2006 Challenge Cup

The 2006 Challenge Cup (also known as the Powergen Challenge Cup due to sponsorship from Powergen) was the 105th tournament played for rugby league's Challenge Cup. It features teams from across Europe including England, Scotland, Wales, France and Russia.

The competition started in January 2006 with the preliminary round where the Gloucestershire Warriors from the Rugby League Conference surprised an established Pennine League team in Illingworth. The final was scheduled to be played at the new Wembley Stadium but in March 2006 it became apparent that the stadium would not be ready for the final on 26 August so it was switched to Twickenham.

In the final St. Helens proved too strong for the Huddersfield Giants, winning by 42 points to 12. It was Huddersfield's first final since 1953, when they also faced St Helens.

Round 1

(week ending 5 February)

Sees the introduction of the major amateur clubs from the National Conference League and the teams from National League 3

Round 2

(week ending 19 February)

Round 3

(week ending 12 March)

Round 3 sees the introduction of the National League 1 and 2 teams and teams from France and Russia. Amateurs Thornhill Trojans provided the first surprise result by beating national 2 team Workington Town. Late season snow caused a number of postponements on the Sunday.

Round 4

(week ending 2 April)

Round 4 sees the introduction of the Super League teams. Some matches are now televised live by the BBC. In this round the matches chosen for transmission were at Bradford and Wakefield.

Round 5

(week ending 21 May)

No new teams enter at this stage. In this round the matches chosen for transmission were at St Helens and Widnes.

Quarter-finals

(week ending 4 June)

In this round the matches chosen for transmission were at Hull KR and Leeds. Hull KR pulled off a major surprise when they beat Superleague team Warrington Wolves.

4 June 2006

Leeds Rhinos	36–18	Harlequins
Danny Williams (12), Scott Donald (8), Kevin Sinfield (8), Danny McGuire (4), Willie Poching (4)	(Report)	Luke Dorn (4), Tyrone Smith (4), Pat Weisner (4), Michael Worrincy (4), Rob Purdham (2)

Headingley, Leeds
Referee: Karl Kirkpatrick

4 June 2006

Hull Kingston Rovers	40–36	Warrington Wolves
Byron Ford (12), Gareth Morton (12), Makali Aizue (4), Dwayne Barker (4), Ben Cockayne (4), Jon Goddard (4)	(Report)	Chris Bridge (8), Henry Fa'afili (8), Logan Swann (8), Martin Gleeson (4), Stuart Reardon (4), Michael Sullivan (4)

Craven Park, Hull
Referee: Steve Ganson

4 June 2006

Huddersfield Giants	44–14	Salford City Reds
Michael De Vere (12), Paul March (8), Chris Nero (8), Robbie Paul (8), Martin Aspinwall (4), Brad Drew (4)	(Report)	David Hodgson (10), Aaron Moule (4)

Galpharm Stadium, Huddersfield
Referee: Ashley Klein

3 June 2006

St. Helens	56–10	Catalans Dragons
Ade Gardner (12), Paul Anderson (8), Vinnie Anderson (4), Sean Long (4), Jamie Lyon (4), Leon Pryce (4), Jon Wilkin (4)	(Report)	Stacey Jones (4), Justin Murphy (4), Laurent Frayssinous (2)

Knowsley Road, St. Helens
Referee: Richard Silverwood

Semi-finals

(week ending 30 July)

Unlike earlier rounds, matches from now on will be played on neutral grounds. Huddersfield have the chance to win the Cup for the first time in 1953 when they beat this year's final opponents St Helens.

29 July 2006

St. Helens	50–0	Hull Kingston Rovers
Jamie Lyon (18), Willie Talau (8), Jon Wilkin (8), Vinnie Anderson (4), Ade Gardner (4), Sean Long (4), Paul Wellens (4)	(Report)

Galpharm Stadium, Huddersfield
Attendance: 12,868
Referee: Karl Kirkpatrick

30 July 2006

Leeds Rhinos	12–30	Huddersfield Giants
Scott Donald (4), Willie Poching (4), Kevin Sinfield (2)	(Report)	Michael De Vere (14), Stuart Donlan (8), Chris Nero (8)

Odsal Stadium, Bradford
Attendance: 12,574

Final

The final was originally scheduled to be played at Wembley Stadium though because of the construction delay was alternatively held at Twickenham Stadium, London.