The 2025 RFL 1895 Cup (also known as the 2025 AB Sundecks 1895 Cup) was the sixth staging of the RFL 1895 Cup, a rugby league competition for English and Welsh clubs competing in the Championship and League One.
Format Once again, the tournament for 2025 had a revised format from previous years. For the first time, all British clubs from the two divisions entered the tournament (with French club Toulouse not participating). After the group format used in 2024, the competition reverted to a knockout tournament. The 11 League One clubs competed across two preliminary rounds to produce four qualifiers who joined the 12 Championship clubs in the first round.
The final was played at Wembley Stadium on 7 June 2025 alongside the finals of the Challenge Cup and the Women's Challenge Cup.
Preliminary rounds The draw for the preliminary rounds was made in December 2024. Three first preliminary round ties were drawn with the five undrawn teams gaining a bye to the second preliminary round. + First preliminary roundHomeScoreAwayMatch InformationDate and TimeVenueRefereeAttendance Rochdale Hornets 64–12 Cornwall 1 February, 14:00 Mayfield Sports Centre L. Bland Midlands Hurricanes 52–24 Whitehaven 2 February, 14:00 Alexander Stadium A. Williams Newcastle Thunder 0–60 North Wales Crusaders 2 February, 15:00 Crow Trees Ground A. Sweet Source:
+ Second preliminary roundHomeScoreAwayMatch InformationDate and TimeVenueRefereeAttendance Goole Vikings 26–18 North Wales Crusaders 16 February, 15:00 Victoria Pleasure Grounds L. Bland 256 Keighley Cougars 7–6 Midlands Hurricanes 16 February, 15:00 Cougar Park A. Williams Rochdale Hornets 18–16 Swinton Lions 16 February, 15:00 Spotland A. Belafonte 483 Workington Town 10–18 Dewsbury Rams 16 February, 15:00 Derwent Park T. Jones Source:
First Round + First roundHomeScoreAwayMatch InformationDate and TimeVenueRefereeAttendance London Broncos 26–16 Dewsbury Rams 1 March, 15:00 New River Stadium A. Belafonte Batley Bulldogs 12–16 Bradford Bulls 2 March, 14:00 Mount Pleasant S. Mikalauskas Featherstone Rovers 52–12 Keighley Cougars 2 March, 14:00 Post Office Road K. Moore Goole Vikings 16–34 Barrow Raiders 2 March, 15:00 Victoria Pleasure Grounds C. Worsley Hunslet 26–28 Widnes Vikings 2 March, 15:00 South Leeds Stadium D. Arnold 562 Oldham 58–6 Rochdale Hornets 2 March, 15:00 Boundary Park J. Vella 1,057 Sheffield Eagles 50–18 Doncaster 2 March, 15:00 Sheffield Olympic Legacy Stadium M. Lynn 648 York Knights 32–20 Halifax Panthers 2 March, 15:00 York Community Stadium R. Cox Source:
Quarter finals The draw for the quarter finals was made on 2 March. The ties were played over the weekend of 5/6 April. + Quarter finalsHomeScoreAwayMatch InformationDate and TimeVenueRefereeAttendance Bradford Bulls 36–20 Sheffield Eagles 6 April 2025, 15:00 Odsal Stadium M. Lynn 1,606 Featherstone Rovers 34–6 London Broncos 6 April 2025, 15:00 Post Office Road K. Moore Oldham 38–24 Barrow Raiders 6 April 2025, 15:00 Boundary Park S. Mikalauskas 1,400 York Knights 39–6 Widnes Vikings 6 April 2025, 15:00 York Community Stadium R. Cox Source:
Semi finals The draw for the semi finals was made on 13 April. The ties were played over the weekend of 17/18 May. + Semi finalsHomeScoreAwayMatch InformationDate and TimeVenueRefereeAttendance Oldham 10–40 Featherstone Rovers 18 May 2025, 14:00 Boundary Park S. Mikalauskas2,843 York Knights 28–20 Bradford Bulls 18 May 2025, 15:00 York Community Stadium C. Worsley Source:
Final The final was played on 7 June.
References