The 16 teams in the hat for Challenge Cup fourth and fifth round draws
Photo: Olly Hassell/SWpix
The draws for the fourth and fifth rounds of the Challenge Cup will take place at Millom on Wednesday, March 15 on the BBC.
The draws will be shown live in Cumbria on BBC Sport Online and BBC iPlayer from 6pm on Wednesday.
2023 marks the 150th anniversary of Millom, who are thought to be the world’s oldest amateur rugby league club. Their last appearance in the Challenge Cup came in 2019 when they defeated Serbian side Red Star Belgrade 38-10.
Millom may not be in this year’s competition, but there are two community clubs in the hat for round four. National Conference League sides Hunslet and Rochdale Mayfield are the only amateur clubs that remain.
Four League 1 sides have reached Round Four – Midlands, North Wales, Dewsbury and Doncaster.
10 Championship clubs make up the rest of the 16 teams for the draw, including Halifax who won at Championship favourites Featherstone.
Challenge Cup round four ball numbers
1. Barrow Raiders
2. Batley Bulldogs
3. Bradford Bulls
4. Dewsbury Rams
5. Doncaster
6. Halifax Panthers
7. Hunslet ARLFC
8. Keighley Cougars
9. London Broncos
10. Midlands Hurricanes
11. Newcastle Thunder
12. North Wales Crusaders
13. Rochdale Mayfield
14. Sheffield Eagles
15. Widnes Vikings
16. York Knights
The draw for the fifth round will immediately follow the draw for the fourth round. It will comprise of four either/or fixtures. Ball one will be the first round four tie drawn; ball eight will be the last.
Dave Woods, the BBC’s rugby league correspondent, will host the draw. He will be joined my Millom club representatives Mark Roskell and Peter Date and Barrow Ladies coach Amanda Wilkinson.
Date was Millom captain when they played Hull FC at the Boulevard in the 1980 Challenge Cup.
Roskell played for Warrington in the 1989 Challenge Cup semi-final against Wigan at Maine Road.
Wilkinson made history when she became rugby league’s first female Level 3 qualified coach. She was Wigan’s coach when they won their first-ever Women’s Grand Final in 2018. The Women’s Challenge Cup final will also be played at Wembley this year, for the first time.
The fourth round ties will be played over the weekend of April 1-2. Round five ties are scheduled for three weeks later on April 22-23.
The winners of the four fifth round matches will automatically qualify for the semi-finals of the 1895 Cup.
Super League sides enter the competition in the sixth round.
