Sam Burgess looks ahead to reunion with the Challenge Cup

And he is expecting a better version of Mike Eccles’ side to face them down at The Halliwell Jones Stadium than the one that did so in the capital on Sunday.

Just six days after The Wire ran in 10 tries in a 58-4 Super League thrashing of the newly-promoted Broncos, Eccles brings his side to The Halliwell Jones Stadium for a Challenge Cup sixth-round clash and an immediate chance of redemption.

Wire were dominant in every aspect against London on Sunday (Image: PA Wire)

Warrington will start as overwhelming favourites once again, but Burgess is keen for his side to show the same levels of intensity and performance that stopped the Broncos from expressing themselves on Sunday.

“We’ll approach this game in the same way as we approached last week,” he insisted.

“It’s a new game and a new competition, so we’ll be diligent in our preparation.

“It’s been a six-day turnaround so we’ve only really had one big training day, which was Wednesday and they were pretty good.

“I think London will be better. I thought we played a good style that did restrict them and put them under a bit of pressure.

“We’re going to change a few things up as well, so we’ll see how we go but the mindset will be the same.”

The bread and butter of Super League takes a back seat this week as the road to Wembley begins for top-flight teams.

For Warrington, they are looking to return to the national stadium for the first time since lifting the famous old trophy there back in 2019.

Wire have not made it to Wembley Stadium since lifting the 2019 Challenge Cup there (Image: Mike Boden)

Burgess himself never got to play in a Challenge Cup Final during his time in England with Bradford Bulls – he was part of the side that reached the 2007 semi-finals before losing to St Helens.

And his only previous experience of playing at Wembley was a heart-breaking one – he scored a memorable try for England in the 2013 Rugby League World Cup semi-final there but the team were beaten by New Zealand thanks to Shaun Johnson’s last-second try.

All of that combined is motivation aplenty for a competition Burgess is looking forward to reuniting with.

“It’s a chance for the competition to have a week off and I think it’s brilliant the Challenge Cup is a bit earlier in the year this year,” he said – this year’s final is being held on June 8.

“It moves quicker through the season which is quite excited as well.

“Personally, I’m looking forward to being back involved in it and Warrington have had some great success in the cup in the last little while so there’s a great history there to try and continue.

“As a player, it was always enjoyable to be a part of especially when you got to the deeper stages of it.

“I never made a Challenge Cup Final as a player, so we’re excited as a group.

“It’s a completely different competition so we’ve put Super League to the side and the Challenge Cup gets our full focus this week.

“It’s a chance for us to get better and improve as a group. We’re a new team with new structures on both sides of the ball, so we’re still learning a lot about each other.

“We’re five games in and we’re getting better at little things.”