The Betfred Challenge Cup semifinals for both the men’s and women’s divisions will be held as doubleheaders on Saturday, May 18, and Sunday, May 19, in Doncaster and St. Helens.
At Doncaster’s Eco-Power Stadium on Saturday, the St Helens Women will play York Valkyrie (KO at 11.15am), and at 1.45pm, Wigan Warriors will play Hull KR. Additionally, the Warriors Women’s team will play the Leeds Rhinos at 12.30 p.m. on Sunday, 19 at the Totally Wicked Stadium, with the Huddersfield Giants taking on Warrington Wolves at 3:15 p.m.
The men’s semi-finals will be live on BBC TV, while both women’s semi-finals will stream live on BBC iPlayer. Clubs will notify their supporters directly about ticketing.
With outstanding away performances—the Giants against the Catalans Dragons in Perpignan, where they won 34-6, and the Wolves against St Helens, where they won 31-8—Huddersfield and Warrington secured their semi-final positions. At the Totally Wicked Stadium, Warrington’s supporters will once more have the “away” end, Huddersfield Giants will occupy the West Terrace, and both teams will have designated seating sections.
Wigan Warriors were even more decisive away from home, defeating Castleford Tigers 60–6 at the Mend-A-Hose Jungle. They play Hull KR for the second year in a row, who won 26–14 at home in Sewell Group Craven Park to exact revenge on Leigh Leopards for their heartbreaking cup final loss the previous year.
The cup holders, Saints Women, take on the defending Betfred Women’s Super League champions, York Valkyrie, this weekend in the semi-finals. In their quarterfinal matches against Featherstone Rovers and Huddersfield Giants, both teams performed admirably.
The Wigan Warriors Women are preventing last year’s beaten finalists Leeds Rhinos from making a trip back to Wembley in the Betfred Women’s Challenge Cup semi-final on Sunday. In the quarterfinals, Denis Betts’s disciplined Warriors defence gave the Cardiff Demons very little to work with as the Rhinos easily defeated Warrington Wolves.
“Congratulations to all eight sides on reaching the semi-finals – and on the manner in which they have done so,” remarks Rhodri Jones, managing director of RL Commercial. The rugby over the weekend was of very high level; eight teams are now only a few steps away from the Betfred Challenge Cup Finals Day, and every fan who attends a semi-final can reasonably expect to watch their team play on Saturday, June 8 at Wembley Stadium.
Additionally, I want to thank Doncaster and St. Helens, our partners, for hosting these games. Based on the various semi-final configurations, a variety of semi-final venue choices were investigated; the deciding considerations were stadium availability and the participating clubs.
May 18, a Saturday
St Helens Women v York Valkyrie, KO 11.15am (BBC iPlayer)
Hull KR v Wigan Warriors, KO 1.45pm (BBC One 1.15-3.45pm*)
Sunday 19th May
Wigan Warriors Women v Leeds Rhinos, KO 12.30pm (BBC iPlayer)
Huddersfield Giants v Warrington Wolves, KO 3.15pm (BBC Two 2.45-5.15pm*)
