By Julian Shea BBC Sport in Cardiff

Match report: Hull 25-24 Leeds

Hull coach John Kear said his side's 25-24 Challenge Cup win over Leeds - their first Cup victory in 23 years - was good news for rugby league.

Apart from Sheffield's triumph in 1998, again under Kear's guidance, every Cup since 1988 has been lifted by either Leeds, Bradford, Wigan or St Helens.

"It's important the Saints, Leeds, Wigan and Bradford cartel has been broken up," he told BBC Sport.

"You can see what it meant to the fans. They didn't want to leave."

Now they've tasted success, I know they'll want some more of it John Kear

Hull went into Saturday's showdown at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium as the underdogs and Kear believes his side's unexpected success could be the dawning of a new era for the club.

"This team's grown as a group," he said. "There's some experience out there from people like Richard Swain and Stephen Kearney, but overall it's a very young team.

"But now they've tasted success, I know they'll want some more of it."

Leeds coach Tony Smith also said he thought the sport would benefit from Hull's win.

"It's good for the game, but I certainly wasn't thinking about the good of the game when I was preparing my team for that match," he said.

"It's definitely a shot in the arm for rugby league, but the media have got to stop talking about 'the Big Four'.

"If you look at how Hull have played in Super League, it's not often that they've been in fifth or sixth, or seventh or eighth.

"So you've got to start calling them something else - like a good team."