2005 National League Cup

The 2005 National League Cup (known for commercial reasons as the Northern Rail Cup) was a British rugby league competition. The 2005 competition was the first to feature sides from National League Three: previously the competition had only featured sides from National Leagues One and Two.

There were no cross-group games in the 2005 competition, each team therefore played only six games in the group stages. The top team from each of the first five groups progressed to the quarter-final directly. The second-placed team in each of these groups, plus the top team from group six (the group of teams from National League 3), played an additional round to determine the remaining three spots in the quarter-finals.

The winners of the 2005 Northern Rail Cup were Hull Kingston Rovers, beating Castleford in the final.

Group stages

Group 1

TeamPlayedWonDrewLostForAgainstDifferencePointsWHIWORGATBAR
Whitehaven65012385618210 N/a58–1044–1244–0
Workington Town6402184140448 28–8N/a44–1428–18
Gateshead Thunder6204115207–924 4–4430–20N/a20–29
Barrow Raiders610589223–1342 2–4212–5428–35N/a

Source:

Group 2

TeamPlayedWonDrewLostForAgainstDifferencePointsROCSWIOLDBLA
Rochdale Hornets650128811817010 N/a54–2068–2662–16
Swinton Lions6411171150219 20–14N/a46–1414–14
Oldham6204137241–1044 10–5430–37N/a22–20
Blackpool Panthers6015116203–871 26–3624–3416–35N/a

Source:

Group 3

TeamPlayedWonDrewLostForAgainstDifferencePointsHFXHKRKEILON
Halifax65012409514510 N/a34–2642–1260–12
Hull Kingston Rovers650124410414010 21–14N/a36–678–20
Keighley Cougars6204147181–344 24–5026–27N/a38–10
London Skolars600662313–2510 0–404–5616–41N/a

Source:

Group 4

TeamPlayedWonDrewLostForAgainstDifferencePointsCASFEVYORHUN
Castleford Tigers66002375018712 N/a35–1652–270–0
Featherstone Rovers6312123127–47 10–22N/a21–2028–18
York City Knights6114104141–373 16–2420–20N/a34–6
Hunslet Hawks610560206–1462 6–3412–2818–12N/a

Source:

Group 5

TeamPlayedWonDrewLostForAgainstDifferencePointsDONBATDEWSHE
Doncaster Dragons650124410513910 N/a54–040–1058–20
Batley Bulldogs6402124140-168 28–22N/a12–1028–16
Dewsbury Rams6204135137–24 27–3232–22N/a40–8
Sheffield Eagles610593214–1212 20–386–3423–16N/a

Source:

Group 6

TeamPlayedWonDrewLostForAgainstDifferencePointsBDHWARHEMBRM
Bradford Dudley Hill65013279623110 N/a39–1266–876–0
Warrington Wizards6222146167–216 52–38N/a20–2024–24
Hemel Stags6213100190–905 16–5230–20N/a14–6
Bramley Buffaloes611480200–1203 8–5616–1826–12N/a

Source:

Knockout stages

Home team given first.

Source:

Play-off Round

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

Final

References

  1. ↑ "2005 Northern Rail Cup winners v Castleford". hullkr-heritage.co.uk. Retrieved 11 June 2025.
  2. ↑ "Stand-in Webster walks tall for Rovers". The Guardian. 17 July 2005. Retrieved 5 May 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "2005 Northern Rail Cup: Summary". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 5 May 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "2005 Northern Rail Cup: Results". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 5 May 2026.