The draw for the Third Round of the 2021 Betfred Challenge Cup will be held on Monday morning at Victoria Park in Warrington – the recipient of a large grant from Rugby League World Cup’s CreatedBy Capital Grants Programme.
Oliver Dowden, the Culture Secretary, will join the RLWC2021 ambassadors Jodie Cunningham and Jason Robinson at Victoria Park, where the Year 8 girls of Cardinal Newman High School will celebrate the return of grassroots sport with a pre-school training session.
The draw will be broadcast on BBC Sport and iPlayer from 9.35am – with two Third Round ties to be shown live by the BBC on Saturday April 10.
With the structure of the 2021 Betfred Challenge Cup amended because of the impact of lockdown on community Rugby League, the Third Round is the stage at which the heavyweights of the Betfred Super League enter the competition – including Leeds Rhinos, the holders.
They will be joined by four clubs from the Betfred Championship who have come through the first two rounds - Featherstone Rovers, Swinton Lions, York City Knights and Widnes Vikings
Those four clubs have also earned a second shot at reaching Wembley in the AB Sundecks 1895 Cup – a knockout competition for non-Super League clubs that was introduced in 2019.
The draw for the semi finals of the AB Sundecks 1895 Cup will be made in May, after the Betfred Challenge Cup quarter finals – with the ties to be played on the weekend of June 5-6.
If any of the 1895 Cup semi finalists also reaches the last four of the Challenge Cup, their 1895 Cup semi final will be rearranged for a later date.
The draw numbers for the Third Round of the Betfred Challenge Cup are:
1 Castleford Tigers
2 Catalans Dragons
3 Huddersfield Giants
4 Hull FC
5 Hull KR
6 Leeds Rhinos
7 Leigh Centurions
8 St Helens
9 Salford Red Devils
10 Wakefield Trinity
11 Warrington Wolves
12 Wigan Warriors
13 Featherstone Rovers
14 Swinton Lions
15 York City Knights
16 Widnes Vikings
Betfred Challenge Cup 2021
Third Round - April 10-11
Quarter Finals - May 8-9
Semi Finals - June 5-6
Final – Saturday July 17, Wembley Stadium connected by EE
Ticket availability limited
AB Sundecks 1895 Cup 2021
Semi Finals - June 5-6
Final – Saturday July 17, Wembley Stadium connected by EE
