2025 RFL 1895 Cup
| Duration | February – June 2025 |
|---|---|
| Number of teams | 23 |
| Winners | York Knights |
| Runners-up | Featherstone Rovers |
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.[1][2]
The final was played at Wembley Stadium on 7 June 2025 alongside the finals of the Challenge Cup and the Women's Challenge Cup.[3]
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.[4]
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Attendance | |||
| 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:[5] | ||||||
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Attendance | |||
| 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:[5] | ||||||
First Round
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Attendance | |||
| 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:[6] | ||||||
Quarter finals
The draw for the quarter finals was made on 2 March. The ties were played over the weekend of 5/6 April.[7]
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Attendance | |||
| 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:[8] | ||||||
Semi finals
The draw for the semi finals was made on 13 April. The ties will be played over the weekend of 17/18 May.[9]
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Attendance | |||
| Oldham | 10–40 | Featherstone Rovers | 18 May 2025, 14:00 | Boundary Park | S. Mikalauskas | 2,843 |
| York Knights | 28–20 | Bradford Bulls | 18 May 2025, 15:00 | York Community Stadium | C. Worsley | |
| Source:[10] | ||||||
Final
The final was played on 7 June.
7 June 2025
17:45 BST |
| Featherstone Rovers | 4–5 (g.p.) | York Knights |
|---|---|---|
| Goals: Reynolds 12' (pen), 61' (pen) |
[11][12] |
Goals: Harris 29' (pen), 40' (pen) Drop goals: Harris 85' |
References
- ^ "1895 Cup Format Confirmed". Widnes Vikings. Retrieved 26 February 2025.
- ^ "AB Sundecks to back 1895 Cup again in 2025". RFL. Retrieved 26 February 2025.
- ^ "Date confirmed for 2025 Challenge Cup finals". Total RL. Retrieved 26 February 2025.
- ^ "2025 RFL 1895 Cup: Preliminary Round draw, round dates, schedule". Love Rugby League. 12 December 2024. Retrieved 26 February 2025.
- ^ a b "1895 Cup". Total Rugby League. 26 February 2025. Retrieved 26 February 2025.
- ^ "Scoreboard: 1895 Cup Round One". Rugby Leaguer & League Express. No. 3470. 3 March 2025. p. 31.
- ^ Jones, Chris (2 March 2025). "1895 Cup quarter-final draw as Wembley moves step closer for Championship sides – Total Rugby League". Total RL. Retrieved 3 March 2025.
- ^ "AB Sundecks 1895 Cup: Quarter Finals". Rugby Leaguer & League Express. No. 3475. 7 April 2025. p. 31.
- ^ "AB Sundecks 1895 Cup Semi Final Draw confirmed". RFL. 13 April 2025. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
- ^ "1895 Cup – Semi Finals". Rugby Leaguer & League Express. No. 3481. 19 May 2025. p. 30.
- ^ "York pip Featherstone in extra time to win 1895 Cup". BBC Sport. 7 June 2025. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
- ^ "1895 Cup – Final". Rugby Leaguer & League Express. No. 3484. 9 June 2025. p. 20–21, 30.