The Challenge Cup quarter-finals were played this weekend with the warm weather continuing and allowing some brilliant rugby league to be played, albeit in windy circumstances.
There were two upset wins from the four games with Huddersfield Giants heading to Perpignan and springing a surprise on Catalans Dragons whom they beat 34-6, whilst Warrington Wolves put in a stellar second-half performance to beat St Helens 31-8 on the road.
Wigan Warriors were another side to win on the road as they went to The Jungle and ran riot, scoring 12 tries and winning 60-6 to add more misery to Castleford Tigers’ disappointing season so far.
The only home victors were Hull KR who knocked out holders Leigh Leoaprds in a game that was a repeat of last year’s final. The Robins ran in four second-half tries to come from behind and dispatch the injury-affected Leopards.
There will also be a repeat of last year’s semi-final for Hull KR and Wigan Warriors who were drawn to face each other meaning that Huddersfield Giants and Warrington Wolves will face off to earn a trip to Wembley.
Those games will be played on the weekend of May 18th and 19th with neutral venues to be confirmed in the coming week with both matches set to be double-headers alongside the women’s semi-finals.
Holders St Helens cruised into the semis with a 74-0 win, as did their semi-final opponents York Valkyrie who won by the same scoreline. The other semi-final will see Wigan Warriors take on last year’s defeated finalists Leeds Rhinos.
Full details of the Challenge Cup Draw can be found here.
Challenge Cup Attendances: One game fails to hit 5,000
Credit: Imago Images
Attendances for Challenge Cup games are always difficult to gauge because as Hull KR coach Willie Peters explained earlier in the week, tickets aren’t included in the cost of season tickets which can force fans to shell out extra.
Despite that, there was a strong crowd at Craven Park although it wasn’t reported as a sell-out like the last six home games have been, suggesting it was a smaller crowd.
The Robins don’t release attendances anyway and another side with an unknown attendance at the time of writing are Catalans who welcomed Huddersfield Giants to the Stade Gilbert Brutus.
As for the games on Sunday, Castleford Tigers saw just 4,097 attend their Challenge Cup clash with Wigan Warriors, a disappointing figure.
There is some explanation in that the game was slated to be at a reduced capacity due to work on the ground but the club would have still hoped for more than that.
As for St Helens, an impressive crowd of 11,280 witnessed their game with large thanks to the huge travelling support.
Warrington had confirmed that they had sold over 2,500 tickets and those fans were rewarded with an incredible win.
Over 2500 now sold!
Ticket sales have now ended from the club store, with over 2500 Wire fans making the trip to @Saints1890.
You can still join us and purchase tickets for the Warrington end tomorrow! 👇 pic.twitter.com/pvjNTJftqV
— Warrington Wolves (@WarringtonRLFC) April 13, 2024
Challenge Cup Quarter-Final Attendances
Hull KR vs Leigh Leopards – Not Announced
Catalans Dragons vs Huddersfield Giants – TBC
Castleford Tigers vs Wigan Warriors – 4,097
St Helens vs Warrington Wolves – 11,280
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