The 2016 RFL Women's Challenge Cup was an English rugby league knockout tournament competed for by 12 teams during the summer of 2016. The Challenge Cup was won by who beat 6–62 in the final. The Challenge Shield was won by the Thatto Heath Reserves team who beat Whitley Bay Barbarians 0–44 in the final. Both finals took place on 31 July 2016 at the Provident Stadium, Bradford.

Round One The first round took place on 8 May: HomeScoreAway 58–0 Brighouse Rangers Normanton Knights 4–62 Rochdale Hornets v Oulton Raidettes Selby Warriors 16–22 6–58 – Lindley Swifts – Wigan St Patricks – Source:

Quarter Finals The quarter finals took place on 12 June: HomeScoreAway 10–36 Oulton Raidettes 4–48 Wigan St Patricks 6–22 Lindley Swifts P–P Source:

Semi-Finals The semi-finals were played on 13 July and 17 July: HomeScoreAway 16–20 16–14 Source:

Final The final took place on 31 July at Provident Stadium in Bradford. Thatto Heath were reigning champions having won the cup in 2013, 2014 and 2015. It was a first Challenge Cup Final appearance for Leigh Miners Rangers who had won the Plate final at the 2015 Grand Finals day. The score was Leigh Miners Rangers 6–62 Thatto Heath. Tara-Jane Stanley scored four tries and kicked seven goals to set a record as the highest scoring player in the Women's Challenge Cup final with 30 points.

Challenge Shield The Challenge Shield was competed for by the teams that lost in the first round of the cup and additional teams from the Merit League.

Shield Round One The first round took place on 12 June: HomeScoreAway Selby Warriors 24–0 West Leeds Eagles West Craven Warriors 0–24 Normanton Knights Whitley Bay Barbarians 38–0 Brighouse Rangers Thatto Heath St Helens Reserves P–P StanningleySource:

Shield Semi-Finals Selby Warriors withdrew from the competition resulting in a walkover for Whitley Bay Barbarians. The other semi-final was played on 17 July: HomeScoreAway Normanton Knights 8–34 Thatto Heath St Helens Reserves Whitley Bay Barbarians – Source:

Shield Final The final of the Shield took place on 31 July at Provident Stadium, Bradford, before the Challenge Cup final. The score was Whitley Bay Barbarians 0–44 Thatto Heath. Several of the Thatto Heath players were also named in the team for the cup final.

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