Challenge Cup quarter-finals: The 8 Super League clubs in Monday’s draw
Adam Swift (Huddersfield Giants, top left), Rodrick Tai (Warrington Wolves, top right), Jon Bennison (St Helens, bottom left) & Innes Senior (Castleford Tigers, bottom right) all scored tries in the Sixth Round of the 2024 Challenge Cup
The line-up for Monday evening’s Challenge Cup quarter-final draw has now been locked in, with all eight clubs involved coming from Super League.
There would be no shocks in the Sixth Round, with the four non-Super League sides – each from the Championship – all bowing out at this stage as top flight clubs entered the competition.
For the eight Super League sides that are left, a trip Wembley is now just two wins away, and cup glory is just three games away.
The details for tomorrow night’s last-eight draw can be found HERE, but for now, we take a look at the teams that remain in the competition with a review of how they’ve reached this stage and a bit of information around their Challenge Cup history thrown in there for good measure.
For complete clarity, the below is simply in alphabetical order. Confirmation of ball numbers for tomorrow night’s draw – which will be hosted on BBC Radio 5Live – is still awaited.
Castleford Tigers
Castleford sealed their quarter-final spot on Saturday afternoon, sparing the blushes of boss Craig Lingard on his return to Batley Bulldogs and his old stomping ground Mount Pleasant.
It took 14 unanswered second half points to do that, with the Tigers twice having to come from behind in the first half against Championship opposition, but a quickfire double from Jacob Miller & Innes Senior late on gave the scoreline a more handsome feel than Batley’s efforts perhaps deserved – 28-14 come the final hooter.
Four-time Challenge Cup winners, Cas are into the last eight of the competition for the first time since 2022 having missed out last year.
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Catalans Dragons
The only non-British side involved in the Challenge Cup, with Toulouse Olympique opting not to compete in it, Catalans were the last of the eight to confirm their place in tomorrow night’s quarter-final draw, but did so in style.
Steve McNamara’s side thumped Championship side Halifax Panthers 40-4 at The Shay with a thoroughly professional performance, racing into an 18-0 lead within the opening 15 minutes thanks to Tom Davies’ hat-trick. James Saltonstall grabbed Fax’s only points with his try in the very last minute of the tie.
Catalans, of course, lifted the Challenge Cup in 2018. Since the however, they’ve never made it past the quarter-finals.
Huddersfield Giants
In an all-Super League clash, Ian Watson’s Giants sealed their spot in the quarter-finals with ease, thumping Hull FC 50-6 at the John Smith’s Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
28 of Huddersfield’s points were earned between the wing pairing of Sam Halsall & Adam Swift, who grabbed three and four tries apiece respectively. With Jordan Lane getting Hull’s only try, it was 20-6 at half-time, and the hosts ran riot in the second half to score 30 unanswered points.
The giants are six-time winners of the competition, but haven’t been triumphant in it since 1953. Recently, they were beaten finalists in 2022, losing out at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to Wigan Warriors. Last year, they followed that up with defeat in the Sixth Round to Salford Red Devils.
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Hull KR
And that leads us on nicely to KR, whose last-eight place in this year’s Challenge Cup was booked at Craven Park on Friday night with an absolute demolition job on Salford, 40-0 the final score.
The Robins never looked in any trouble, 24 points to the good come the break after tries from veteran Ryan Hall (2), Joe Burgess against his former club & Kelepi Tanginoa as well as a penalty from the boot of Jez Litten. Peta Hiku, Matty Storton & Niall Evalds would all also get their names on the scoresheet in the second 40.
Willie Peters’ side were beaten finalists under the Wembley arch last August, with their cup tally still at one – the 1980 triumph against bitter cross-city rivals Hull FC.
Leigh Leopards
The 2023 Challenge Cup winners, and of course current holders, are into the hat for the quarter-finals after their 26-14 win against Championship side Featherstone Rovers on Saturday afternoon.
That scoreline doesn’t paint the full picture though, with Leigh under the cosh in the closing stages following a contest which visitors Fev hung into after two virtually full-length tries from off-season recruit Manoa Wacokecoke. Josh Charnley & Matt Moylan were on target with second half tries for hosts Leigh, and those scores made the difference in the end.
Prior to last year’s cup heroics, which saw the Leopards lift their first Challenge Cup in 52 years to take their tally up to three, Leigh hadn’t reached the quarter-final stage since 2018.
St Helens
Only two clubs have won the Challenge Cup more often than Saints (13). One of those is Leeds Rhinos (14), and that’s who the Red V got the better of on Friday night to move into the last eight of this year’s competition.
Having won a Super League clash at Headingley seven days prior, Paul Wellens’ side returned and got the job done oncemore with their place in the cup on the line. When Leeds levelled things up at 6-6 with Harry Newman’s breakaway try midway through the first half, it had looked like a contest would be on the cards, but Saints were comfortable winners in the end, 20-6 the result.
Following tries from Daryl Clark, Jon Bennison & Alex Walmsley, the Red V are into the quarter-finals for the seventh year in a row. They’ve made the semi-finals for the last three years, too.
Warrington Wolves
Nine-time Challenge Cup winners Warrington were expected to get the job done against fellow Super League side London Broncos, and did just that on Saturday evening at the Halliwell Jones Stadium.
Papua New Guinea international Rodrick Tai grabbed a try on his Wire debut, one of nine scored in total as Sam Burgess’ ran out comfortable 42-0 winners on home soil.
Having won the cup in 2019, the Wolves were beaten semi-finalists in both of the two years which followed, and haven’t made it past the quarter-final stage since then.
Wigan Warriors
Rounding off the quarter-final line-up are the Challenge Cup’s most successful club ever, Wigan, who have lifted the famous trophy 20 times.
Matt Peet’s side eventually got the job done at home against Championship side Sheffield Eagles on Friday night thanks to a professional second half performance, with 44-18 the final score. Harry Smith’s penalty spared them the blushes of going into the sheds behind at the break at the DW Stadium though, which sums up how off it they were in the first 40.
Nevertheless, with the win secured, the Cherry & Whites – who last won the cup in 2022 – move into the last eight of the competition for the fifth year on the spin. The last time Wigan failed to make it to at least the semi-finals of the Challenge Cup, for reference, was in 2021.
