Leeds Rhinos coach Brian McClennan said their thrilling Challenge Cup semi-final win over St Helens meant the world to him and his players.

The Rhinos ran out 32-28 victors in a classic at Huddersfield's Galpharm Stadium to reach the final for the first time since 2005.

McClennan told BBC Sport: "This means so much to all of us.

"We have dreams of getting to Wembley and now we have a chance of lifting the Challenge Cup."

Leeds, who have not won the trophy since beating London Broncos 52-16 at the old Wembley in 1999, battled back from 18-8 down at half-time to lead with 10 minutes to go thanks to tries from Danny McGuire and Brent Webb.

606: DEBATE A fantastic match. Well done to you Rhinos alufc1

But James Graham put Saints back in front before McGuire finally won it with his second of the game - and 201st of his career - late on.

"I was very nervous towards the end but the boys dug in deep," said McClennan. "It was a very tough game.

"We have been keeping it low-key to keep the pressure off ourselves. Sometimes you can tie yourselves up in knots and we did a bit of that in the first half, but we settled down in the second half and played better footie."

Match-winner McGuire, who was also named man of the match, said: "It was an awesome game, a massive effort from both teams and I am just grateful we got the win.

"I am looking forward to Wembley now. We have done well in the Grand Final (won it four times) but the Challenge Cup has eluded us. We are only one step away now but we have not won anything yet."

Veteran centre Keith Senior is the only current Leeds player to have played in the Challenge Cup final.

He won the competition with Sheffield Eagles in 1998 but his last taste of the occasion was Leeds' 25-24 defeat by Hull FC at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium in 2005.

And he is relishing the prospect of putting that right later this month.

"I was fortunate enough to play at the old Wembley but I have not been to the new one, so just thinking about it sends shivers down my spine," said Senior.

"I have got three losers medals and we have no qualms about saying 'we want this trophy'. We are one step closer now."

Rhinos captain Kevin Sinfield added: "It was a great advert for rugby league between two champion sides. We have been waiting a long time [to get back to Wembley] but we don't just want to go there - we want to win the whole thing now."

St Helens coach Mick Potter said he could not have asked any more of his side and refused to blame injuries to Leon Pryce and Kyle Eastmond for their defeat.

"I was very proud of our players, they did everything possible to try and snatch the game," he said.

"We always knew it was going to be close and they came up with some good plays at the right time. Disappointingly, we were on the wrong end of the scoreboard.

"We'll never know what might have happened [had Pryce and Eastmond been available]. You get injuries and we're not going to make excuses about them.

"Leeds played better on the day. We could have done with them, but that's the way it goes."

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