2026 RFL 1895 Cup
| Duration | March – August 2026 |
|---|---|
| Number of teams | 19 |
The 2026 RFL 1895 Cup will be the seventh staging of the RFL 1895 Cup, a rugby league competition for English and Welsh clubs competing outside of Super League. Due to the merging of the Championship and League One, this makes the competition solely for the Championship clubs.
Format
The tournament for 2026 had a slightly revised format from previous years, with just the single preliminary round, down from two preliminary rounds in 2025.
The final will not be played at Wembley Stadium, as has been the case for previous seasons.
Preliminary round
The preliminary round comprised three ties, drawn from the 16 teams no longer in the 2026 Challenge Cup.[1] The ties were played over the weekend of 14/15 March.[2]
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Attendance | |||
| London Broncos | 36–10 | Barrow Raiders | 15 March 2026, 15:00 | Richmond Athletic Ground | A. Belafonte | |
| Swinton Lions | 0–50 | Sheffield Eagles | 15 March 2026, 15:00 | Heywood Road | R. Cox | 230 |
| Workington Town | 12–28 | Newcastle Thunder | 15 March 2026, 15:30 | Derwent Park | D. Arnold | 602 |
| Source:[3] | ||||||
First round
Drawn concurrently with the preliminary round on 15 February, the first round will comprise eight ties; the winners of the preliminary round, the 10 teams who were not drawn for the preliminary round, and the three teams who qualified for the fourth round of the Challenge Cup – Goole Vikings, Keighley Cougars and Oldham.[1] The ties will be played over the weekend of 18/19 April.[2]
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Attendance | |||
| Doncaster | 64–0 | Salford | 18 April 2026, 15:00 | Eco-Power Stadium | D. Arnold | 735 |
| Dewsbury Rams | 10–50 | Widnes Vikings | 19 April 2026, 15:00 | Crown Flatt | C. Kendall | |
| Goole Vikings | 40–10 | Whitehaven | 19 April 2026, 15:00 | Victoria Pleasure Grounds | L. Bland | |
| London Broncos | 62–6 | Keighley Cougars | 19 April 2026, 15:00 | Richmond Athletic Ground | A. Williams | |
| Newcastle Thunder | 34–20 | Batley Bulldogs | 19 April 2026, 15:00 | Crow Trees Ground | K. Moore | |
| North Wales Crusaders | C–C | Midlands Hurricanes | Tie cancelled due to ongoing off-field issues at North Wales Crusaders. Midlands Hurricanes received a bye to the quarter finals.[4] | |||
| Oldham | 72–24 | Hunslet | 19 April 2026, 15:00 | Bower Fold | S. Mikalauskas | 740 |
| Rochdale Hornets | 32–18 | Sheffield Eagles | 19 April 2026, 15:00 | Spotland Stadium | R. Cox | 245 |
| Source:[5] | ||||||
Quarter-finals
The quarter-final draw was made on 19 April. The ties will be played over the weekend of 16/17 May.
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Attendance | |||
| Oldham | 34–40 | Midlands Hurricanes | 15 May 2026, 19:45 | Boundary Park | D. Arnold | 1,004 |
| Rochdale Hornets | 24–6 | Goole Vikings | 17 May 2026, 15:00 | Spotland Stadium | S. Mikalauskas | 395 |
| Widnes Vikings | 30–20 | Newcastle Thunder | 17 May 2026, 15:00 | Robin Park Arena | M. Lynn | 596 |
| London Broncos | 52–20 | Doncaster | 17 May 2026, 15:30 | Richmond Athletic Ground | R. Cox | |
| Source:[6] | ||||||
Semi-finals
The semi-final draw was made on 18 May. The ties were played over the weekend of 13/14 June. Rochdale were drawn at home against Widnes but with ground work being carried out at Spotland Stadium, both teams agreed to move the fixture to Widnes' Halton Stadium.[7]
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Attendance | |||
| Midlands Hurricanes | 24–62 | London Broncos | 13 June 2026, 14:00 | Avery Fields | M. Lynn | 519 |
| Widnes Vikings | 52–0 | Rochdale Hornets | 14 June 2026, 15:00 | Halton Stadium | S. Mikalauskas | 2,190 |
| Source:[8] | ||||||
Final
The final will be played on 31 August. This is also a weekend scheduled for league matches so some fixture rearrangement will be required.
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Attendance | |||
| London Broncos | – | Widnes Vikings | 31 August 2026, 15:00 | Halliwell Jones Stadium | ||
| Source: | ||||||
References
- 1 2 "Format and dates for 1895 Cup finally revealed". Total RL. 13 February 2026. Retrieved 13 February 2026.
- 1 2 Bower, Aaron (15 February 2026). "RFL 1895 Cup: Preliminary, First Round draws made in competition". Love Rugby League. Retrieved 15 February 2026.
- ↑ "1895 Cup: preliminary round". Rugby Leaguer & League Express. No. 3523. 16 March 2026. pp. 22–23.
- ↑ "North Wales Crusaders call off Sunday's cup clash with Midlands Hurricanes". North Wales Chronicle. 15 April 2026. Retrieved 15 April 2026.
- ↑ "1895 Cup: round one". Rugby Leaguer & League Express. No. 3528. 20 April 2026. p. 34.
- ↑ "1895 Cup: Quarter finals". Rugby Leaguer & League Express. No. 3532. 18 May 2026. p. 30.
- ↑ Olawumi, Ben (18 May 2026). "1895 Cup semi-final draw made as London Broncos face away trip". Love Rugby League. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
- ↑ "1895 Cup: Semi-finals". Rugby Leaguer & League Express. No. 3536. 15 June 2026. p. 34.