2009 Challenge Cup
Duration | 9 Rounds |
---|---|
Highest attendance | 76,560 |
Broadcast partners | BBC Sport |
Winners | Warrington Wolves |
Runners-up | Huddersfield |
Biggest home win | Featherstone Rovers 94–2 The Army |
Biggest away win | Batley Bulldogs 4–66 Salford City Reds |
Lance Todd Trophy | Michael Monaghan |
The 2009 Challenge Cup (also known as the Carnegie Challenge Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 108th staging of the most prestigious knock-out competition in rugby league. Teams from England, Scotland, Wales, France and Russia were included in the tournament. It began in January 2009.
Teams from the
Defending champions St. Helens lost in the semi-final 14 – 24 to the Huddersfield Giants who went on to lose the final 16 – 25 to the Warrington Wolves.
For 2009, the early stages of the competition was revamped. As the competition has expanded, there was now a preliminary round before the first round, and teams were placed into two 'pools' for the preliminary, first and second rounds.
Pools
Pool A features 48 teams, made up as follows:
- The 40 teams from the National Conference League
- The winners of the five major BARLA Regional Leagues
- The winners of the three major BARLA Regional Cup Competitions – Yorkshire, North West & Cumberland
Pool B features 16 teams, which is a mixed bag of Rugby League Conference teams (including representatives from Scotland and Wales), armed forces representative teams and University teams.
Preliminary round
Pool A
All matches were due to be played on 3–4 January, however, winter weather forced the postponement of most of these fixtures due to frozen pitches. The round is divided into two pools, with several teams receiving a bye to the First Round:[1]
Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team |
---|---|---|---|
1 † | Eccles and Salford Juniors | 6–22 | Saddleworth Rangers |
2 † | Egremont Rangers | 14–8 | Thornhill Trojans |
3 † | Ovenden | 22–20 | Oulton Raiders |
4 | Skirlaugh | 56–4 | Heworth |
5 † | Wath Brow Hornets | 18–14 | Millom |
6 | Siddal | 30–12 | Normanton Knights
|
7 † | Stanningley | 16–18 | Hull Dockers |
8 † | Halifax Irish | 10–22 | Bradford Dudley Hill |
9 † | Rochdale Mayfield | 12–36 | Leigh East |
10 | Halton Simms Cross | 46–12 | York Acorn |
11 † | Ellenborough | 4–20 | Wigan St Patricks |
12 † | Bank Quay Bulls | 6–19 | Queens |
13 † | Oldham St Annes | 16–30 | Wigan St Judes |
14 † | Widnes St Maries | 22–8 | Ince Rose Bridge |
15 | Shaw Cross Sharks | 16–21 | Castleford Lock Lane |
16 | Stanley Rangers | 12–40 | Leigh Miners Rangers |
†: fixtures rearranged due to frozen pitches. New dates varied between teams, depending on clashes with league fixtures and weather.
Pool B
Fixtures played 17–18 January:[1]
Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Bristol Sonics | 8–52 | Leeds Met Carnegie |
2 | University of Wales Institute | 18–20 | Valley Cougars |
3 | Loughborough University | 26–16 | Nottingham Outlaws |
4 | West London Sharks | 10–22 | The Army |
Pool A Byes: West Hull, Thatto Heath Crusaders, Myton Warriors, Orchard Park and Greenwood, Eastmoor Dragons, East Hull, Sharlston Rovers, Kells, Hull Isberg, East Leeds, Pilkington Recs, West Bowling, Milford Marlins, Crossfields, Waterhead, Castleford Panthers
Pool B Byes: St Mary's University College, RAF, Warrington Wizards, Featherstone Lions, Hull University, Edinburgh Eagles, Northumbria University, Royal Navy
Round 1
All matches played on 24–25 January. The round was divided into two pools, with the teams that received a bye in the last round entering.[1]
Pool A
Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Kells | 26–14 | Eastmoor Dragons |
2 | West Hull | 56–0 | East Leeds |
3 | West Bowling | 32–6 | East Hull |
4 | Milford Marlins | 14–24 | Pilkington Recs |
5 † | Hull Dockers | 34–4 | Ovenden |
6 † | Castleford Panthers | 12–26 | Leigh Miners Rangers |
7 | Waterhead | 14–16 | Castleford Lock Lane |
8 † | Siddal | 36–12 | Thatto Heath |
9 † | Crosfields | 10–36 | Sharlston Rovers |
10 | Wigan St Patricks | 24–18 | Skirlaugh |
11 | Egremont Rangers | 0–42 | Wath Brow Hornets |
12 | Leigh East | 68–0 | Orchard Park and Greenwood |
13 | Hull Isberg | 12–36 | Saddleworth Rangers |
14 | Queens | 13–0 | Halton Simms Cross |
15 | Wigan St Judes | 34–20 | Myton Warriors |
16 | Bradford Dudley Hill | 19–24 | Widnes St Maries |
†: fixtures rearranged for 31 January due to flooded pitches.
Pool B
Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Featherstone Lions | 18–12 | Hull University |
2 | RAF | 16–18 | Edinburgh Eagles |
3 | Loughborough University | 40–12 | St Mary's University College |
4 | Leeds Met Carnegie | 36–6 | Warrington Wizards |
5 | The Navy | 38–28 | Valley Cougars |
6 | The Army | 72–0 | Northumbria University |
Round 2
Draw hosted by Wath Brow Hornets on 27 January, as the winners of the Cumbrian derby in the first round. Matches were played 14–15 February.[2]
Pool A
Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Wigan St Patricks | 20–16 | West Hull |
2 | Widnes St Maries | 8–15 | Queens |
3 | Wath Brow Hornets | 40–22 | Hull Dockers |
4 | Kells | 31–22 | Leigh Miners Rangers |
5 | Wigan St Judes | 24–28 | Pilkington Recs |
6 | Siddal | 34–10 | West Bowling |
7 | Sharlston Rovers | 20–10 | Leigh East |
8 | Saddleworth | 20–16 | Castleford Lock Lane |
Pool B
Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Loughborough University | 20–18 | The Navy |
2 | Leeds Met Carnegie | 20–6 | Edinburgh Eagles |
3 | Featherstone Lions | 12–30 | The Army |
Round 3
Draw was made live on
Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Siddal | 6–10 | Swinton Lions |
2 | York City Knights
|
50–10 | Wigan St Patricks |
3 | Featherstone Rovers | 94–2 | The Army |
41 | Queens | A–A | Doncaster |
5 | Pilkington Recs | 24–34 | Batley Bulldogs |
6 | Barrow Raiders | 44–12 | Blackpool Panthers |
7 | Gateshead Thunder | 42–38 | Whitehaven |
8 | Workington Town | 6–18 | Lézignan Sangliers
|
9 | Leigh Centurions
|
82–6 | RC Lokomotiv Moscow |
10 | Oldham R.L.F.C. | 26–8 | Sharlston |
11 | Sheffield Eagles | 22–6 | Toulouse Olympique |
12 | Leeds Met Carnegie | 24–38 | Rochdale Hornets |
13 | Widnes Vikings | 88–0 | Saddleworth |
14 | Wath Brow Hornets | 14–12 | London Skolars |
15 | Keighley Cougars | 30–24 | Pia Donkeys
|
162 | Kells | 12–22 | Hunslet Hawks |
17 | Halifax
|
80–16 | Loughborough University |
18 | Dewsbury Rams | 18–6 | AS Carcassonne |
- 1: Match was abandoned on 61st minute due to crowd trouble. Doncaster went through due to them being ahead at the time. The RFL upheld the decision after an investigation. It was the first time a rugby league game has been abandoned in England due to crowd trouble in over 70 years.[5]
- 2: Match postponed due to waterlogged pitch.
Round 4
The draw for round 4 was made live on 9 March on
All ties were played 3–5 April.[6]
Home | Score | Away | Match information | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date and time | Venue | Referee | Attendance | |||||
Swinton Lions | 22–28 | Rochdale Hornets | 3 April, 19:30 BST | Park Lane
|
Peter Brooke | 525 | ||
Halifax
|
20–16 | Widnes Vikings | 3 April, 20:00 BST | Shay Stadium | Richard Silverwood | 3,204 | ||
Hull Kingston Rovers | 32–6 | Crusaders | 3 April, 20:00 BST | New Craven Park | Thierry Alibert | 7,104 | ||
Sheffield Eagles | 28–18 | Dewsbury Rams | 3 April, 20:00 BST | Don Valley Stadium | Robert Hicks | 597 | ||
Wakefield Trinity Wildcats | 54–0 | Leigh Centurions
|
3 April, 20:00 BST | Belle Vue | Gareth Hewer | 2,637 | ||
Warrington Wolves | 56–10 | York City Knights
|
4 April, 14:00 BST | Halliwell Jones Stadium | James Child | 6,000 | ||
Harlequins | 16–42 | Huddersfield Giants | 4 April, 15:00 BST | The Twickenham Stoop
|
Ben Thaler | 2,500 | ||
Batley Bulldogs | 28–24 | Hunslet Hawks | 5 April, 14:00 BST | Mount Pleasant | Dave Merrick | 633 | ||
Featherstone Rovers | 54–16 | Wath Brow Hornets | 5 April, 14:00 BST | Chris Moyles Stadium | Greg Dolan | 1,180 | ||
Oldham R.L.F.C. | 60–30 | Lézignan Sangliers
|
5 April, 14:00 BST | Boundary Park | Ronnie Laughton | 863 | ||
Catalans Dragons | 40–38 | Bradford Bulls | 5 April, 14:30 BST | Stade Gilbert Brutus | Steve Ganson | 6,450 | ||
Barrow Raiders | 20–32 | Wigan Warriors | 5 April, 15:00 BST | Craven Park
|
Jamie Leahy | 6,275 | ||
Doncaster | 18–32 | Gateshead Thunder | 5 April, 15:00 BST | Keepmoat Stadium
|
Craig Halloran | 458 | ||
Keighley Cougars | 20–64 | Castleford Tigers | 5 April, 15:00 BST | Cougar Park | Matthew Thomason | 3,255 | ||
Hull F.C. | 18–22 | Salford City Reds | 5 April, 15:15 BST | KC Stadium
|
Ian Smith | 8,945 | ||
Leeds Rhinos | 18–22 | St. Helens | 5 April, 16:30 BST | Headingley Stadium | Phil Bentham | 17,689 |
Round 5
The sixteen teams remaining after Round 4 were randomly paired against each other, in a draw held at
All matches were played on 9–10 May.
The first match of this round was a repeat of a
Oldham also started off taking the initial lead before losing to the Gateshead Thunder. Tommy Goulden gave the visitors a lead of six points following a successful conversion, and this gave them a 4–6 lead at half time following a Gateshead try which was unsuccessfully converted. Four tries and three goals from Gateshead after the break handed them a twenty-two-point lead, and two tries and a goal from Oldham were not enough to restore the deficit. A final Gateshead try ended the game with a firm 18-point margin in favour of Gateshead.[11]
The first game ever to be concluded via the
Huddersfield won their early morning kick-off against Rochdale Hornets despite two late tries from the away side. Luke Robinson opened up the scoring on six minutes to score the first of five first-half tries for Huddersfield, to which Rochdale had no reply. Huddersfield scored again after 44 minutes to put themselves 32 points to nil ahead, before two converted Rochdale tries lowered the deficit to twenty points. Shaun Lunt finished the game off five minutes from full-time with a try that was successfully converted to provide himself with a hat-trick, and to give Huddersfield a comfortable win.[13]
Like Oldham and Wakefield had done the day before, Featherstone Rovers took the initiative before losing to the opposition. Featherstone took a four-point lead thanks to a try which was unsuccessfully converted before Warrington scored twenty unanswered first-half points with four tries and two conversions. Chris Hicks converted his own try shortly after the break to put Warrington 4–26 into the lead before Featherstone replied with what was to be their final try. Warrington proceeded to run in five tries before full-time, all of which were converted by Hicks, to win the game by almost a half-century of points.[14]
Salford City Reds had lost three of their previous matches prior to this round's fixture, but this did not stop eight Salford City Reds players touching down for tries as they delivered the widest winning margin of the round away to Batley. Eight tries and eight goals, seven of which made up John Wilshere's ten goal match tally, scored by Salford City Reds went unanswered as Batley went into half-time fighting a 48-point deficit. Two further converted tries from Salford City Reds, including Mark Henry's fourth try, came before Batley's only try of the afternoon, which was not converted. Luke Adamson touched down two minutes from full-time to give a winning margin of 62 in favour of Salford City Reds.[15]
Of the four
In a repeat of the
Home | Score | Away | Match information | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date and time | Venue | Referee | Attendance | ||||||
Wakefield Trinity Wildcats | 17–28 | Wigan Warriors | 9 May, 14:30 BST | Belle Vue | Phil Bentham | 4,883 | |||
Gateshead Thunder | 34–16 | Oldham R.L.F.C. | 9 May, 15:00 BST | The Darlington Arena | James Child | 929 | |||
Castleford Tigers | 35–34 | Halifax
|
9 May, 18:00 BST | The Jungle | Steve Ganson | 5,595 | |||
Castleford win in extra time via the golden point rule.
| |||||||||
Huddersfield Giants | 38–12 | Rochdale Hornets | 10 May, 11:30 BST | Galpharm Stadium
|
Gareth Hewer | 2,859 | |||
Featherstone Rovers | 8–56 | Warrington Wolves | 10 May, 13:30 BST | Chris Moyles Stadium | Ian Smith | 3,127 | |||
Batley Bulldogs | 4–66 | Salford City Reds | 10 May, 15:00 BST | Mount Pleasant | Jamie Leahy | 1,298 | |||
Hull Kingston Rovers | 34–24 | Sheffield Eagles | 10 May, 15:00 BST | New Craven Park | Thierry Alibert | 4,955 | |||
St. Helens | 42–8 | Catalans Dragons | 10 May, 15:15 BST | GPW Recruitment Stadium | Ben Thaler | 7,176 |
Quarter finals
The sixth round of the Challenge Cup involves the eight teams who won their respective matches in the previous round. This is the final round where home field advantage is given, due to the requirement that all semi-final matches must be played at a neutral venue.
The draw was made live on BBC Two at the GPW Recruitment Stadium on 10 May. Chris Joynt, four times winner of the Challenge Cup with St. Helens drew the home sides, while Andy Farrell OBE, four times winner with the Wigan Warriors, drew the away sides.
The matches were played on 29–31 May,[18][19] during the hottest weekend of the year so far temperature-wise.[20]
A sunny Friday evening at the
A
In contrast, the match at the
The local derby between
Home | Score | Away | Match information | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date and time | Venue | Referee | Attendance | ||||||
Wigan Warriors | 28–6 | Salford City Reds | 29 May, 20:00 BST | JJB Stadium
|
Thierry Alibert | 9,466 | |||
Hull Kingston Rovers | 24–25 | Warrington Wolves | 30 May, 17:30 BST | New Craven Park | Phil Bentham | 7,671 | |||
Warrington win by golden point in extra time after the game was tied 24–24 after 80 minutes.
| |||||||||
Gateshead Thunder | 6–66 | St. Helens | 30 May, 18:00 BST | The 'Thunderdome' | Ian Smith | 4,325 | |||
Huddersfield Giants | 16–14 | Castleford Tigers | 31 May, 15:30 BST | Galpharm Stadium
|
Richard Silverwood | 6,359 |
Semi finals
The four teams remaining play against each other for straight access into the Final. All matches in this round are played on a neutral venue. The draw was made live on
One match is played on Saturday 8 August, the other is played the day after.[27] The dates and venues were confirmed on 2 June, with Wigan Warriors vs Warrington Wolves being played in Widnes at the Stobart Stadium Halton on the Saturday, and St Helens vs Huddersfield being played on the Sunday at the Halliwell Jones Stadium in Warrington.[28]
Wigan vs Warrington
8 August 2009 | Wigan Warriors | 26–39 | Warrington Wolves | Widnes, England | |
14:30 BST |
Tries: Bailey 8' S. Tomkins 53' Coley 60' Leuluai 68' Goals: Richards 8', 12', 53', 60', 68' |
(Report) | Tries: 18', 20', 22', 29', 74' Drop goals: Briers 70' |
Stadium: Stobart Stadium Halton Attendance: 12,975 Referee: Steve Ganson Player of the Match: Lee Briers |
A
St Helens vs Huddersfield
9 August 2009 | St Helens | 14–24 | Huddersfield Giants | Warrington, England | |
16:00 BST |
Tries: Meli 10', 51', 78' Goals: Eastmond 51' |
(Report) | Tries: Brown 47'Goals: B. Hodgson 32', 77' |
Stadium: Halliwell Jones Stadium Attendance: 10,638 Referee: Richard Silverwood Player of the Match: Brett Hodgson |
A
Final
The Carnegie 2009 Challenge Cup Final was played on 29 August, eight rounds and almost eight months after the tournament started in its preliminary stages. Following tradition, the match was held in London at Wembley Stadium. The game finished with Warrington Wolves defeating the Huddersfield Giants 16–25 following two controversial disallowed tries for the Giants, which if awarded would have won them the game if at least one conversion attempt was good.
Television coverage
Selected matches were televised solely by the BBC in the United Kingdom.
Round | Live match | Date | BBC channel |
---|---|---|---|
Round 4 | Catalans Dragons 40 – 38 Bradford Bulls Leeds Rhinos 18 – 22 St. Helens |
5 April | BBC Two1 |
Round 5 | Wakefield Trinity Wildcats 17 – 28 Wigan Warriors St. Helens 42 – 8 Catalans Dragons |
9 May 10 May |
BBC One BBC Two1 |
Quarter-finals | Hull Kingston Rovers 24 – 25 Warrington Wolves Huddersfield Giants 16 – 14 Castleford Tigers2 |
30 May 31 May |
BBC Two1 |
Semi-finals | Wigan Warriors 26 – 39 Warrington Wolves St. Helens 14 – 24 Huddersfield Giants |
8 August 2009 9 August 2009 |
BBC One BBC Two1 |
Final | Huddersfield Giants 16 – 25 Warrington Wolves | 29 August | BBC One |
1 Except Yorkshire.
2 Coverage in Northern Ireland (including analogue) was televised an hour later.
The competition was also televised by Nine Network in Australia.
References
- ^ a b c "Welsh duo meet in Challenge Cup". BBC. 17 December 2008. Retrieved 16 February 2009.
- ^ "Eagles to face student team". therfl.co.uk. Archived from the original on 7 February 2009. Retrieved 16 February 2009.
- ^ "BBC Radio Manchester to host Third Round Draw". therfl.co.uk. Archived from the original on 9 June 2009. Retrieved 16 February 2009.
- ^ "Clubs learn their fate in the Challenge Cup". therfl.co.uk. Archived from the original on 26 February 2009. Retrieved 19 February 2009.
- ^ "RFL puts Doncaster in round four". BBC. 11 March 2009. Archived from the original on 16 March 2009. Retrieved 11 March 2009.
- ^ "Leeds get Saints in Challenge Cup". BBC. 11 March 2009. Archived from the original on 12 March 2009. Retrieved 9 March 2009.
- ^ "Fifth round draw to take place at RAF base". therfl.co.uk. Archived from the original on 9 June 2009. Retrieved 3 April 2009.
- ^ "Warriors Away at Wakefield in Challenge Cup". wiganwarriors.com. Archived from the original on 13 April 2009. Retrieved 7 April 2009.
- ^ "Thunder Go To Darlo". therfl.co.uk (Rugby Football League). Archived from the original on 9 June 2009. Retrieved 20 April 2009.
- ^ "Wakefield 17–28 Wigan". news.bbc.co.uk (BBC Sport). 9 May 2009. Archived from the original on 11 May 2009. Retrieved 9 May 2009.
- ^ "Gateshead 34–16 Oldham". BBC. 9 May 2009. Archived from the original on 15 May 2009. Retrieved 9 May 2009.
- ^ "Castleford 35–34 Halifax". news.bbc.co.uk (BBC Sport). 9 May 2009. Archived from the original on 13 May 2009. Retrieved 9 May 2009.
- ^ "Huddersfield 38–12 Rochdale". news.bbc.co.uk (BBC Sport). 10 May 2009. Archived from the original on 14 May 2009. Retrieved 10 May 2009.
- ^ "Featherstone 8–56 Warrington". news.bbc.co.uk (BBC Sport). 10 May 2009. Archived from the original on 14 May 2009. Retrieved 10 May 2009.
- ^ "Batley 4–66 Salford". news.bbc.co.uk (BBC Sport). 10 May 2009. Archived from the original on 15 May 2009. Retrieved 10 May 2009.
- ^ "Hull KR 34–24 Sheffield". news.bbc.co.uk (BBC Sport). 10 May 2009. Archived from the original on 14 May 2009. Retrieved 10 May 2009.
- ^ "St Helens 42–8 Catalans Dragons". news.bbc.co.uk (BBC Sport). 10 May 2009. Archived from the original on 14 May 2009. Retrieved 10 May 2009.
- ^ "Saints sent to Gateshead in Cup". news.bbc.co.uk (BBC Sport). 10 May 2009. Archived from the original on 11 May 2009. Retrieved 10 May 2009.
- ^ "Gateshead and Saints Clash". www.therfl.co.uk (Rugby Football League). Archived from the original on 9 June 2009. Retrieved 11 May 2009.
- ^ "Hottest day of the year and widespread burgers forecast". London: guardian.co.uk (The Guardian). 29 May 2009. Archived from the original on 12 June 2009. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
- ^ "One-match ban for Fielden". superleague.co.uk (The RFL). Archived from the original on 29 May 2009. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
- ^ "Wigan 28–6 Salford". news.bbc.co.uk (BBC Sport). 29 May 2009. Archived from the original on 30 May 2009. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
- ^ "Hull KR 24–25 Warrington". newsimg.bbc.co.uk (BBC Sport). Retrieved 30 May 2009.
- ^ "Gateshead 6–66 St Helens". newsimg.bbc.co.uk (BBC Sport). Retrieved 30 May 2009.
- ^ "Huddersfield 16–14 Castleford". news.bbc.co.uk (BBC Sport). 31 May 2009. Archived from the original on 1 June 2009. Retrieved 31 May 2009.
- ^ "Giants face Saints in semi-final". news.bbc.co.uk (BBC Sport). 1 June 2009. Archived from the original on 6 June 2009. Retrieved 31 May 2009.
- ^ "Saints land Giants clash in last four". www.superleague.co.uk (Rugby Football League). Archived from the original on 2 June 2009. Retrieved 31 May 2009.
- ^ "Semi-final Venues Confirmed". www.therfl.co.uk (The Rugby Football League). Archived from the original on 9 June 2009. Retrieved 2 June 2009.
- ^ Hudson, Elizabeth (8 August 2009). "Wigan 26–39 Warrington". BBC News. Retrieved 8 August 2009.
- ^ Harlow, Phil (9 August 2009). "St Helens 14–24 Huddersfield". BBC News. Retrieved 10 August 2009.
External links
- Challenge Cup at the Rugby Football League's website
- Official Challenge Cup website