Details for the Challenge Cup semi-finals including, when and where the games will be played has now been confirmed.
Those hoping to lift the trophy at Wembley on June 7th were cut from eight to four this past weekend as the quarter-finals dished up some great games, with even better attendance and viewing figures.
The Hull derby on Saturday saw an official attendance of 20,226 which marked the highest in the Challenge Cup quarter-finals since 1989 with Hull KR marching through to the semi-finals after a 32-16 win.
Aggregate attendance across the quarter-finals was up 36.7% on 2024 whilst the cumulative peak audience for the two BBC broadcast games was over 1.1 million.
The three other quarter-finals saw Catalans defeat Salford Red Devils, Leigh beat Wakefield and Warrington beat St Helens, with all three games won by a scoreline of 20-12.
With a tasty Challenge Cup semi-final draw of Hull KR versus Catalans Dragons and Warrington Wolves versus Leigh Leopards, details of those games have now been confirmed.
Challenge Cup semi-final details confirmed
Hull KR will take on Catalans Dragons at York’s LNER Community Stadium with the venue set to host its first ever men’s Challenge Cup semi-final.
That game will be played on Saturday May 10th with the kick-off slated for 2:30 pm.
The other Challenge Cup semi-final will be held at St Helens’ Totally Wicked Stadium with Warrington Wolves, who defeated St Helens in the quarter-finals, facing off against the 2023 winners Leigh Leopards.
That match will be played on the Sunday and kicks off at 4:15 pm with both matches set to be broadcast live by BBC Sport.
Each remaining club will provide information about tickets with demand expected to be strong once again, as it has been throughout the tournament with attendances up across the board.
Not only have attendances been up but digital impressions were also up more than 120% from the same stage last year as the revamped Challenge Cup format seems to be succeeding.
Challenge Cup semi-finals
Hull KR v Catalans Dragons @ York’s LNER Community Stadium on Saturday, May 10th @ 2:30 pm
Warrington Wolves v Leigh Leopards @ St Helens’ Totally Wicked Stadium on Sunday, May 11th @ 4:15 pm
The Challenge Cup Final will be held at Wembley on June 7th.
🔒 The 2025 @Betfred #ChallengeCup Semi Finals are locked in! pic.twitter.com/0tBXa3aZYa
— Betfred Challenge Cup (@TheChallengeCup) April 8, 2025
Eric T Cat
April 8, 2025 at 12:54 pm
Unbelievable, who runs the Rugby League these days? Agents of the RFU time travelling from 1895?
The stadium in York won’t hold the Rovers fans, let alone anyone else wanting to watch the match! The 15,500 seater Eco-Power Stadium in York would be a better choice, the most obvious choice being the MKM Stadium in Hull, room for Rovers fans, Catalans fans, neutral fans, eben the odd FC wanting to see a good matchup played on their doorstep!
The same applies for the other match. The Brick Community Stadium in Wigan would be a far better choice, fans will want to see this match! That game is balanced on a knife edge, it could go either way.
These are games we should be seeing prime time adverts for, ram the excitement down the throats of viewers, put up give minutes of any Super League match compared to Union, compare say 5 completed hard contested sets in the time they might set one scrum and two lineouts, or deal with a number of technical infringements, show our wingers , centres, flying through the air, miraculously touching down for a try, even the square in the air and the celebrations after! Show Mickey Lewis shrugging off tacklers to serve up a perfect pass for Sue to crash over by the posts, let people see Sneyd pinpoint kicks to players contesting the ball, show Armstrong, Dufty, racing down the pitch, show the passion of the Catalans fans, show the diversity and inclusion in ALL our crowds, we’re not an elitist sport of the Establishment, show we accept everyone, but do something! The way the game is promoted you’d think it was categorised Top Secret, and fell under the Official Secrets Act. Get Fox Sports in Australia to do the promos, they know how to sell a game! But the RFL, this is how it seems to me, “There are games in June, turn up if you want, it’s expensive, I wouldn’t bother, if it’s a nice day go to the seaside!”
Lions led by Donkeys comes to mind.