The 2015 Challenge Cup, (also known as the Ladbrokes Challenge Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 114th staging of the rugby league tournament for teams in the Super League, the British National Leagues and a number of invited amateur clubs.
The defending champions Leeds Rhinos retained the trophy beating Hull Kingston Rovers 50–0 at Wembley Stadium on 29 August 2015.
First round The draw for the first round of the 2015 Challenge Cup was held on 8 January 2015 at Wembley Stadium and featured 40 amateur teams from around the United Kingdom including two student teams, all three armed services and the police. Home teams were drawn by Martin Offiah and the away teams drawn by Brian Noble.
Fixtures for the first round were mostly played over the weekend of the 31 January – 1 February 2015. Three fixtures were postponed until the following weekend due to bad weather forcing the postponement on the original date.
HomeScoreAwayMatch InformationDate and TimeVenueRefereeAttendance British Army 8 – 20 Wath Brow Hornets Saturday 31 January 2015, 13:30 Aldershot Military Stadium L Staveley Royal Air Force 0 – 48 Siddal Saturday 31 January 2015, 13:30 RAF Cranwell J Smith Walney Central 28 – 8 Hunslet Parkside Saturday 31 January 2015, 13:30 Central Drive R Webb Loughborough University 16 – 42 Hunslet Warriors Saturday 31 January 2015, 14:00 Loughborough University C Hancock Oulton Raiders 60 – 6 Scarborough Pirates Saturday 31 January 2015, 14:00 Oulton Community Sports Club C Straw Normanton Knights 34 – 16 Myton Warriors Saturday 31 January 2015, 14:00 Queen Elizabeth Drive L Moore Royal Navy 32 – 14 Saddleworth Rangers Saturday 31 January 2015, 14:00 United Services Recreation Ground J Stearne East Leeds 12 – 20 Kells Saturday 31 January 2015, 14:00 Easy Road B Pearson Egremont Rangers 28 – 0 Wigan St Judes Saturday 31 January 2015, 14:00 Gillfoot Park J Callaghan Widnes West Bank 14 – 10 South West London Chargers Saturday 31 January 2015, 14:00 Ted Gleave Sports Ground A Mulligan Hull Dockers 10 – 6 Leigh Miners Rangers Saturday 31 January 2015, 14:00 The Willows Club M Mannifield Elland RLFC 26 – 0 Leeds Beckett University Saturday 31 January 2015, 14:00 Greetland Community Centre T Hudson Lock Lane 64 – 0 Sharlston Rovers Saturday 31 January 2015, 14:00 Hickson's Arena A Bentham Skirlaugh Bulls 27 – 20 Aberdeen Warriors Saturday 31 January 2015, 14:00 Eastside Community S&S Club S Race West Hull 14 – 12 Thatto Heath Crusaders Saturday 31 January 2015, 14:00 West Hull Community Park G Dolan Valley Cougars 27 – 22 Leicester Storm Sunday 1 February 2015, 14:00 Treharris RFC J Jones Great Britain Police 0 – 38 Rochdale Mayfield Sunday 1 February 2015, 14:30 Arthur Miller Stadium, Stanningley T Grant Nottingham Outlaws 4 – 50 Blackbrook A.R.L.F.C. Saturday 7 February 2015, 13:30 Nottingham University Sports Field C Etchells Featherstone Lions 46 – 10 Queens RLFC Saturday 7 February 2015, 13:30 The Mill Pond Stadium S Ansell Shaw Cross Sharks 18 – 16 York Acorn Saturday 7 February 2015, 14:00 Shaw Cross Club S Race Source:
Second round The draw for the second round was made on Monday 2 February at the Oulton Raiders club. The draw was made by two players who played in the 2014 final. Home teams were drawn by players Ryan Hall of Leeds Rhinos and away teams by Oliver Holmes of Castleford Tigers.
Following the conclusion of the first round ties; two clubs, Rochdale Mayfield and Hull Dockers, were reported to the Rugby Football League's Operational Rules Tribunal for each fielding an ineligible player. The Tribunal found both clubs guilty of the offence and disqualified them from the competition. The teams they defeated in the first round, Great Britain Police and Leigh Miners Rangers, were reinstated into the cup and played in the second round.
HomeScoreAwayMatch InformationDate and TimeVenueRefereeAttendance Skirlaugh 30 – 16 Royal Navy 14 February 2015, 13:00 Eastside Community S&S Club J Jones Siddal 12 – 31 Featherstone Lions 14 February 2015, 13:30 Brighouse Rangers RFC L Moore Hunslet Warriors 8 – 24 West Hull 14 February 2015, 14:00 The Oval B Pearson Wath Brow Hornets 27 – 12 Lock Lane 14 February 2015, 14:00 Trumpet Road S Race Leigh Miners Rangers 26 – 18 Walney Central 14 February 2015, 14:00 Leigh Miners Welfare S&S Club A Mulligan Kells 52 – 6 Blackbrook A.R.L.F.C. 14 February 2015, 14:00 Old Arrowthwaite M Mannifield Elland RLFC 16 – 4 Egremont Rangers 14 February 2015, 14:00 Greetland Community Centre G Dolan Oulton Raiders 48 – 0 Valley Cougars 14 February 2015, 14:00 Oulton Community Sports Club J Smith Widnes West Bank 38 – 16 Great Britain Police 14 February 2015, 14:00 Ted Gleave Sports Ground J Callaghan Normanton Knights 12 – 4 Shaw Cross Sharks 14 February 2015, 14:00 Queen Elizabeth Drive L Staveley Source:
Third round The draw for the third round was made on 17 February 2015 at Heritage Quay, University of Huddersfield. Round three saw the 14 Kingstone Press League 1 professional teams joining the competition to create a pool of 24 teams for the draw. The draw was made by previous Lance Todd Trophy winners Alex Murphy and Mal Reilly. Ties were played over the weekend of 7/8 March 2015.
HomeScoreAwayMatch InformationDate and TimeVenueRefereeAttendance Elland ARLFC 14 – 26 Featherstone Lions 7 March 2015, 14:00 Greetland Community Centre S Mikalauskas 350 Wath Brow Hornets ARLFC 4 – 26 Newcastle Thunder 7 March 2015, 14:00 The Clubhouse W Turley 400 Oulton Raiders 8 – 34 Normanton Knights 7 March 2015, 14:00 Oulton Community Sports Club J McMullen 1,200 Leigh Miners Rangers 32 – 28 West Hull 7 March 2015, 14:30 Leigh Miners Welfare S&S Club J Smith 350 London Skolars 4 – 86 Swinton Lions 7 March 2015, 15:00 New River Stadium A Gill 165 Kells 12 – 29 Rochdale Hornets 7 March 2015, 17:00 Recreation Ground (Whitehaven) T Grant 587 Barrow Raiders 36 – 22 Keighley Cougars 8 March 2015, 14:00 Craven Park G Hewer 929 South Wales Scorpions 4 – 20 York City Knights 8 March 2015, 14:00 Parc Dyffryn Pennar, Mountain Ash C Campbell 247 North Wales Crusaders 60 – 12 Widnes West Bank 8 March 2015, 14:30 Glyndŵr University Racecourse Stadium D Merrick 523 Hemel Stags 10 – 22 Oxford Rugby League 8 March 2015, 14:30 Pennine Way A Sweet 125 Oldham R.L.F.C. 46 – 6 Coventry Bears 8 March 2015, 15:00 Whitebank Stadium T Crashley 256 Gloucestershire All Golds 66 – 4 Skirlaugh 8 March 2015, 14:30 Prince of Wales Stadium J Roberts 87 Source:
Fourth round The draw for the fourth round was made on 10 March 2015 at the Provident Stadium, home of the Bradford Bulls. The draw was made by Leeds Rhinos' Jamie Peacock and Hull FC's Leon Pryce. The 12 winners of the third round ties were joined by the 12 Kingstone Press Championship teams. Ties were played over the weekend of 21/22 March 2015.
HomeScoreAwayMatch InformationDate and TimeVenueRefereeAttendance Featherstone Lions 8 – 58 York City Knights 20 March 2015, 20:00 Big Fellas Stadium S Mikalauskas 1,200 Leigh Centurions 64 – 12 London Broncos 20 March 2015, 20:00 Leigh Sports Village M Woodhead 2,448 Normanton Knights 6 – 78 Batley Bulldogs 21 March 2015, 14:00 Belle Vue A Gill 851 Leigh Miners Rangers 32 – 6 Oxford Rugby League 21 March 2015, 14:30 Leigh Sports Village C Campbell 787 Whitehaven 12 – 36 Featherstone Rovers 21 March 2015, 17:30 Recreation Ground C Kendall 525 Barrow Raiders 16 – 56 Halifax 22 March 2015, 14:00 Craven Park T Crashley 956 North Wales Crusaders 40 – 12 Doncaster 22 March 2015, 14:30 Glyndŵr University Racecourse Stadium W Turley 416 Dewsbury Rams 28 – 18 Newcastle Thunder 22 March 2015, 15:00 Tetley's Stadium D Merrick 703 Bradford Bulls 74 – 6 Workington Town 22 March 2015, 15:00 Provident Stadium C Leatherbarrow 2,412 Swinton Lions 30 – 12 Rochdale Hornets 22 March 2015, 15:00 Park Lane, Sedgley Park J Bloem 300 Sheffield Eagles 44 – 20 Oldham R.L.F.C. 22 March 2015, 15:00 Keepmoat Stadium A Sweet 484 Gloucestershire All Golds 10 – 28 Hunslet Hawks 22 March 2015, 15:00 Prince of Wales Stadium J Roberts 137 Source:
Fifth round The draw for the fifth round was made on Tuesday 24 March 2015 in Hull. The four clubs who finished the 2014 Super League season in 9th to 12th places; Hull Kingston Rovers, Salford Red Devils, Hull F.C. and Wakefield Trinity Wildcats respectively; joined the 12 winners from the fourth round in the draw. The draw was made by ex-players Johnny Whiteley (home teams) and Phil Lowe (away teams). Ties were played over the weekend 17–19 April.
HomeScoreAwayMatch InformationDate and TimeVenueRefereeAttendance Wakefield Trinity Wildcats 44 – 16 Halifax 17 April 2015, 19:30 BST Belle Vue J Cobb 2,062 Leigh Centurions 22 – 18 Salford Red Devils 18 April 2015, 14:35 BST Leigh Sports Village P Bentham 6,358 Leigh Miners Rangers 14 – 44 York City Knights 19 April 2015, 14:00 BST Leigh Sports Village G Hewer 1,191 North Wales Crusaders 12 – 38 Featherstone Rovers 19 April 2015, 14:30 BST Glyndwr University Racecourse Stadium D Merrick 617 Hunslet Hawks 16 – 31 Dewsbury Rams 19 April 2015, 15:00 BST South Leeds Stadium C Leatherbarrow 536 Bradford Bulls 30 – 50 Hull Kingston Rovers 19 April 2015, 15:00 BST Provident Stadium M Thomason 4,538 Sheffield Eagles 12 – 34 Hull F.C. 19 April 2015, 15:00 BST Bramall Lane G Stokes 1,620 Batley Bulldogs 46 – 14 Swinton Lions 19 April 2015, 15:00 BST Fox's Biscuits Stadium C Kendall 443 Source:
Sixth round The draw for the sixth round took place live on Sportsday on the BBC News channel on 20 April. The eight winners from this weekend's fifth round ties joined with the top eight First Utility Super League teams from 2014 in the draw to produce eight ties that will be played over the weekend of May 16–17. Home teams were drawn by Shaun Edwards and the away teams by Nathan McAvoy.
HomeScoreAwayMatch InformationDate and TimeVenueRefereeAttendance Dewsbury Rams 10 – 52 Warrington Wolves 15 May 2015, 20:00 BST Tetley's Stadium M Thomason 1,771 St. Helens 46 – 6 York City Knights 15 May 2015, 20:00 BST Langtree Park C Leatherbarrow 3,241 Wigan Warriors 12 – 16 Hull Kingston Rovers 15 May 2015, 20:05 BST Leigh Sports Village R Silverwood 4,677 Leeds Rhinos 48 – 16 Huddersfield Giants 16 May 2015, 14:30 BST Headingley Carnegie Stadium P Bentham 8,133 Hull F.C. 40 – 14 Castleford Tigers 16 May 2015, 15:00 BST KC Stadium J Child 6,750 Wakefield Trinity Wildcats 30 – 36 Leigh Centurions 17 May 2015, 14:15 BST Belle Vue B Thaler 3,859 Widnes Vikings 26 – 22 Batley Bulldogs 17 May 2015, 15:30 BST Select Security Stadium J Cobb 3,866 Catalans Dragons 37 – 34 Featherstone Rovers 17 May 2015, 18:00 BST Stade Gilbert Brutus R Hicks 1,300 Source:
Quarter-finals The draw for the quarter-finals was made live on BBC Two on 17 May after the Wakefield Trinity Wildcats v Leigh Centurions game. The four ties that will be played over 25–28 June. The draw was conducted by former players Neil Fox (Wakefield Trinity) and Tony Barrow (Leigh). Barrow drew the home teams and Fox, the away teams.
HomeScoreAwayMatch InformationDate and TimeVenueRefereeAttendance Hull Kingston Rovers 32 – 26 Catalans Dragons 25 June 2015, 20:00 BST KC Lightstream Stadium P Bentham 6,073 Hull F.C. 6 – 24 Leeds Rhinos 26 June 2015, 20:00 BST KC Stadium J Child 9,261 Warrington Wolves 34 – 24 Leigh Centurions 27 June 2015, 15:00 BST Halliwell Jones Stadium R Silverwood 10,119 St. Helens 36 – 20 Widnes Vikings 28 June 2015, 16:00 BST Langtree Park R Hicks 8,806 Source:
Semi-finals The draw for the semi-finals was made live on BBC Two on 28 June after the St. Helens v Widnes Vikings game. The two ties were played on 31 July and 1 August. The draw was conducted by former Great Britain and St Helens player Paul Sculthorpe and former footballer turned television presenter Chris Kamara.