The Latest blog post I thought I would write about the Challenge Cup
This weekend is the fourth round of the Challenge Cup competition for those who only follow the NRL. The fourth round is where the Super League teams enter the competition. The Challenge Cup is the premier Rugby League knock-out competition in the world; it is the Rugby League equivalent of the FA Cup, with both semi-finals being held at the same venue and the final being held at Wembley Stadium with last year’s crowd of 82,821. Teams include those from Scotland, France, Ireland, Russia and England. The Challenge Cup is an eight-round knock-out tournament. In 2009, the early stages of the competition were revamped. As the competition has expanded, there is a preliminary round before the first round, and teams have been placed into two ‘pools’ for the preliminary, first, and second rounds. Which teams enter when is shown below:
Pool A: Consists of the top amateur teams who compete in national competitions and regional winners of amateur competitions. Pool B: Consists of Armed Forces teams, University teams, and teams from the domestic Scottish and Welsh competitions.
Second Round: The winners of round One are joined by the semi-professional lower-league teams
Third Round: The Second round winners are joined by twenty teams from the league below Super League and four from France and the Russian Champions.
Fourth Round: The fourteen teams from Super League are joined by the winners of Round three to make 32 teams (this is the last round where teams enter the competition).
Fifth round: Last 16
Quarter-Finals: Last eight
Semi-Finals: (played at neutral venues)
Final: (played at Wembley Stadium)
The Final has been held at Wembley on and off since the 1932-33 season; during the period when the stadium was being rebuilt, the Challenge Cup final was taken to Murrayfield (in Scotland), the Millennium Stadium (in Wales) and Twickenham Stadium (England’s premier Rugby Union stadium).
So what does this have to do with the NRL? A similar tournament could be staged across Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. Players complain of player burnout playing too many games, so under the current draw setting up an Australian knock-out competition would not work. However, I believe a change in the NRL draw would allow the Challenge Cup to proceed without impacting the elite players. The early rounds would be contested by teams from the Western Australian Rugby League, the South Australian Rugby League, the Victorian Rugby League, the Northern Territory Rugby League, the National Provisional Cup (New Zealand’s premier domestic competition), teams from the Pacific Islands, the Queensland Cup, the Jim Beam Cup and local A-Grade clubs. State Of Origin (SOO) would be moved from Wednesday night to the weekend. In 2001 the NRL trialled SOO as a standalone fixture for games One and Three (with an origin-depleted City v Country game taking place on the Friday before Game Two). Under the Challenge Cup system, the Challenge Cup games involving NRL teams would be played on the weekend of SOO, with the Challenge Cup on Friday night and Saturday with SOO on Sunday night. This way, the Origin players are not burnt out from playing two games in a matter of days and giving them a week’s rest between SOO and players are not being burnt out from the extra games due to the Challenge Cup. The one major negative of SOO played on standalone weekends was the lack of football, this way, there are still games every day. So hopefully, the NRL can introduce this competition which would be a win-win for everyone. The players don’t suffer burnout and injuries playing two games so close to each other, clubs are not losing money on standalone Origin weekends, there is more rugby league which is never a bad thing, and maybe one of the “Cinderella” stories of the European knock out competitions is played out in Australia. With Origin players not playing in most of the competition, the clashes between lower-ranked NRL teams would be closer, giving more chances to the amateur teams.
Quote of the Week: During the Manly v Warriors game, the following exchange occurred on ABC Grandstand: David Morrow “That was a tremendous hit by Watmough…” Warren Ryan “Watmough must have thought he was a sponsor….”
Bonus, Headline of the Week: “Gallen is the Heart and Soul of Cronulla” (Daily Telegraph 31/3)
Till next time,
Cheese