2026 Women's Challenge Cup

2026 Women's Challenge Cup
DurationGroup stage plus three knockout rounds
Number of teams11
WinnersWigan Warriors
Runners-upSt Helens
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) was the 14th staging of the Rugby Football League's cup competition for women's rugby league clubs. Wigan Warriors defeated St Helens 54–6 in the final to retain the title.

Format

The competition had a similar format to 2025 although the withdrawal of Salford Red Devils meant the competition was 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 advanced to the knockout rounds. The fourth group has only two teams, both of which advanced to the quarter-finals following a single match to determine home advantage for the next round. The quarter-finals were played on the last weekend in April. The semi-finals took place on the weekend of 9/10 May 2026, and the final was 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 took 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 were played over the weekend of 9/10 May and were 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 52–0 York Valkyrie 9 May 2026, 11:30 Halliwell Jones Stadium T. Jones
St Helens 30–14 Leeds Rhinos 10 May 2026, 13:00 Eco-Power Stadium R. Cox
Source:[17][18]

Final

The final took place on Saturday 30 May 2026, as part of a double-header with the men's final.[3]

Challenge Cup final
Home Score Away Match information
Date and time Venue Referee Attendance
Wigan Warriors 54–6 St Helens 30 May 2026, 11:45 Wembley Stadium A. Moore
Source:[19]

Notes

  1. ↑ Catalans Dragons are making their debut in the competition.[1] They compete as St Esteve XIII Catalan in the Elite 1 Féminine (the top tier of French women's rugby league) and are also known as the Catalan Goddesses (Les Déesses Catalanes).[4] They have previously taken part in the RFL Women's Nines in 2022.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Barrow Ladies learn Betfred Women's Challenge Cup group stage opponents". Barrow Raiders. 12 January 2026. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
  2. ↑ "New look women's season ready to start". Rugby Leaguer & League Express. No. 3517. 2 February 2026. p. 11.
  3. 1 2 3 "Holders Wigan start Women's Challenge Cup at Fev". BBC Sport. 28 January 2026. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
  4. ↑ "Résumé officiel : Finale Elite Féminines – Les déesses catalanes au sommet" (in French). FFRXIII. 1 June 2025. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
  5. ↑ "York City Knights claim 9s glory". RFL. 25 July 2022. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
  6. 1 2 3 "Match Centre". RFL. Retrieved 12 April 2026.
  7. ↑ "Women's Challenge Cup – Group Stage". Rugby Leaguer & League Express. No. 3526. 6 April 2026. p. 27.
  8. ↑ "Match Report | Women v Cardiff". Wigan Warriors. 11 April 2026. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  9. ↑ "Women's Challenge Cup – Group Stage". Rugby Leaguer & League Express. No. 3527. 13 April 2026. p. 23.
  10. ↑ "Match report: Cardiff Demons 24 v 12 Featherstone Rovers". Wales Rugby League. 18 April 2026. Retrieved 18 April 2026.
  11. ↑ "Rugby League Scores & Fixtures: 19 April 2026". BBC Sport. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 "Scoreboard: Week ending 19 April 2026". Rugby Leaguer & League Express. No. 3528. 20 April 2026. p. 34.
  13. ↑ "Rugby League Scores & Fixtures: 25 April 2026". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 April 2026.
  14. ↑ "Rugby League Scores & Fixtures: 26 April 2026". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 April 2026.
  15. ↑ "Women's Challenge Cup – Quarter-finals". Rugby Leaguer & League Express. No. 3529. 27 April 2026. p. 26.
  16. ↑ "Betfred Women's Challenge Cup Semi-Finalists confirmed". RFL. 27 April 2026. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
  17. ↑ "Holders Wigan thrash York to reach Wembley final". BBC Sport. 9 May 2026. Retrieved 9 May 2026.
  18. ↑ "Saints set up Wigan cup final clash with win over Leeds". BBC Sport. 10 May 2026. Retrieved 10 May 2026.
  19. ↑ "Wigan thrash Saints to retain Women's Challenge Cup". BBC Sport. 30 May 2026. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.