2012 Challenge Cup

The 2012 Challenge Cup (also known as the Carnegie Challenge Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 111th staging of the most competitive European rugby league tournament at club level and was open to teams from England, Wales, Scotland and France. It began its preliminary stages in January 2012.

2012 Carnegie Challenge Cup
Duration9 rounds
Highest attendance79,180
Broadcast partnersUnited Kingdom BBC Sport
Winners Warrington Wolves
Runners-up Leeds Rhinos
Biggest home win Wigan Warriors 98-4
North Wales Crusaders
Biggest away winMyton Warriors 4-94 Halifax
Lance Todd Trophy Brett Hodgson

The pools in the preliminary round were dropped.

Wigan Warriors were the reigning champions, but lost 28–39 to Leeds Rhinos in the semi-finals, who avenged last season's final defeat. However, they went on to lose their third consecutive final, the second of which to the Warrington Wolves 18 - 35.

Preliminary round

A total of 44 teams played a preliminary-round tie. The clubs involved included 22 NCL Divisions 1 and 2, 5 regional league winners, the Yorkshire and Lancashire County Cup winners, 1 Cumberland ARL nomination and the British Police. Also in the draw were the Scottish champions and a Welsh representative, 4 teams from the 2011 Rugby League Conference National, 6 Student teams and a North West League representative.

The draw for the preliminary and first round were made on 19 December 2011.[1]

Home Score Away Match Information
Date and Time Venue Referee Attendance
Sharlston Rovers 1–0 Edge Hill University Bye – HWO Weeland Road
Shaw Cross Sharks 1–0 Valley Cougars Bye – HWO Paul Hinchliffe Memorial Ground
Leeds Metropolitan University 15–14 Ovenden RLFC 4 February 2012 13:30 Milford Sports Club B Robinson
Egremont Rangers 22–16 Bank Quay Bulls 11 February 2012 13:30 Gillfoot Park C Braithwaite
Kells RLFC 20–14 Widnes West Bank 11 February 2012 14:00 Old Arrowthwaite M Laing
Seaton Rangers 8–24 Huddersfield Underbank Rangers 11 February 2012 14:00 Station Yard A Gill
Blackbrook Royals 18–8 Eccles and Salford Juniors 12 February 2012 14:00 Recreation Ground M Woodhead
Millom RLFC 20–10 British Police 12 February 2012 14:00 Coronation Field M Hebblethwaite
Wigan St Cuthberts 24–18 Northumbria University 12 February 2012 14:00 Montrose Avenue S Race
Normanton Knights 32–30 Milford Marlins 15 February 2012 19:00 Queen Elizabeth Drive C Kendall
Castleford Lock Lane 24–18 Elland RLFC 15 February 2012 19:30 Lock Lane Sports Centre J Lowery
Loughborough University 22–50 Hunslet Warriors 18 February 2012 13:30 Holywell Park L Fellows
Bradford Dudley Hill 38–0 Castleford Panthers 18 February 2012 13:30 Neil Hunt Memorial Ground J Callaghan
Warrington Wizards 18–28 East Leeds 18 February 2012 13:30 Wilderspool Stadium M Mannifield
York Acorn 42–4 Norland Sharks 18 February 2012 13:30 Acorn Sports and Social Club C Dean
Oldham St Annes 40–4 Bentley Good Companions 18 February 2012 13:30 Higginshaw Road M Craven
Featherstone Lions 14–22 Askam 18 February 2012 14:00 Mill Pond Stadium G Evans
Rochdale Mayfield 14–33 University of Gloucestershire 18 February 2012 14:00 Mayfield Sports Arena N Aspey
Eastmoor Dragons 22–16 Wigan St Judes 18 February 2012 14:00 King George V Playing Fields S Ansell
Nottingham Outlaws 0–50 Hunslet Old Boys 18 February 2012 16:00 Harvey Hadden Stadium T Mather
Stanley Rangers 60–22 Edinburgh Eagles 19 February 2012 14:00 Stanley Sports and Social Club A Sweet
Hull University 10–68 Waterhead RLFC 19 February 2012 14:00 Cottingham Road J Roberts
Source:[2][3]

Round 1

The 22 winners from the preliminary round then progress to the first round where 11 games were drawn. Due to the amount of postponed matches, ties (other than Egremont v Leeds Met and Castleford Lock Lane v Sharlston) were played a week later on 25 February.

Home Score Away Match Information
Date and Time Venue Referee Attendance
Egremont Rangers 30–6 Leeds Metropolitan University 18 February 2012 13:30 Gillfoot Park M Laing
Castleford Lock Lane 24–32 Sharlston Rovers 18 February 2012 13:30 Lock Lane Sports Centre S Mikalauskas
Wigan St Cuthberts 46–22 Eastmoor Dragons 25 February 2012 13:30 Montrose Avenue M Craven
Shaw Cross Sharks 10–18 York Acorn 25 February 2012 14:00 Paul Hinchliffe Memorial Ground A Gill
Hunslet Warriors 32–8 Oldham St Annes 25 February 2012 14:00 The Oval J Roberts
Hunslet Old Boys 26–14 Waterhead 25 February 2012 14:00 Hillidge Road B Robinson
Huddersfield Underbank Rangers 48–10 Stanley Rangers 25 February 2012 14:00 The Cross Grounds J Callaghan
Blackbrook Royals 24–20 (aet) East Leeds 25 February 2012 14:00 Recreation Ground M Laing
Millom 36–8 University of Gloucestershire 25 February 2012 14:00 Coronation Field C Braithwaite
Kells RLFC 34–12 Normanton Knights 25 February 2012 14:00 Old Arrowthwaite N Aspey
Bradford Dudley Hill 52–12 Askam 25 February 2012 14:00 Neil Hunt Memorial Ground A Sweet
Source:[2][3]

Round 2

The 11 first-round winners then progressed to round two where they met the 14 National Conference League Premier teams and the three Armed Forces teams who entered at this stage to total 28 teams to be drawn into 14 games.

The draw for the second round were made on 27 February 2012 aboard HMS Illustrious and was carried out by Commanding Officer, Captain Martin Connell, who drew the home teams and the away teams were pulled out by England Head Coach Steve McNamara.[4]

The second-round ties were played on the weekend of 10 and 11 March.

Home Score Away Match Information
Date and Time Venue Referee Attendance
East Hull 32–14 Royal Air Force 10 March 2012 13:30 Rosemead Sports Centre A Sweet
Egremont Rangers 32–22 Ince Rose Bridge 10 March 2012 13:30 Gillfoot Park J Roberts
Siddal RLFC 62–12 West Hull 10 March 2012 14:00 Siddal Sports & Community Centre M Hague
Hull Dockers 30–21 Kells RLFC 10 March 2012 14:00 The Willows L Fellows
Royal Navy 32–24 Leigh Miners Rangers 10 March 2012 14:00 United Services Sport Ground M Mannifield
Thatto Heath Crusaders 32–10 Millom RLFC 10 March 2012 14:00 Hattons Solicitors Crusader Park P Stockman
York Acorn 26–10 Skirlaugh RLFC 10 March 2012 14:00 Acorn Sports & Social Club C Hancock
Hunslet Old Boys 16–12 Blackbrook Royals 10 March 2012 14:00 The Hunslet Club J McMullen
Sharlston Rovers 20–19 Wigan St Cuthberts 10 March 2012 14:00 Sharlston ARLFC P Marklove
Hunslet Warriors 30–0 Wigan St Patricks 10 March 2012 14:30 The Oval S Ansell
Oulton Raiders 19–5 British Army 10 March 2012 14:30 Oulton & Woodlesford Sports & Social Club A Gill
Saddleworth Rangers 18–36 Myton Warriors 10 March 2012 14:30 Shaw Hall Bank Road M Laing
Leigh East 6–16 Bradford Dudley Hill 10 March 2012 14:30 Leigh East ARLFC S Mikalauskas
Huddersfield Underbank Rangers 10–24 Wath Brow Hornets 11 March 2012 14:00 The Cross Grounds M Woodhead
Source:[2][3]

Round 3

A total of 14 community clubs would progress to round three, where they would be joined by the Co-operative Championships clubs as well as Toulouse Olympique and Lézignan Sangliers.

Cumbrian Rugby League stars Sol Roper and Rob Purdham conducted the draw for the third round of the Carnegie Challenge Cup at Whitehaven's Recreation Ground on 13 March. Roper, a scrum-half who played in two Wembley finals with Workington Town in 1955 and 1958, drew the home teams and former Whitehaven and London Broncos player Purdham drew the away teams.[5]

Home Score Away Match Information
Date and Time Venue Referee Attendance
Egremont Rangers 14–22 Oldham R.L.F.C. 23 March 2012 20:00 Recreation GroundA Joe Cobb 468
Doncaster 57–10 Sharlston Rovers 24 March 2012 15:00 Keepmoat Stadium Chris Leatherbarrow 496
Gateshead Thunder 28–10 York Acorn 24 March 2012 15:00 Thunderdome Peter Brooke 179
London Skolars 26–43 Leigh Centurions 24 March 2012 15:00 New River Stadium Matthew Kidd 367
Oulton Raiders 8–58 Sheffield Eagles 24 March 2012 15:00 Rapid Solicitors StadiumB Warren Turley 1,020
Wath Brow Hornets 22–24 South Wales Scorpions 24 March 2012 15:00 Recreation GroundA J Bloem
North Wales Crusaders 28–10 Toulouse Olympique 24 March 2012 19:45 Racecourse Ground George Stokes 567
Bradford Dudley Hill 6–58 Keighley Cougars 25 March 2012 14:00 Cougar ParkC B Robinson 840
Hunslet Old Boys 12–86 Featherstone Rovers 25 March 2012 14:00 Bigfellas StadiumD Tom Crashley 785
Hunslet Hawks 34–14 Royal Navy 25 March 2012 14:00 South Leeds Stadium Ronnie Laughton 302
Swinton Lions 66–0 Siddal RLFC 25 March 2012 14:00 Leigh Sports Village D Sharpe 404
Barrow Raiders 32–22 Lézignan Sangliers 25 March 2012 15:00 Craven Park Greg Dolan 1,340
Dewsbury Rams 84–12 Thatto Heath Crusaders 25 March 2012 15:00 Tetley's Stadium C Kendall 606
East Hull 20–48 Rochdale Hornets 25 March 2012 15:00 Spotland StadiumE Dave Merrick 303
Myton Warriors 4–94 Halifax 25 March 2012 15:00 The ShayF J Callaghan 1,011
Whitehaven 52–6 Hunslet Warriors 25 March 2012 15:00 Recreation Ground Scott Mikalauskas
Workington Town 6–22 Batley Bulldogs 25 March 2012 15:00 Derwent Park Jamie Leahy 601
York City Knights 40–14 Hull Dockers 25 March 2012 15:00 Huntington Stadium Gareth Hewer 346
Source:[2][3]
Notes

A.^ Game switched to Recreation Ground (Whitehaven)[6]
B.^ Game switched to Rapid Solicitors Stadium (Wakefield)[7]
C.^ Game switched to Cougar Park (Keighley)[8]
D.^ Game switched to Bigfellas Stadium (Featherstone)[9]
E.^ Game switched to Spotland (Rochdale)[10]
F.^ Game switched to The Shay (Halifax)[11]

Round 4

The draw for round 4 took place at 8.50pm on 26 March 2012 and was conducted by Challenge Cup winners Andy Gregory and Lee Crooks.[12] The games took place over the weekend of 13, 14 and 15 April 2012 with BBC Sport showing the tie between Widnes Vikings and St. Helens and for the first time Sky Sports televised the Featherstone Rovers v Castleford Tigers.[13]

Home Score Away Match Information
Date and Time Venue Referee Attendance
Leeds Rhinos 38–18 Wakefield Trinity Wildcats 13 April 2012 20:00 Headlingley Carnegie Stadium R Silverwood 7,140
Swinton Lions 70–10 Gateshead Thunder 14 April 2012 14:00 Leigh Sports Village W Turley 415
Featherstone Rovers 23–16 Castleford Tigers 14 April 2012 15:00 Bigfellas Stadium B Thaler 4,165
South Wales Scorpions 28–84 Halifax 14 April 2012 15:00 The Shay R Hicks 879
Widnes Vikings 38–40 St. Helens 14 April 2012 17:30 Stobart Stadium J Child 3,069
Keighley Cougars 18–44 Warrington Wolves 15 April 2012 14:00 Cougar Park T Roby 2,196
London Broncos 72–4 Dewsbury Rams 15 April 2012 14:00 Twickenham Stoop M Tomason 652
Bradford Bulls 72–6 Doncaster 15 April 2012 15:00 Odsal Stadium J Leahy 3,210
Hull F.C. 16–42 Huddersfield Giants 15 April 2012 15:00 KC Stadium T Alibert 8,327
Hull Kingston Rovers 18–20 Catalans Dragons 15 April 2012 15:00 MS3 Craven Park P Bentham 7,000
Hunslet Hawks 18–21 Batley Bulldogs 15 April 2012 15:00 South Leeds Stadium G Hewer 664
Leigh Centurions 68–18 Rochdale Hornets 15 April 2012 15:00 Leigh Sports Village C Leatherbarrow 1,229
Oldham R.L.F.C. 26–14 Barrow Raiders 15 April 2012 15:00 Whitebank Stadium D Merrick 773
Whitehaven 18–58 Salford City Reds 15 April 2012 15:00 Recreation Ground S Ganson 751
Wigan Warriors 98–4 North Wales Crusaders 15 April 2012 15:00 DW Stadium G Stokes 4,198
York City Knights 12–50 Sheffield Eagles 15 April 2012 15:00 Huntington Stadium R Laughton 551
Source:[2][3]

Round 5

The draw, which took place at 3:00pm on 16 April 2012[14] had an Olympic and Paralympic theme with the last 16 teams drawn by two athletes who were hoping for medal success at London 2012, Johanna Jackson and Louis Speight. Round 5 took place over the weekend of 28 and 29 April 2012,[15]

Home Score Away Match Information
Date and Time Venue Referee Attendance
Oldham R.L.F.C. 0–76 St. Helens 27 April 2012 20:00 Langtree Park B Thaler 5,742
Featherstone Rovers 16–32 Wigan Warriors 27 April 2012 20:00 Bigfellas Stadium R Silverwood 4,082
Warrington Wolves 32–16 Bradford Bulls 28 April 2012 14:40 Halliwell Jones Stadium J Child 5,505
Catalans Dragons 68–6 Sheffield Eagles 28 April 2012 18:30 CET Stade Gilbert Brutus R Hicks 7,000
Leigh Centurions 19–18 Halifax 29 April 2012 14:00 Leigh Sports Village P Bentham 2,182
Batley Bulldogs 16–22 London Broncos 29 April 2012 14:00 Mount Pleasant T Alibert 1,025
Salford City Reds 10–16 Leeds Rhinos 29 April 2012 15:00 City of Salford Stadium S Ganson
Huddersfield Giants 52–0 Swinton Lions 29 April 2012 15:00 Galpharm Stadium T Roby 2,617
Source:[2][3]

Quarter finals

The quarter finals took place over the weekend of 12 and 13 May 2012. Two games were shown live on the BBC[15] and one on Sky Sports. The draw took place on 1 May 2012 at 8:20am BST, and was broadcast on BBC 5 Live.

Home Score Away Match Information
Date and Time Venue Referee Attendance
Leigh Centurions 12–60 Leeds Rhinos 11 May 2012 20:00 Leigh Sports Village Ben Thaler 5,290
Wigan Warriors 18–4 St. Helens 12 May 2012 14:30 DW Stadium Richard Silverwood 12,864
Catalans Dragons 22–32 Warrington Wolves 13 May 2012 16:10 CEST Stade Gilbert Brutus Steve Ganson 11,000
Huddersfield Giants 50–14 London Broncos 13 May 2012 17:00 Galpharm Stadium James Child 2,574
Source:[2][3]

Semi finals

The semi-finals took place on 14 and 15 July 2012 at neutral venues and both games were televised by the BBC.[16] The draw took place on 13 May after the Catalans-Warrington match on BBC Two with the draw made by Ian Millward and Brian Noble

[2][3]

14 July 2012
17:30 BST
Leeds Rhinos 39–28 Wigan Warriors
Galpharm Stadium, Huddersfield
Attendance: 12,860[17]
Referee: Ben Thaler
15 July 2012
17:45 BSTA
Warrington Wolves 33–6 Huddersfield Giants
Salford City Stadium, Salford
Attendance: 9,473[18]
Referee: Richard Silverwood

Note:
A.^ Match originally scheduled for 17:30 kick-off, but was delayed by 15 minutes due to BBC's coverage of Scottish Open golf over-running.

Final
Main article: 2012 Challenge Cup Final

The final was played on 25 August 2012 at Wembley Stadium with a 14:30 kick off time and was shown live on BBC One.[15] The game was a repeat of the 2010 Challenge Cup final, where Warrington beat Leeds 30–6. In the final the Warrington Wolves won the Challenge Cup for a third time in four years, beating Leeds 35–18.[2][3][19][20]

25 August 2012
14:30
Leeds Rhinos 18–35 Warrington Wolves
Wembley Stadium, London
Attendance: 79,180[21]
Referee: Richard Silverwood

Teams:

Warrington: Brett Hodgson, Chris Riley, Ryan Atkins, Stefan Ratchford, Joel Monaghan, Lee Briers, Richie Myler, Garreth Carvell, Mickey Higham, Chris Hill, Trent Waterhouse, Ben Westwood, Ben Harrison
Replacements: Adrian Morley (c), Michael Monaghan, Paul Wood, Tyrone McCarthy Coach: Tony Smith
Tries: Monaghan, Waterhouse, Riley, Atkins, McCarthy, Hogdson. Goals: Hodgson (5).

Leeds: Zak Hardaker, Ben Jones-Bishop, Kallum Watkins, Carl Ablett, Ryan Hall, Kevin Sinfield (c), Stevie Ward, Kylie Leuluai, Rob Burrow, Jamie Peacock, Jamie Jones-Buchanan, Brett Delaney, Ryan Bailey
Replacements: Ian Kirke, Shaun Lunt, Darrell Griffin, Jimmy Keinhorst Coach: Brian McDermott
Tries: Kirke, Watkins (2) Goals: Sinfield (3).

UK Broadcasting rights

The tournament was jointly televised by the BBC and Sky Sports on the first of their five-year contracts.

Round Live match Date BBC channel
Round 4 Widnes Vikings 38 - 40 St. Helens 14 April 2012 BBC Two*
Round 5 Warrington Wolves 32 - 16 Bradford Bulls 18 April 2012 BBC One
Quarter finals Wigan Warriors 18 - 4 St. Helens
Catalans Dragons 22 - 32 Warrington Wolves		 12 May 2012
13 May 2012		 BBC One
BBC Two
Semi finals Leeds Rhinos 39 - 28 Wigan Warriors
Warrington Wolves 33 - 6 Huddersfield Giants		 14 July 2012
15 July 2012		 BBC Two & BBC HD
Final Leeds Rhinos 18 - 35 Warrington Wolves 25 August 2012 BBC One
  • Only in England and Wales.

Sky Sports televised the round-4 match between Featherstone Rovers and Castleford Tigers on 12 April 2012 and the round-5 match between Featherstone Rovers and Wigan Warriors on 27 April 2012 as well as a quarter-final.

References
  1. "Preliminary and first round Challenge Cup draws". Rugby Football League. Archived from the original on 13 September 2012. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
  2. "Rugby League – Challenge Cup results". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 1 January 2009. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
  3. "Challenge Cup – Results". RFL. Archived from the original on 6 March 2012. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
  4. "Carnegie Challenge Cup second-round draw". Rugby Football League. Archived from the original on 3 April 2012. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
  5. "Carnegie Challenge Cup third-round draw". Rugby Football League. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
  6. "Oldham RL Update". Oldham R.L.F.C. Archived from the original on 12 September 2012. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
  7. "Challenge Cup – Third round ticket details". Super League. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
  8. "Dudley Hill game switched to Cougar Park". Keighley Cougars. Archived from the original on 26 November 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  9. "Challenge Cup 3rd round – Confirmation". Featherstone Rovers. Archived from the original on 1 August 2012. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
  10. "Rochdale Hornets v East Hull". Rochdale Hornets. Archived from the original on 1 August 2012. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
  11. "Challenge Cup Draw – 3rd round". Halifax RLFC. Archived from the original on 1 August 2012. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
  12. "Challenge Cup legends to conduct Fourth Round Draw". Rugby Football League. Archived from the original on 12 September 2012. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
  13. "Sky Sports to screen live Challenge Cup action". RFL. Archived from the original on 12 September 2012. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  14. "Cup draw has Olympic appeal". Official Carnegie Challenge Cup Web Site. Archived from the original on 12 September 2012. Retrieved 15 April 2012.
  15. "2012 Round Dates". Rugby Football League. Archived from the original on 29 March 2012. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
  16. "Holders Wigan to meet Leeds in semi-finals". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 July 2012.
  17. "Leeds beat Wigan to stretch sequence of Challenge Cup Final appearances". The Guardian. 15 July 2012. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
  18. "Lee Briers' mastery pilots Warrington to Wembley sequel with Leeds". The Guardian. 15 July 2012. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
  19. "Warrington's battered Brett Hodgson recovers to see off Leeds in final". Guardian UK. 25 August 2012. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
  20. "Warrington Wolves Are Challenge Cup Winners 2012!". Warrington Wolves Official Site. 25 August 2012. Archived from the original on 17 December 2013. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
  21. "Leeds Rhinos 18–35 Warrington Wolves". BBC Sport. 25 August 2012. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
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