Shaun Kenny-Dowall hopes to put the “cherry on top” of his 17-year playing career by leading Hull KR to Challenge Cup final glory.

The Robins are into the showpiece at Wembley against Leigh on Saturday after Brad Schneider’s golden-point drop-goal secured an 11-10 victory over defending champions Wigan last month.

For Kenny-Dowall, this weekend’s trip takes on extra significance as it may be his last opportunity to get his hands on major silverware, having announced he will hang up his boots at the end of the season.

The Rovers captain would rank getting to hoist aloft the cup alongside his 2013 NRL Grand Final winners’ medal as he bids end 43 years of hurt for the red and white half of Hull.

Kenny-Dowall told the PA news agency: “We haven’t been in this position too many times, it’s a massive incentive to write our own piece of history and it would be a huge honour for me to lift the cup.

“It would be the cherry on top of what’s been a great career. There’s no more prestigious competition in rugby league than the Challenge Cup.

“I’ve only got probably two months left of my rugby league career, I’m very grateful and fortunate that one of those games is at Wembley. It’s a huge occasion.

“I get excited and nervous for these big games, this is what you strive to be a part of as a young kid and this time’s no different. I’m relishing the opportunity to walk out on the biggest stage.”

Hull KR’s sole cup win was all the way back in 1980 while their only visit to the national football stadium this century ended with an ignominious 50-0 thrashing at the hands of Leeds eight years ago.

No players from that humbling defeat are still at the club, with Kenny-Dowall joining in 2020 from NRL side Newcastle Knights, having spent the bulk of his distinguished career at Sydney Roosters.

His time in Humberside has given the 35-year-old former New Zealand international a fresh appreciation for the game and he will remain with the club after retirement as he switches into a development coaching role.

He said: “Being here has been some of the most fulfilling of my career. Getting out of Australia and the NRL, you’re in a cycle of pressure and riding the NRL wave, but I’ve really enjoyed my time here.

“It gets me back to the enjoyment of why I started playing the game, it’s a different type of game that suits my style of play and I’ve really enjoyed it.

“It’s been a breath of fresh air for myself and my family. It’s definitely one time in my career that I’ll remember fondly and I’m absolutely delighted I can continue in the club’s progression.”

Leigh were widely tipped to struggle in their first season back in Super League but a raft of marquee arrivals and a rebrand – changing their name from the Centurions to the Leopards – has galvanised them.

They currently sit third, level on points with second-placed Wigan, and have done the double over Hull KR this season but Kenny-Dowall is unfazed at his side heading into the contest as underdogs.

He added: “Form goes out the window when you’re competing for silverware. If we rock up with the right mentality and do the things we know give us wins then we’ll give ourselves the best chance.

“We have to have that belief, if we didn’t we wouldn’t be in the position that we’re in. This is what we’ve earmarked and where we wanted to be at the start of the season.

“You have to embrace the moment and enjoy the occasion but we still have to focus on the job at hand. It’s no coincidence that we’re here in the final – hopefully we can make our own history.”

Tom Briscoe hopes he can pile more Challenge Cup final heartache on to Hull KR to round off a fantastic return to the big time for Leigh.

Hull KR’s only visit to the Wembley showpiece in this century ended in dismal fashion as they were routed 50-0 by Leeds in 2015, when Briscoe scored a record five tries to capture the Lance Todd Trophy.

While the Robins have another bite at the cherry on Saturday, they will once again have to contend with Briscoe, the ex-England wing who swapped the Rhinos for newly-promoted Leigh at the end of last season.

Briscoe has fond, if hazy, recollections of what happened in London eight years ago but is certain Hull KR will be a tougher test this time for Leigh, who are bidding for their first cup triumph since 1971.

“That 2015 final is probably the highlight of my career,” Briscoe told the PA news agency. “It’s always a special time to look back on and hopefully I can recreate some of that this weekend.

“When you’re in the moment it’s hard to take it all in, I’ve only got little snippets of what happened. It wasn’t until after that I realised that was the record.

“My lasting memory from that game will be when I went over for my last try and everyone just piled on under the sticks, that’s what will live on in my memory.

“But we’re expecting the best of Hull KR now. They have special players that can do incredible things from nothing. We know we’re in for a tough day and we’ve got to show them that full respect.”

Promotion from the Championship last season was Leigh’s fourth in the Super League era but they were immediately relegated back to the second tier on the three previous occasions in 2005, 2017 and 2021.

A change of name – from the Centurions to the Leopards – and the signings of several marquee players including Briscoe has brought a change in fortunes for Leigh, who are currently third in Super League.

It is their overall form in the league and cup – where Leigh defeated 2022 Grand Final winners St Helens in the semi-finals – that heartens Briscoe and not doing the double over Hull KR this year.

“You can never take that for granted,” he said. “I’ve been there in the past and beaten teams who have beaten us many times in the league.

“We’ll take the confidence from our form in the Super League and the way we were able to get past Saints in the semis. To get through that is obviously a massive confidence booster.

“But we’ve been doing that all season, the level we’ve been playing at and the intensity has been high. We’ll take a lot of confidence from that and the experiences from previous years in all the players.

“Getting newly-promoted, it’s a tough ask to come up and challenge but the squad that’s been put together is obviously a strong one and we’re living up to the potential we’ve got.”

Leigh have not reached the cup final since going all the way 52 years ago and Briscoe wants to give the club’s long-suffering fans something to cheer.

“It would mean a lot, it’s obviously a special occasion for the club,” he added. “To come into a newly-promoted team and achieve that in my first season would be pretty special.

“It’s been 50-odd years since Leigh last won it so to even get to the final is special for the town and hopefully we can go one more.”

Sports stars and clubs across the world continue to provide an insight into their lives on social media.

Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the best examples from August 7.

England scraped through to the World Cup quarter-finals after beating Nigeria on penalties.

Raphael Varane made his feelings on this season’s rule changes clear.

And found support from Rio Ferdinand.

Bristol Rovers boss Joey Barton also shared his opinion.

Inter Miami celebrated reaching the Leagues Cup quarter-final.

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Happy birthdays.

Coco Gauff reflected on the fourth singles title of her career.

Dereck Chisora found an opponent for Anthony Joshua on Saturday.

Not a bad view.

Romain Grosjean shaved years off.

Sports stars and clubs across the world continue to provide an insight into their lives on social media.

Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the best examples from August 4.

Neil Warnock is ready to go again.

All smiles at Everton.

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New number who this?

Franck Ribery reminisced.

Lucas Digne was feeling good.

Stuart Broad felt lucky.

George Russell enjoyed his summer holidays.

Conor McGregor hit the beach.

Jade Jones has a love-hate relationship with training.

Sports stars and clubs across the world continue to provide an insight into their lives on social media.

Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the best examples from August 3.

Birmingham welcomed a big name as minority owner.

RB Leipzig mocked Liverpool’s kit man.

Jude Bellingham is looking forward to the new season.

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Mohamed Salah played against Bayern Munich.

Eddie Nketiah ran into his old gaffer.

Marta said farewell.

This is what a World Cup knockout place means.

Steph Houghton thanked her hometown club.

Football stars react to Germany’s shock group-stage exit from the Women’s World Cup.

Kevin Pietersen gave his brain a workout.

Stuart Broad was sharing the love.

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James Anderson reminisced.

Helen Housby enjoyed England’s historic win against Australia.

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Some famous faces celebrated their victory in Cape Town.

Castleford have pulled off a major coup in their battle for Betfred Super League survival by signing half-back Blake Austin from Leeds on loan for the rest of the season.

The 32-year-old has been one of the best performers for the Rhinos this season but there has been increasing unrest over his future with his current contract set to run out at the end of the current campaign.

The Rhinos were clearly caught off-guard by the news with head coach Rohan Smith calling it “a bit of a surprise”, while chief executive Gary Hetherington admitted the timing of the move was “not ideal”.

Castleford have been sucked into the relegation zone in recent weeks following a surge in form from rivals Wakefield, who hauled themselves level on points after last week’s thrashing of Warrington.

Tigers coach Andy Last said: “Blake is a very exciting player who is of a very high calibre, and we know what he can do when he’s at his best.

“We hope that he can come in and help us in our fight and be a point of difference.”

Austin was not signed in time to feature in Friday night’s match against Huddersfield, which means he is in line to make his make his debut the following week in the crucial relegation clash with Trinity.

Austin’s move comes as a clear blow for Leeds, who head into Friday’s clash with Leigh four points off a play-off place and with one of Austin’s potential replacements in the halves, Richie Myler, facing an extended spell on the sidelines due to injury.

Smith admitted: “It (Austin’s move) was a bit of a surprise to start with.

“I went to bed between 10.30pm and 11pm and when I started my walk in the morning, I turned my phone back on and had a message saying that it was likely a deal had been done with Cas.”

England coach Shaun Wane has welcomed a revised international rugby league calendar that confirms a 2026 World Cup as well as committing to the return of regular Ashes tours from 2025.

The International Rugby League said the next tournament will take place in the southern hemisphere following two rival bids, each backed by government guarantees, which are presumed to be from Australia and New Zealand.

The tournament had been due to take place in France in 2025 but the prospective hosts pulled out in May citing financial reasons, leaving the immediate future of the tournament, which had been staged successfully in England last year, in jeopardy.

The IRL also indicated that the sport’s Australian power-brokers have agreed to the return of regular Ashes tours, starting with both England men’s and women’s teams heading Down Under in 2025.

Wane said: “I was brought up on Ashes tours so the chance to coach on that makes myself and my family immensely proud.

“I’m so glad we’ve gone forward with the international rugby league calendar. It’s such a strong message to everyone in the game and I think it’s a real shot in the arm.

“Even though we didn’t succeed in the World Cup, the tournament over here and the success of Super League since the World Cup just shows the need for a strong international game.”

From 2026, the men’s World Cup will be reduced from 16 to 10 teams, while both the women’s and wheelchair World Cups will continue to feature eight teams each. The women’s event will revert to a stand-alone competition from 2028.

IRL chairman Troy Grant said: “The IRL board has made these decisions to create more compelling content and secure the financial future of the international game.

“The cancellation of France 2025 has given us an opportunity to refresh the structure of the World Cup and associated tournaments as part of a long-term international calendar that all in the game have been desperately seeking.”

Previous attempts to pin down an international calendar have stalled, partly due to the Covid-19 pandemic, plus perceived resistance within Australia’s NRL.

However, England will face Tonga in a three-Test series in October, and Grant indicated that agreements have been reached for New Zealand and Australia to travel to face England men’s and women’s teams in 2027 and 2028 respectively.

Despite initial interest from Qatar and another country in the Middle East, assumed to be Saudi Arabia, a return of the World Cup to the southern hemisphere appeared inevitable after the French withdrawal.

Grant added: “We will have an expedited bid process and the host will be identified before the year’s end, once the board has completed its due diligence of those bids.”

Lizzie Armitstead and Geraint Thomas won gold in their respective road races on the final day of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, on this day in 2014.

Armitstead – now Lizzie Deignan – led an England one-two ahead of retiring team-mate Emma Pooley in an exciting women’s race.

Pooley, in her last race before switching to endurance triathlons, played a brilliant selfless role in the 98-kilometres event – seven laps of a 14km undulating course – and finished with silver as 25-year-old Armitstead triumphed.

“I just feel like I deserve it,” said the Otley rider, who claimed silver behind Australia’s Rochelle Gilmore in Delhi four years ago and secured Britain’s first medal of London 2012 – with Olympic silver – behind Marianne Vos of Holland.

“I’ve trained so hard. I’m always on the podium, I don’t win that many races.

“It’s just a confidence thing. Once you’ve got a big title, you can call yourself a champion finally.”

England finished top of the medal table with 174, 58 of them gold.

Thomas won gold for Wales in the men’s discipline, triumphing in torrential rain in a race which became about survival and brute strength.

The 28-year-old from Cardiff, fresh from finishing the Tour de France a week earlier, twice suffered front-wheel punctures, including in the last six kilometres as his rivals neared.

But Thomas soloed to victory by one minute 21 seconds as Jack Bauer of New Zealand beat England’s Scott Thwaites to silver, the Yorkshireman having to settle for bronze.

“Riding the Tour before, it just adds to how good it feels to come away with two medals. I really didn’t expect it,” said Thomas, who also took bronze in the road time-trial.

“I was coming purely out of national pride and wanting to ride for Wales. I never really expected to medal, if I’m honest.

“To come away with a win and a bronze is more than I could’ve dreamt of.”

Sports stars and clubs across the world continue to provide an insight into their lives on social media.

Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the best examples from August 2.

Gianluigi Buffon retired.

Rob McElhenney continued to help Paul Mullin’s recovery.

Ian Wright and Usain Bolt enjoyed the success of the Reggae Girlz.

The shy and retiring Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Kammy had work to do.

South Africa reached the last 16 at Italy’s expense.

England were still celebrating.

Emma Raducanu was back out there.

Kevin Pietersen found a zebra crossing.

Luke Donald welcomed Jose Maria Olazabal to his Ryder Cup team.

Jason Robinson completed an early-morning gym session.

Big news in the boxing world.

Judd Trump took in the sights in China.

Sports stars and clubs across the world continue to provide an insight into their lives on social media.

Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the best examples from July 31.

Remembering Sir Bobby.

Reece James was enjoying himself.

Antony was on the scoresheet.

The Women’s World Cup celebrated a landmark.

England looked back on the glory of 12 months ago and the impact it has had.

Hayley Raso and Australia were celebrating.

Wilfried Zaha was excited to get going.

England took a close look at a catch controversy.

Chris Eubank Jr was at the game.

Red Bull were still celebrating their Spa 1-2.

Jenson Button took a ride in Nigel Mansell’s 1992 championship winning car.

Caroline Wozniacki and Holger Rune got in some practice.

Carlos De Oliveira, an employee of former president Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, is expected to make his first court appearance on charges of scheming to hide security footage from investigators.

The estate’s property manager was added to the federal indictment of Mr Trump and his former valet Walt Nauta last week.

The case alleges a plot to illegally keep top-secret records at the Florida estate and thwart government efforts to retrieve them.

Mr De Oliveira, who faces charges including conspiracy to obstruct justice and lying to investigators, is scheduled to appear before a magistrate judge in Miami on Monday nearly two months after the former president pleaded not guilty in the case brought by special counsel Jack Smith.

Prosecutors have not alleged security footage was actually deleted or kept from investigators. An attorney for Mr De Oliveira declined to comment on the allegations last week.

Mr Trump was informed by letter that he is the target of another federal investigation into his efforts to cling to power after he lost the 2020 election.

He has denied any wrongdoing over the Mar-a-Lago security tapes and said they were voluntarily handed over to investigators, posting on his Truth Social platform last week that he was told the tapes were not “deleted in any way, shape or form”.

Mr Nauta has also pleaded not guilty.

US district judge Aileen Cannon had previously scheduled the trial to begin in May and it is unclear whether the addition of Mr De Oliveira to the case may alter the case’s timeline.

The latest indictment, unsealed on Thursday, alleges Mr Trump tried to have security footage deleted after investigators visited in June 2022 to collect classified documents he took with him after he left the White House.

He was already facing dozens of felony counts — including willful retention of notional defence information — stemming from allegations that he mishandled government secrets that as commander-in-chief he was entrusted to protect.

Prosecutors allege Mr De Oliveira lied in interviews with investigators, claiming he had not even seen boxes moved into Mar-a-Lago.

Six-time Paralympic champion Bethany Firth believes society needs to become more understanding of “hidden disabilities” after revealing her memory issue makes life similar to the plot of the film 50 First Dates.

Northern Irish swimmer Firth competes in the S14 classification for athletes with intellectual impairments and is unable to remember some of her many successes in the pool due to her condition.

The 27-year-old, who is preparing to defend her 100m backstroke, 200m freestyle and 200m individual medley titles at the Allianz Para Swimming World Championships in Manchester next week, overcame insecurities about her disability through involvement in sport.

Yet consistently recalling information remains an ongoing challenge for the multiple world-record holder, who likens it to the 2004 romantic comedy starring Adam Sandler in which Drew Barrymore’s character suffers short-term amnesia on a daily basis.

“Some days I can remember stuff, some days I can’t,” Firth told the PA news agency.

“It’s a bit like 50 First Dates – you don’t know what I am going to retain and what I’m not.

“My coach (Nelson Lindsay) finds it very hard because one day I can be knowing all of these drills and then he says to me the next day you’ve already done that, let’s do it again and I have no clue.

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“In every day life, I struggle a bit with trust because I will see pictures of myself doing something and it is me but I can’t remember or I have no connection to that.

“There are just lots of little things that add up that people don’t notice because everyone just sees you as this normal person that can do everything.

“Everyone has their own struggles and we need to be a lot more aware that maybe that person is taking a wee bit longer to pay because they’re not understanding how much they need to give. Or maybe that person needs just a bit more time to understand what that person’s just said.

“Hidden disabilities are so common nowadays. It’s a bit like mental health – you can’t see what’s going on in someone’s life and people are very good at hiding it.

“We need to be a bit more understanding that we don’t know what’s happening in someone’s life.”

Firth burst on to the scene aged 16 by winning 100m backstroke gold for Ireland at London 2012.

She added a further five Paralympic golds and three silvers to her collection across Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 after switching allegiance to Great Britain, in addition to last year claiming the Commonwealth 200m freestyle title for Northern Ireland.

Firth, from Seaforde, County Down, has learnt to deal with the demands of having a target on her back and is focused on times rather than medals ahead of competing at Manchester Aquatics Centre and moving on to Paris 2024.

“It’s always a mixed bag when you go into a competition because you’re always the one people want to beat, so there’s always a bit of pressure there,” she said.

“I haven’t PB’d since 2016. I’ve always had an injury. Last year I broke my foot, the year before that I had shoulder injuries.

“For me, it’s not always about the medals. It’s actually about my performance and I really want to push on with my own performance and not just stay at the same sort of level.

“At Paris I want to beat all my PBs. I am hoping this week will give me a really good step towards doing that.”

Sports stars and clubs across the world continue to provide an insight into their lives on social media.

Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the best examples from July 27.

Jordan Henderson left Liverpool for Al-Ettifaq.

David Silva retired.

Jude Bellingham enjoyed himself.

Arsenal beat Barcelona in California.

Reece James was a proud man.

Ian Wright bumped into Nigel De Jong.

Lucy Bronze has come a long way.

Steven Gerrard dined out with his team.

Hibernian got creative.

Leicester took in some culture.

Not a rum deal.

Exeter were on their golf game.

Ben Stokes was not happy with Mark Wood.

“What a shot! That nearly got me!” Zak Crawley had to take evasive action.

Eddie Hearn had a chat with Piers Morgan.