2019 RFL 1895 Cup
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Duration | 5 Rounds |
|---|---|
| Number of teams | 20 |
| Winners |  Sheffield Eagles |
| Runners-up |  Widnes Vikings |
| Biggest home win |  Doncaster 70–6  West Wales Raiders (5 May 2019) |
| Biggest away win |  Halifax 8–52 Sheffield Eagles (5 June 2019) |
| 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 RFL 1895 Cup, a rugby league football competition for clubs in the United Kingdom. The tournament was played between League 1 and Championship teams between May and August 2019. The format of the tournament was confirmed in December 2018, and consisted of five rounds. In round 1 eight League 1 teams played in a knock out round. Round 2 introduced the 12 English teams from 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]
League 1
The teams participating in the inaugural 1895 Cup are as follows:
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] | ||||||