to a four-point lead at the interval.

A third goal from Danny Richardson reduced the gap to just two points early in the second half in a strong spell for the Vikings, but London saw off the danger with tries from Luke Smith and Alex Walker.

They added extra gloss with Tchamambe's second and a score from Robert Mathias.

They will now try to cap a memorable season by winning a treble with success via the play-offs in the Championship Grand Final.

London have swept all before them in the Championship this season, winning 22 of their 23 games to finish first and scoring an average of almost 63 points per game.

It is all part of their attempt to prove they should be a Super League club following a takeover by millionaire businessman Grant Wechsel and former Australia captain Darren Lockyer and winning the cup for clubs outside of top flight was another way to improve their all-important IMG grading.

For lengthy periods, though, they did not have things their own way against a Widnes side, fifth in the second tier and chasing their first silverware since 2009.

After Tchamambe's easy finish for his 33rd try of the season, forward Langtree muscled over to level things before a brilliant side-step from Hawkins to score immediately restored London's advantage.

But two goals from Richardson, one before the break and one after gave Widnes a real chance of causing an upset before a clever grubber kick from Connor O'Beirne on the last play allowed Smith to tap it down.

And when Hawkins' kick was spilled by two Vikings defenders for Walker to pounce, the game was over as a contest.

London added two further tries and it was a sign of their strength at this level as they added their name to the trophy for the first time.

Three of the last four winners of the 1895 Cup are now Super League teams and London will hope this is a further platform for them to be granted a place in 2027.

Widnes Vikings head coach Allan Coleman told BBC Radio Merseyside:

"You could see in that last 15 minutes, we were running on empty at times. They were just too quick for us and we blew.

"Apart from the first five or six minutes, we just didn't have any good ball and everything was in our half and it took its toll.

"They were deserved winners but I'm a bit disappointed with the scoreline as I think it flatters them a bit."

London: Walker; Tchamambe, Webster-Mansfield, Mathias, Wallis; Voro, Hawkins; Campbell-Gillard, Glare, Kapinias, Smith, Croft, Havali.

Interchanges: O'Beirne, Bienek, Bitungane. Adebiyi.

Widnes: Connell; Butt, Roberts, Owens, Ince; Richardson, Gilmore; Murray, Johnstone, Chapelhow, Langtree, Wilde, Gregson.

Interchanges: Hall, McWhirter, Lawton, Banditt.

Referee: Tom Grant