Duration | 5 Rounds |
---|---|
Number of teams | 20 |
Winners | ![]() |
Runners-up | ![]() |
Biggest home win | ![]() ![]() |
Biggest away win | ![]() ![]() |
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]
The teams participating in the inaugural 1895 Cup are as follows:
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]
Toulouse Olympique and Toronto Wolfpack were ineligible to enter the competition as the clubs are not full members of the Rugby Football League.
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 | |||
![]() | 38–12 | ![]() | 4 May 2019, 14:30 | Kingston Park | T. Crashley | 340 |
![]() | 28–31 | ![]() | 4 May 2019, 15:00 | South Leeds Stadium | C. Smith | 296 |
![]() | 70–6 | ![]() | 5 May 2019, 15:00 | Keepmoat Stadium | C. Worsley | 248 |
![]() | 48–12 | ![]() | 5 May 2019, 15:00 | Whitebank Stadium | J. Roberts | 369 |
Source: [6] |
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 | |||
![]() | 38–18 | ![]() | 2 June 2019 15:00 | Mount Pleasant | B. Pearson | 700 |
![]() | 44–26 | ![]() | 2 June 2019 15:00 | Tetleys Stadium | J. Smith | 453 |
![]() | 62–12 | ![]() | 2 June 2019 15:00 | Leigh Sports Village | A. Sweet | 1,660 |
![]() | 12–24 | ![]() | 2 June 2019 15:00 | Vestacare Stadium | M. Rossleigh | 283 |
![]() | 30–16 | ![]() | 2 June 2019 15:00 | Bootham Crescent | N. Bennett | 796 |
![]() | 50–6 | ![]() | 5 June 2019 19:30 | Craven Park | J. Child | 1,161 |
![]() | 8–52 | ![]() | 5 June 2019 20:00 | Cougar Park | T. Grant | 312 |
![]() | 22–16 | ![]() | 5 June 2019 20:00 | Halton Stadium | G. Dolan | 1,515 |
Source: [8] |
The quarter-finals were played during the week starting June 24.
Home | Score | Away | Match Information | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Attendance | ||||||||
![]() | 28–32 | ![]() | 26 June 2019 19:30 | LD Nutrition Stadium | C. Worsley | 374 | |||||
![]() | 19–18 | ![]() | 26 June 2019 19:30 | Totally Wicked Stadium | G. Hewer | 1,012 | |||||
![]() | 16–17 [lower-alpha 1] | ![]() | 26 June 2019 19:30 | Bootham Crescent | T. Grant | 1,395 | |||||
![]() | 54–6 | ![]() | 26 June 2019 20:00 | Select Security Stadium | M. Mannifield | 1,458 | |||||
Source: [9] |
The semi-finals were played on Sunday 28 July.
Home | Score | Away | Match Information | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Attendance | ||||||||
![]() | 8–12 | ![]() | 28 July 2019, 15:00 | Leigh Sports Village | B. Thaler | 4,460 | |||||
![]() | 18–2 | ![]() | 28 July 2019, 15:00 | Olympic Legacy Park | G. Hewer | 727 | |||||
Source: [9] |
The final was played at Wembley Stadium on 24 August. Sheffield Eagles beat Widnes Vikings 36–18 after being 12–18 down at half-time. The inaugural winner of the Ray French Award was Sheffield's Anthony Thackeray.
Home | Score | Away | Match Information | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Attendance | ||||||||
![]() | 36–18 | ![]() | 24 August 2019, 17:45 | Wembley Stadium | C. Kendall | Not separately recorded [lower-alpha 1] | |||||
Source: [9] |
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