BRADFORD Bulls finally ended their big match hoodoo to lift the Silk Cut Challenge Cup for the first time in 51 years after a historic Murrayfield encounter with Leeds Rhinos.

The Bulls went into Saturday's showdown as 4-1 on favourites but defeats in the 1996 and 97 finals, plus their beating by St Helens in last year's Grand Final, had earned them the reputation of cup final 'chokers'.

And the Bulls fans must have been wondering if they were again destined for failure when Marcus St Hilaire's try in the dying minutes hauled Leeds back into the match.

However, Bradford Bulls 2000 appear to have consigned the last century to a distant memory and they deservedly hung on to become the first winners of a Challenge Cup final north of the Border.

While the result may have been imperative to the 67,247 supporters, perhaps more important was the credit with which rugby league emerged from a quite magnificent occasion.

The shameful scenes from the Leeds-Hull semi-final and the three-foot of water which threatened the postponement of the final had brought the sport to national attention for all the wrong reasons.

But by 4.30pm on Saturday, rugby league had mended its tarnished image. Not only had a fine match gone ahead on a perfect pitch, but the police reported no arrests and no ejections.

That outcome came as much as a relief to the sport as the result did to the Bulls.

They have looked a class above the rest of Super League this year and for the first half at Murrayfield they were quite a few classes above the struggling Rhinos.

None struggled more than Leeds winger Leroy Rivett, the hat-trick hero of last year's final victory, who had a first half nightmare.

Bradford's first two tries came from Henry Paul bombs which Rivett failed to defuse.

A minute after Lance Todd Trophy winner Henry Paul had given the Bulls the lead with a penalty, he hoisted a kick high towards Rivett's wing which was collected by Tevita Vaikona, who found Michael Withers in support to score in the corner, and the second was an even bigger howler by Rivett as he made a hash of Henry Paul's cross-field kick and Withers pounced to notch his second.

Bradford's third try resulted from a wonderful piece of play by winger Nathan McAvoy as he delicately chipped Leeds' full-back Iestyn Harris and regathered on the full for a clear run to the line.

Henry Paul uncharacteristically missed all three conversions which gave Leeds a lifeline.

Their only first half points came from a Harris penalty but in the second half they began to threaten Bradford's domination, and another Harris penalty reduced the deficit to just 10 points.

But they could find no answer to the Bulls' magnificent kicking game and substitute Stuart Fielden was the greatful recipient of another Henry Paul bomb, his try eventually awarded after several re-runs from Easingwold video referee Gerry Kershaw.

The game looked all over at 20-4 until Leeds mounted a late fight-back which gave Kershaw two more testers.

He looked three times before awarding Leeds loose forward Andy Hay a try after Ryan Sheridan's up and under, kicked by Harris who then tagged on a penalty.

Kershaw's most difficult decision came in the last minute when, after six replays, he ruled that St Hilaire did get downward pressure on Harris' chip kick.

Harris' conversion made it 22-18 to set up a thrilling spell of injury time but the only further points came from a Paul penalty.

Triumph at last for the Bulls in a major final and, for once, a magnificent triumph for rugby league.