2026 Women's Challenge Cup

2026 Women's Challenge Cup
DurationGroup stage plus three knockout rounds
Number of teams11

The 2026 Women's Challenge Cup (sponsored as the Betfred Women's Challenge Cup) is the 14th staging of the Rugby Football League's cup competition for women's rugby league clubs.

Format

The competition has a similar format to 2025 although the withdrawal of Salford Red Devils means the competition is reduced from 12 to 11 teams.[1]

The draw for the group stage saw three groups of three competing in a single round robin with the matches to be played over three consecutive weekends in April 2026 from which the group winners and runners-up advance to the knockout rounds. The fourth group has only two teams, both of which will advance to the quarter-finals following a single match to determine home advantage for the next round. The quarter-finals are scheduled for the last weekend in April. The semi-finals are scheduled for the weekend of 9/10 May 2026, and the final is to be played at Wembley Stadium, London, on 30 May 2026 alongside the final of the men's competition.[1][2]

Wigan Warriors, winners in 2025, were seeded together with Leeds Rhinos, St Helens and York Valkyrie. These four were drawn in different groups in the group stage. The draw for the group stages was made on 12 January.The groups were drawn as follows:[1][3]

Groups
Group A Group B Group C Group D

Group stage

The fixture list for the group stage was announced on 28 January 2026.[3]

Group stage: week one
Group Home Score Away Match Information
Date and Time Venue Referee Attendance
B Leigh Leopards – Leeds Rhinos 4 April
C Featherstone Rovers – Wigan Warriors 4 April, 13:00 Post Office Road
A Huddersfield Giants – St Helens 5 April, 14:00 Laund Hill
Source:[6]
Group stage: week two
Group Home Score Away Match Information
Date and Time Venue Referee Attendance
C Wigan Warriors – Cardiff Demons 11 April, 14:00 Edge Hall Road Community Stadium
D York Valkyrie – Barrow Raiders 11 April, 14:00 York Community Stadium
A Huddersfield Giants – Catalans Dragons 12 April, 13:00 Laund Hill
B London Broncos – Leigh Leopards 12 April, 14;00 The Hazelwood Centre
Source:[6]
Group stage: week three
Group Home Score Away Match Information
Date and Time Venue Referee Attendance
C Cardiff Demons – Featherstone Rovers 18 April, 14:00 Cardiff University Sports Park
A St Helens – Catalans Dragons 19 April, 12:00 BrewDog Stadium
B Leeds Rhinos – London Broncos 19 April, 14:00 West Park
Source:[6]

Standings

Group A
Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts Qualification
1 Catalans Dragons 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to knock-out stages
2  Huddersfield Giants 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3  St Helens 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played: 5 April 2026. Source:
Group B
Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts Qualification
1  London Broncos 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to knock-out stages
2  Leigh Leopards 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3  Leeds Rhinos 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played: 4 April 2026. Source:
Group C
Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts Qualification
1  Cardiff Demons 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to knock-out stages
2  Featherstone Rovers 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3  Wigan Warriors 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played: 4 April 2026. Source:
Group D
Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts Qualification
1  Barrow Raiders 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to knock-out stages
2  York Valkyrie 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played: 11 April 2026. Source:

Quarter-finals

The quarter-finals will take place over the weekend of 25/26 April.

Challenge Cup quarter-final fixtures
Home Score Away Match Information
Date and Time Venue Referee Attendance
–
–
–
–
Source:

Semi-finals

The semi-finals are to be played over the weekend of 9/10 May and will be double-headers with the men's semi-finals.[1]

Challenge Cup semi-final fixtures
Home Score Away Match Information
Date and Time Venue Referee Attendance
–
–
Source:

Final

The final will take place on Saturday 30 May 2026, as part of a double-header with the Men's final.[3]

Challenge Cup Final
Home Score Away Match Information
Date and Time Venue Referee Attendance
– 30 May Wembley Stadium
Source:

Notes

  1. ^ Catalans Dragons are making their debut in the competition.[1] They compete as St Esteve XIII Catalan in the Elite 1 Féminine (the top tier of French women's rugby league) and are also known as the Catalan Goddesses (Les Déesses Catalanes).[4] They have previously taken part in the RFL Women's Nines in 2022.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Barrow Ladies learn Betfred Women's Challenge Cup group stage opponents". Barrow Raiders. 12 January 2026. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
  2. ^ "New look women's season ready to start". Rugby Leaguer & League Express. No. 3517. 2 February 2026. p. 11.
  3. ^ a b c "Holders Wigan start Women's Challenge Cup at Fev". BBC Sport. 28 January 2026. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
  4. ^ "Résumé officiel : Finale Elite Féminines – Les déesses catalanes au sommet" (in French). FFRXIII. 1 June 2025. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
  5. ^ "York City Knights claim 9s glory". RFL. 25 July 2022. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
  6. ^ a b c "Match Centre". RFL. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
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