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Footage of rugby side’s 1990 Cup run comes to light thanks to ex-regional journalist

A new film showing behind-the-scenes footage of a rugby league club’s Cup run has come to light thanks to a former regional journalist.

Angela Powers, formerly of the Warrington Guardian, has produced the film about Warrington’s run to Wembley, where they were defeated by local rivals Wigan in the 1990 Challenge Cup final, the sport’s biggest domestic knock-out competition.

The original footage was filmed by the players and backroom staff and Angela, who now works for Sky Sports, teamed up with Dave Lyons, who played in the final, for the project.

The Guardian’s current sports editor Mike Parsons was at Wembley as a supporter, 12 months prior to joining the newspaper.

Warrington score a try at the 1990 Challenge Cup final

Warrington score a try at the 1990 Challenge Cup final

He said: “I had goose bumps watching these images. It’s a truly rare insight and so many people will be very grateful to Angela and Dave for making this public.

“A wise man once said to me that the history of the club belongs to the town, to the fans, and should always be shared.”

He added: “Not only is it interesting for factual reasons, you get to share in the camaraderie of the players and coaching staff and see the characters behind the scene.

“That’s the real beauty of this video. There were some larger than life people around the place at that time and some wonderful rugby league players and coaching staff, some of whom are sadly no longer with us so it’s emotional stuff too.”