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Leeds strained every sinew, and came from 16-0 behind to ensure this was a memorable Challenge Cup final settled only three minutes from the end. But the glory belonged to Wigan, as they ended a long 13 years since their last Wembley appearance, and 16 since their last win here, to claim the game's oldest knockout competition for a record 18th time.
They did so with a fair amount of good fortune, as marginal decisions went in their favour in the build-up to at least two of their tries. But there was also the usual steel in their defence and a sprinkling of style too, notably from Joel Tomkins, who eclipsed his much-hyped younger brother Sam with a spectacular long-range try – although Jeff Lima, a controversial forward from New Zealand via Melbourne, was an unlikely winner of the Lance Todd Trophy as man of the match for two crucial scores, the first prop to be recognised since Brian Lockwood in 1980.
"I don't even know who Lance Todd is to be honest," Lima said of his fellow Kiwi, a former Wigan player and Salford administrator whose contribution to the British game is recognised by the code's oldest individual award. "I just went out there and did my job."
As usual with Lima, there was the odd dubious incident, as he escaped punishment both for a possible spear tackle on Brett Delaney, and for slapping Jamie Peacock in the face at a tense stage of the second half. But it is hard to argue with his record, as he provided the grunt and edge in two previous Grand Final wins for Melbourne to add to this triumph in his first season in England.
"I knew what Jeff could do when he joined us," said Michael Maguire, the Wigan coach, who had previously coached the prop at Melbourne. "He's been improving week in week out, and he's a big part of the character of this group."
There were no complaints from Leeds about any of Lima's antics or those marginal decisions, just a bitter collective disappointment after their second consecutive Wembley defeat extended their run of losing cup finals to five since their last triumph in 1999. It was tinged with pride after a far better performance than in last year's 30-6 flop against Warrington, which produced a much tighter contest than many had feared given their stuttering recent form.
But their coach, Brian McDermott, pointed to some soft defence, particularly in the opening 27 minutes as Wigan built that 16-0 lead. "We conceded too many easy tries there, and in that first 15 minutes we allowed Wigan to do some stuff," he said.
Josh Charnley, a young wing who played much of the match with a badly broken finger, scored the first try with a clinical finish in the right corner. Then Brent Webb's failure to take a steepling Sam Tomkins bomb allowed Lima to score his first from a slick pass from his fellow prop Paul Prescott, and when Joel Tomkins collected his brother's pass and galloped 60 metres to the posts, the Wigan majority in the stadium began to celebrate.
But Leeds showed their fighting qualities, and considerable skill, to cut the deficit to 16-10 at half-time with tries from the wings Ryan Hall and Ben Jones-Bishop.
Carl Ablett then crashed over early in the second half, and only Kevin Sinfield's inability to land a couple of difficult conversion attempts denied the Rhinos parity or better.
Lima then struck again with an excellent finish, although Lee Mossop's pass to him was plainly forward, and Pat Richards' third conversion extended the lead to 22-14. Leeds came again with Hall's second try, and were agonisingly close to what surely would have been the winner when Jones-Bishop broke thrillingly down the right, but Danny McGuire could not ground his inside kick.
Instead Sam Tomkins kicked cleverly down the Wigan right, they received another dollop of good fortune with the scrum feed when Charnley's was clearly the last touch, and Thomas Leuluai scored the clincher from the pressure.
So as torrential rain fell, Sean O'Loughlin became the first Wigan captain since his brother-in-law Andy Farrell in 2002 to lift the Challenge Cup, and the first to do so at Wembley since Shaun Edwards in 1995. "It's hard to put into words," said the loose forward, who also insisted on playing on with a hamstring pull, although that was a mere flesh wound compared with Mossop's injury, the Cumbrian prop returning for a second stint after being forced off with a dislocated shoulder. "Winning the [Super League] Grand Final last year was special, but with all the history Wigan have at Wembley in the Challenge Cup, and the great teams and players that have come before you, this was a special feeling."
Behind the posts at one end of the ground, around 30,000 Wigan supporters showed just how special, as they sang and danced in the rain. Wembley rain. They had even missed that.
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