2019 RFL 1895 Cup
| Duration | 5 Rounds | |
|---|---|---|
| Number of teams | 20 | |
| Winners |  Sheffield Eagles | |
| Runners-up |  Widnes Vikings | |
| Biggest home win |  Doncaster 70–6 Halifax 8–52 Ray French Award Anthony Thackeray | (Sheffield Eagles) |
The 2019 RFL 1895 Cup, known as the 2019 AB Sundecks 1895 Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the inaugural tournament for the
Championship who with the winners from round 1 will play eight ties. The quarter-finals and semi-finals followed in June and July, with the final played at Wembley Stadium on 24 August, with the Challenge Cup final also being played on this day.[1]
The competition commenced in May without sponsorship but in June it was announced that the cup would be sponsored by AB Sundecks, owned by former
Leigh Centurions chairman Derek Beaumont.[2]
Teams
The teams participating in the inaugural 1895 Cup are as follows:
League 1
Doncaster R.L.F.C.
Hunslet R.L.F.C.
Keighley Cougars
Newcastle Thunder
Oldham R.L.F.C.
West Wales Raiders
Whitehaven R.L.F.C.
Workington Town
As some of the games in the later stages were scheduled for midweek,
Coventry Bears, London Skolars and North Wales Crusaders decided against entering the competition for logistical reasons.[3]
Championship
Barrow Raiders
Batley Bulldogs
Bradford Bulls
Dewsbury Rams
Featherstone Rovers- Halifax R.L.F.C.
- Leigh Centurions
Rochdale Hornets
Sheffield Eagles
Swinton Lions
Widnes Vikings- York City Knights
Toulouse Olympique and Toronto Wolfpack were ineligible to enter the competition as the clubs are not full members of the Rugby Football League.
First round
The first round ties were played on 4–5 May. The draw was made at Odsal Stadium on 12 March immediately after the draw for the fourth round of the Challenge Cup.[4] The tie between Hunslet and Workington was streamed live on the RFL's OurLeague app.[5]
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Attendance | |||
 Newcastle Thunder
|
38–12 |  Keighley Cougars
|
4 May 2019, 14:30 | Kingston Park | T. Crashley | 340 |
 Hunslet
|
28–31 |  Workington Town
|
4 May 2019, 15:00 | South Leeds Stadium
|
C. Smith | 296 |
| Doncaster
|
70–6 |  West Wales Raiders
|
5 May 2019, 15:00 | Keepmoat Stadium
|
C. Worsley | 248 |
 Oldham
|
48–12 |  Whitehaven
|
5 May 2019, 15:00 | Whitebank Stadium | J. Roberts | 369 |
| Source:[6] | ||||||
Second round
The second round was played between 2–5 June. The draw was made on 5 May.[7]
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Attendance | |||
 Batley Bulldogs
|
38–18 |  Rochdale Hornets
|
2 June 2019 15:00 | Mount Pleasant | B. Pearson | 700 |
 Dewsbury Rams
|
44–26 |  Swinton Lions
|
2 June 2019 15:00 | Tetleys Stadium | J. Smith | 453 |
Leigh Centurions
|
62–12 | Workington Town
|
2 June 2019 15:00 | Leigh Sports Village | A. Sweet | 1,660 |
| Oldham
|
12–24 | Doncaster
|
2 June 2019 15:00 | Vestacare Stadium | M. Rossleigh | 283 |
York City Knights
|
30–16 | Newcastle Thunder
|
2 June 2019 15:00 | Bootham Crescent | N. Bennett | 796 |
 Barrow Raiders
|
50–6 |  Bradford Bulls
|
5 June 2019 19:30 | Craven Park
|
J. Child | 1,161 |
Halifax
|
8–52 | Sheffield Eagles
|
5 June 2019 20:00 | Cougar Park | T. Grant | 312 |
| Widnes Vikings
|
22–16 |  Featherstone Rovers
|
5 June 2019 20:00 | Halton Stadium | G. Dolan | 1,515 |
| Source:[8] | ||||||
Quarter-finals
The quarter-finals were played during the week starting June 24.
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Attendance | ||||||||
| Doncaster
|
28–32 | Sheffield Eagles
|
26 June 2019 19:30 | LD Nutrition Stadium | C. Worsley | 374 | |||||
Leigh Centurions
|
19–18 | Barrow Raiders
|
26 June 2019 19:30 | Totally Wicked Stadium | G. Hewer | 1,012 | |||||
York City Knights
|
16–17[a] | Batley Bulldogs
|
26 June 2019 19:30 | Bootham Crescent | T. Grant | 1,395 | |||||
| Widnes Vikings
|
54–6 | Dewsbury Rams
|
26 June 2019 20:00 | Select Security Stadium
|
M. Mannifield | 1,458 | |||||
| Source:[9] | |||||||||||
- ^ After golden-point extra time
Semi-finals
The semi-finals were played on Sunday 28 July.
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Attendance | ||||||||
Leigh Centurions
|
8–12 | Widnes Vikings
|
28 July 2019, 15:00 | Leigh Sports Village | B. Thaler | 4,460 | |||||
| Sheffield Eagles
|
18–2 | Batley Bulldogs
|
28 July 2019, 15:00 | Olympic Legacy Park | G. Hewer | 727 | |||||
| Source:[9] | |||||||||||
Final
The final was played at
Ray French Award was Sheffield's Anthony Thackeray
.
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Attendance | ||||||||
| Sheffield Eagles
|
36–18 | Widnes Vikings
|
24 August 2019, 17:45 | Wembley Stadium | C. Kendall | Not separately recorded[a] | |||||
| Source:[9] | |||||||||||
- ^ Due to the game being played directly after the challenge cup final, the official attendance was 62,717
References
- ^ "1895 Cup entrants confirmed". Rugby Football League. 20 December 2018. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
- ^ "Beaumont backs 1895 Cup as new title partner". 31 May 2019. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
- ^ "1895 Cup entrants and details announced". Love Rugby League. 20 December 2018. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
- ^ "1895 Cup First Round Draw Details". RFL. 8 March 2019. Retrieved 10 March 2019.
- ^ "Our League to stream selected Challenge Cup and 1895 Cup fixtures". 21 March 2019. Retrieved 21 March 2019.
- ^ "1895 Cup Round One". Rugby Leaguer & League Express. No. 3, 172. 6 May 2019. p. 39.
- ^ "1895 Cup second round ties revealed". Love Rugby League. 6 May 2019. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
- ^ "1895 Cup Round Two". Rugby Leaguer & League Express. No. 3, 176. 2 June 2019. p. 35.
- ^ ISBN 978-1901-347388.