Captain Andy Farrell kicked four vital goals

Raper was full of praise for the 26-year-old after watching his players lift the club's first Challenge Cup for seven years.

The former Castleford coach said: "It was only about an hour or two before the kick-off we knew he could play.

"We wanted to give him every chance we could because he is an outstanding player.

"He has not trained all week but he is the type of guy that can still play for 80 minutes. He is an inspiration. It lifts the side when he plays like that."

Millward misery

Skipper Andy Farrell, who landed four goals, added: "I have now won three cup finals but this is by far the best.

"We had our doubters but we showed a lot of determination. We stepped it up in the last 10 minutes and that just proved how much we wanted that cup."

St Helens coach Ian Millward had no argument with the result and claimed that his side would benefit from their first major final defeat in the Super League era.

"Sometimes you've got to lose one to make it feel better next time," he said.

"We've been to the well a few times and this is a new experience for us. I think it will put some fire in our belly."

Millward insisted that Cunningham should have been awarded a try when video referee Ray Tennant ruled that he failed to ground the ball.

But he added: "The better team won on the day. We had enough opportunities in the second half to win a couple of games but we weren't clinical enough."