Hardaker ecstatic after Wembley triumph

Leeds fullback Zak Hardaker believes the Rhinos were near perfect in their comprehensive victory over Hull KR in the Challenge Cup final.

Leeds smashed the Robins at Wembley with winger Tom Briscoe grabbing five tries and the Lance Todd trophy.

Hardaker said the Cup win means a lot to Kevin Sinfield, Jamie Peacock and Kylie Leuluai who are all leaving the club at the end of the season.

“I’m over the moon and it’s absolutely ecstatic in there,” he said.

“All the boys, especially the guys who are leaving, it means so much more to them than it does to us.

“The bond, the special bond in the changing room is something that will never be broken. Everyone’s got a massive, massive smile on their face and it’s very, very exciting.”

Hull KR did not score a point and Leeds piled on 34 points in the second half after going into the half-time break with a 16-0 lead.

Hardaker believes that it was almost a perfect performance from the Rhinos in attack and defence.

“I think so, we set a platform out and to nil any team is a fair effort,” he said.

“To 50-0 them is another way. Hull KR are no slouch as a team, they’ve got great attacking abilities, they’ve got great individuals who can cause you problems.

“But tonight it never paid off for them. There were a few try-saving tackles by various players and I thought we played really well throughout the 80 minutes and in the Challenge Cups and the big games, that’s what you need to do.

“Everyone was absolutely buzzing after that game as we knew we put our heart and soul in that game. We put a full weeks of training into it and it paid off.”