2026 Women's Challenge Cup

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DurationGroup stage plus three knockout rounds
Number of teams11
Biggest home winWigan Warriors 112–0 London Broncos
(25 April 2026)
Biggest away winLeigh Leopards 0–82 Leeds Rhinos
(4 April 2026)
2026 Women's Challenge Cup
DurationGroup stage plus three knockout rounds
Number of teams11
Biggest home winWigan Warriors 112–0 London Broncos
(25 April 2026)
Biggest away winLeigh Leopards 0–82 Leeds Rhinos
(4 April 2026)

The 2026 Women's Challenge Cup (sponsored as the Betfred Women's Challenge Cup) is the 14th staging of the Rugby Football League's cup competition for women's rugby league clubs.

The competition has a similar format to 2025 although the withdrawal of Salford Red Devils means the competition is reduced from 12 to 11 teams.[1]

The draw for the group stage saw three groups of three competing in a single round robin with the matches to be played over three consecutive weekends in April 2026 from which the group winners and runners-up advance to the knockout rounds. The fourth group has only two teams, both of which will advance to the quarter-finals following a single match to determine home advantage for the next round. The quarter-finals are scheduled for the last weekend in April. The semi-finals are scheduled for the weekend of 9/10 May 2026, and the final is to be played at Wembley Stadium, London, on 30 May 2026 alongside the final of the men's competition.[1][2]

Wigan Warriors, winners in 2025, were seeded together with Leeds Rhinos, St Helens and York Valkyrie. These four were drawn in different groups in the group stage. The draw for the group stages was made on 12 January.The groups were drawn as follows:[1][3]

Groups
Group A Group B Group C Group D

Group stage

The fixture list for the group stage was announced on 28 January 2026.[3]

Group stage: week one
Group Home Score Away Match Information
Date and Time Venue Referee Attendance
B Leigh Leopards 0–82 Leeds Rhinos 4 April, 12:00 Sutton Park L. Breheny
C Featherstone Rovers 6–78 Wigan Warriors 4 April, 13:00 Post Office Road
A Huddersfield Giants 14–44 St Helens 5 April, 14:00 Laund Hill
Source:[6][7]
Group stage: week two
Group Home Score Away Match Information
Date and Time Venue Referee Attendance
C Wigan Warriors 76–6 Cardiff Demons 11 April, 14:00 Edge Hall Road Community Stadium L. Breheny
A Huddersfield Giants 24–22 Catalans Dragons 12 April, 13:00 Laund Hill
D York Valkyrie 54–12 Barrow Raiders 12 April, 13:30 York Community Stadium
B London Broncos 20–8 Leigh Leopards 12 April, 14;00 The Hazelwood Centre
Source:[6][8][9]
Group stage: week three
Group Home Score Away Match Information
Date and Time Venue Referee Attendance
C Cardiff Demons 24–12 Featherstone Rovers 18 April, 14:00 Cardiff University Sports Park C. Davies
A St Helens 62–4 Catalans Dragons 19 April, 12:00 BrewDog Stadium
B Leeds Rhinos 72–0 London Broncos 19 April, 14:00 West Park
Source:[6][10][11]

Standings

Group A
Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts Qualification
1  St Helens 2 2 0 0 106 18 +88 4 Advance to knock-out stages
2  Huddersfield Giants 2 1 0 1 38 66 −28 2
3 Catalans Dragons 2 0 0 2 26 86 −60 0
Source: [12]
Group B
Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts Qualification
1  Leeds Rhinos 2 2 0 0 154 0 +154 4 Advance to knock-out stages
2  London Broncos 2 1 0 1 20 80 −60 2
3  Leigh Leopards 2 0 0 2 8 102 −94 0
Source: [12]
Group C
Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts Qualification
1  Wigan Warriors 2 2 0 0 154 12 +142 4 Advance to knock-out stages
2  Cardiff Demons 2 1 0 1 30 88 −58 2
3  Featherstone Rovers 2 0 0 2 18 102 −84 0
Source: [12]
Group D
Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts Qualification
1  York Valkyrie 1 1 0 0 54 12 +42 2 Advance to knock-out stages
2  Barrow Raiders 1 0 0 1 12 54 −42 0
Source: [12]

Quarter-finals

The quarter-finals will take place over the weekend of 25/26 April.[12]

Challenge Cup quarter-final fixtures
Home Score Away Match Information
Date and Time Venue Referee Attendance
Wigan Warriors 112–0 London Broncos 25 April 2026, 14:00 Edge Hall Road
St Helens 68–6 Barrow Raiders 25 April 2026, 14:30 BrewDog Stadium A. Williams
Leeds Rhinos 68–0 Cardiff Demons 25 April 2026, 15:15 Headingley T. Topping-Higson
York Valkyrie 34–10 Huddersfield Giants 26 April 2026, 14:00 York Community Stadium L. Breheny
Source:[13][14][15]

Semi-finals

The semi-finals are to be played over the weekend of 9/10 May and will be double-headers with the men's semi-finals.[1][16]

Challenge Cup semi-final fixtures
Home Score Away Match Information
Date and Time Venue Referee Attendance
Wigan Warriors – York Valkyrie 9 May 2026, 11:30 Halliwell Jones Stadium
St Helens – Leeds Rhinos 10 May 2026, 13:00 Eco-Power Stadium
Source:

Final

Notes

References

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