Oldham St Annes mark their return to the Challenge Cup – and are more than motivated

Oldham St Annes are excited for Sunday as they make their comeback to the famous Challenge Cup competition for the first time since 2012.

The community club have enjoyed recent success where the domestic league is concerned and will now embark on their first Challenge Cup journey in 14 years.

A victory for St Annes in their opening tie would see a historic clash with Betfred Championship side Oldham RLFC in the Second Round – and that would be the biggest prize of all for this proud rugby league club.

But first they must overcome a strong Orrell St James.

Their head coach, Neil Cherryholme, gave his thoughts ahead of Sunday’s tie:

“I’m buzzing for the club to be back in the Challenge Cup. It’s massive for our club. I’ve been the coach now for four seasons,” he said.

“Just thinking about how special the Challenge Cup is to me personally - it’s a competition that I’ve followed and I’ve played in, but as a club it’s a big thing for us too.

“There are lots of stories in the club about some memorable times in the Challenge Cup – playing Whitehaven and Batley, for example, and to have the opportunity to play in the competition and get to play those kinds of teams is massive for the club.

“It's big day for us to go to Orrell and we’re thankful we got the chance to come in.”

While confident of putting in a top performance, Cherryholme is under no illusions on how tough the task will be to overcome Orrell on the road:

“We’re expecting a really big challenge. Looking at the leagues and us being relatively successful in the NCL and going well Division 1, you’d be looking to say we’ve got a good chance.

“We’re really hopeful, but we aren’t underestimating Orrell; the level they’ve been playing at for a number of years is great. I’ve watched them many times in the Challenge Cup and I’ve coached against them before too. They are a really positive club, have really good players and a lot of ability.

“It’s going to be a tough away game, especially in the conditions for January. But we’re ready and happy it’s going to be tough.”

On the rare chance of getting to play a professional Oldham outfit in the next round if they were to win this weekend, Cherryholme expressed how special this would be:

“To have the possibility to play against Oldham at Boundary Park would be incredible,” said Cherryholme.

“We know there are massive differences in level and abilities, but to go against a number of ex-Super League players in our hometown for lots of our lads and to take all our juniors there to watch, would be absolutely phenomenal. 

“It’s such a driving force for us this week and it’s helping us prepare – that’s if we did need any more motivation than we already have.

“It’s a massive motivation to try and get the club to have a really good day away at Oldham.

“But it’s going to be tough at Orrell first. Hopefully it’s a really good game, both sets of lad put in a decent shift and for our part, we hope we’re on the end of a good win and an opportunity to play at Oldham.

“Best of luck to both teams!”

Will it see a magical Challenge Cup year for the Saints?

It's Betfred Challenge Cup Finals Day at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 30 May 2026. Book your tickets here today and enjoy our early bird prices!