Challenge Cup Fourth Round Draw
Posted: Fri Feb 14, 2025 6:15 pm
LANCE TODD TROPHY WINNER ROBBIE HUNTER-PAUL WILL JOIN TWO-TIME MAN OF STEEL PAUL SCULTHORPE MBE TO CONDUCT THE DRAW FOR THE FOURTH ROUND OF THE 2025 BETFRED CHALLENGE CUP ON SATURDAY EVENING.
The draw will be held at the Totally Wicked Stadium at half-time in the Betfred Super League fixture between St Helens and Salford Red Devils which kicks off at 5:30pm, and will be shown live on BBC Two.
Robbie Hunter-Paul made history at Wembley in 1996 when he became the youngest captain in a Challenge Cup Final and the first player to score a hat-trick, winning the Lance Todd Trophy as player of the match even though his Bradford Bulls were beaten by St Helens.
Paul Sculthorpe MBE joined the Saints from Warrington Wolves the following season and went on to win four Challenge Cups, four Super League Grand Finals and two World Club Challenges, and remains the only player to have been crowned Super League Man of Steel in consecutive seasons in 2001 and 2002.
Bradford will be number two in the draw after their stirring 18-16 victory over Castleford Tigers in the Third Round at Odsal, a tie which attracted more than 90,000 viewers for the BBC’s coverage on iPlayer and the BBC Sport website.
Saints will be number 12 after their 38-0 Third Round win against West Hull, one of the three community clubs who relished a match against Betfred Super League opposition as a result of the new Challenge Cup structure for 2025 – and who have admitted they were pleasantly surprised by an estimated crowd of around 5,000 for the tie at Hull KR’s Sewell Group Craven Park.
York Knights attracted the biggest attendance of the new-look Third Round, with 5,369 for their home tie against Hull KR – a record for the Knights at the LNER Community Stadium, and since the club was reformed in 2002.
Midlands Hurricanes also attracted the biggest crowd in their shorter history for the visit of Salford Red Devils to Birmingham’s Alexander Stadium, and the West Cumbrian neighbours Whitehaven and Workington Town were watched by an aggregate attendance of more than 7,000 for the first time in decades for the visits of Warrington and Leigh respectively.
In addition to the encouraging attendances and the BBC viewing figure for the Bradford-Castleford tie, The Sportsman reported figures in excess of 130,000 for their coverage of two ties – York v Hull KR followed by Halifax Panthers v Catalans Dragons, which were the third and fourth most-watched matches on their YouTube channel.
Batley Bulldogs, the first winners of the Rugby League Challenge Cup in 1897, will be number one in Saturday’s draw after earning their Fourth Round place with wins against Newcastle Thunder and Dewsbury Rams.
Holders Wigan Warriors will be number 16, and the three other Betfred Championship clubs in the draw – Featherstone Rovers, Oldham and Widnes Vikings – will be numbers 4, 10 and 15 respectively.
The Fourth Round ties will be played on the weekend of March 14-16.
1Batley Bulldogs
2 Bradford Bulls
3 Catalan Dragons
4 Featherstone Rovers
5 Huddersfield Giants
6 Hull FC
7 Hull KR
8 Leeds Rhino
9 Leigh Leopards
10 Oldham
11 Salford Red Devils
12 St Helens
13 Wakefield Trinity
14 Warrington Wolves
15 Widnes Vikings
16 Wigan Warriors
https://wiganwarriors.com/blog/2025/02/ ... ound-draw/
The draw will be held at the Totally Wicked Stadium at half-time in the Betfred Super League fixture between St Helens and Salford Red Devils which kicks off at 5:30pm, and will be shown live on BBC Two.
Robbie Hunter-Paul made history at Wembley in 1996 when he became the youngest captain in a Challenge Cup Final and the first player to score a hat-trick, winning the Lance Todd Trophy as player of the match even though his Bradford Bulls were beaten by St Helens.
Paul Sculthorpe MBE joined the Saints from Warrington Wolves the following season and went on to win four Challenge Cups, four Super League Grand Finals and two World Club Challenges, and remains the only player to have been crowned Super League Man of Steel in consecutive seasons in 2001 and 2002.
Bradford will be number two in the draw after their stirring 18-16 victory over Castleford Tigers in the Third Round at Odsal, a tie which attracted more than 90,000 viewers for the BBC’s coverage on iPlayer and the BBC Sport website.
Saints will be number 12 after their 38-0 Third Round win against West Hull, one of the three community clubs who relished a match against Betfred Super League opposition as a result of the new Challenge Cup structure for 2025 – and who have admitted they were pleasantly surprised by an estimated crowd of around 5,000 for the tie at Hull KR’s Sewell Group Craven Park.
York Knights attracted the biggest attendance of the new-look Third Round, with 5,369 for their home tie against Hull KR – a record for the Knights at the LNER Community Stadium, and since the club was reformed in 2002.
Midlands Hurricanes also attracted the biggest crowd in their shorter history for the visit of Salford Red Devils to Birmingham’s Alexander Stadium, and the West Cumbrian neighbours Whitehaven and Workington Town were watched by an aggregate attendance of more than 7,000 for the first time in decades for the visits of Warrington and Leigh respectively.
In addition to the encouraging attendances and the BBC viewing figure for the Bradford-Castleford tie, The Sportsman reported figures in excess of 130,000 for their coverage of two ties – York v Hull KR followed by Halifax Panthers v Catalans Dragons, which were the third and fourth most-watched matches on their YouTube channel.
Batley Bulldogs, the first winners of the Rugby League Challenge Cup in 1897, will be number one in Saturday’s draw after earning their Fourth Round place with wins against Newcastle Thunder and Dewsbury Rams.
Holders Wigan Warriors will be number 16, and the three other Betfred Championship clubs in the draw – Featherstone Rovers, Oldham and Widnes Vikings – will be numbers 4, 10 and 15 respectively.
The Fourth Round ties will be played on the weekend of March 14-16.
1Batley Bulldogs
2 Bradford Bulls
3 Catalan Dragons
4 Featherstone Rovers
5 Huddersfield Giants
6 Hull FC
7 Hull KR
8 Leeds Rhino
9 Leigh Leopards
10 Oldham
11 Salford Red Devils
12 St Helens
13 Wakefield Trinity
14 Warrington Wolves
15 Widnes Vikings
16 Wigan Warriors
https://wiganwarriors.com/blog/2025/02/ ... ound-draw/
