Ryan Hall scored two tries as Leeds beat Yorkshire rivals Castleford 23-10 in the Challenge Cup final at Wembley Stadium on Saturday.

Victory marked the end of a Challenge Cup jinx for Leeds, whose six appearances in the final since they last lifted the trophy by beating London Broncos in 1999 had all ended in defeat.

It was a losing streak made all the more curious by the fact they had won six Super League Grand Finals in the same period.

Leeds got off to a flying start through Tom Briscoe but his fifth-minute try was soon cancelled out by Castleford’s Daryl Clark.

But Leeds, dominating both possession and territory, extended their lead with tries from Danny McGuire and Hall to lead 16-4 at half-time.

Oliver Holmes’s try soon after the break gave Castleford hope, but Hall’s second try effectively ended the Rhinos’ 15-year wait for the trophy.

“We have been striving for this for so long, the club has, and to eventually get it is a big feeling,” said Leeds coach Brian McDermott.

“For the players it’s a sense of relief, elation. They’re an emotional bunch right now but we feel like we have delivered something.”

Castleford coach Daryl Powell was a Leeds player when the Rhinos last won the Challenge Cup.

But it was a different story on Saturday, with Powell admitting Cas hadn’t been up to the mark.

“We did show courage, determination, but we were never quite good enough to score enough points to put Leeds under the intense pressure we needed to,” he said.

Luke Dorn held up McGuire over the line in the opening exchanges but Leeds didn’t have to wait long, spreading the ball wide for Briscoe to skip past Justin Carney and dive over in the corner.

Leeds captain Kevin Sinfield sent a tricky conversion just inside the left-hand upright while at the other end he was on hand to deflect a cheeky kick to safety with his toe.

A couple of early breaks from Jake Webster put the Tigers in a promising position before Dorn made further ground in the Leeds half.

His release to former Sydney Roosters wing Carney was deemed too quick but Castleford were not to be deterred, Clark collecting Marc Sneyd’s kick to go over and hit back for the Tigers, although it needed a referral to the video referee before the try was awarded.

However, Sneyd sent the conversion wide of the target and Castleford had to settle for a two-point deficit after 15 minutes.

That gap was extended minutes later when Dorn was beaten to a high ball by the onrushing McGuire, Sinfield taking Leeds to 12-4 with the kick.

Zak Hardaker then produced an eye-catching break from his own goal-line and into the Castleford half.

The move resulted in Hall bulldozing his way over as the Leeds continued to grow in power and confidence, but Sinfield couldn’t make it three conversions from three.

The Rhinos continued to dominate possession and territory but Joel Moon’s low kick five metres out narrowly evaded Hall and bounced out of play.

Castleford drew first blood after the break when Dorn found Michael Shenton, who picked a gap in the Leeds defence and fed Holmes to sprint over, with Liam Finn converting.

At the other end, former NZ Warriors man Moon – making his first Wembley appearance – was thwarted in the corner and Carney denied Briscoe his second try on the other touchline.

But after a cagey period, Hall collected the ball from former Penrith Panther Paul Aiton near the left touchline and bundled over for his second try of the game and the 199th of his career.

Sinfield rediscovered his kicking boots to put Leeds 12 points ahead when his conversion crept over the crossbar after bouncing off both posts.

Leeds completed the scoring three minutes from time when Sinfield offloaded to McGuire, who kicked a drop-goal.