Tonight, the 2022 Challenge Cup quarter-finals begin with an exciting clash between Hull KR and Castleford.
Tomorrow, Catalans and St Helens meet in a Grand Final rematch before Huddersfield and Hull FC do battle. The quarter-finals conclude with Wakefield vs Wigan on Sunday.
But as all eight chase the Challenge Cup in 2022, when was the last time each side tasted success in this competition?
Hull KR – 1980
Hull KR have only won the Challenge Cup once and that came in 1980 at the expense of rivals Hull FC at Wembley. This was when the two clubs were at the height of their powers and butting heads at the top of the league. But in the Challenge on this occasion the spoils went the way of the Rovers with Steve Hubbard catching the eye with an amazing try and three goals with Roger Millward adding a drop goal in a 10-5 win. The Robins most recent final appearance came in 2015 when they lost by a record score of 50-0 to the treble chasing Leeds Rhinos.
Castleford – 1986
Six years later, Hull KR were on the losing end against their quarter-final opponents tonight Castleford in a superb cup final which ended 15-14 in Castleford’s favour. Bob Beardmore was the man of the hour picking up the Man of the Match scoring a try and notching the decisive drop goal. The Tigers competed in last year’s cup final as they looked to end a 35-year wait for the trophy only to lose to St Helens. That was the second time under Daryl Powell that the Tigers lost at Wembley having lost to Leeds in 2014.
Catalans – 2018
One of the teams to win the cup more recently, Catalans will fancy their chances of winning the trophy a second time if they can defeat Super League Champions St Helens in tomorrow’s huge quarter-final. The last time they won it was on the back of the brilliant Tony Gigot in 2018 as massive underdogs against Warrington having beaten St Helens in the semi-final. There were tries for Lewis Tierney, Brayden Williame and Ben Garcia on this particular occasion. The Dragons also played in the very first cup final held at the new Wembley in 2007 against quarter-final opponents St Helens.
St Helens – 2021
The reigning cup holders and Super League Champions ended a 13-year wait to win at Wembley last year as they defeated a determined Castleford Tigers side. After a difficult first half against the Tigers, St Helens finished strongly to claim a 26-12 win to claim their 13th Challenge Cup.
Huddersfield – 1953
69 years ago Huddersfield won their sixth Challenge Cup against St Helens with a 15-10 win over the Saints at Wembley. Peter Ramsden became the youngest Lance Todd winner at 19 thanks to a pair of tries in front of a near 90,000 crowd. It’s been over half a century since then and the Giants most recent Wembley appearance was their defeat to Warrington in the 2009 decider when the third-place Giants were on the wrong end of a cup final upset.
Hull FC – 2017
In 2016, Hull FC ended their Wembley hoodoo with 12-10 win over Warrington in an all-time classic cup final. A year later they retained the trophy against Wigan in a similarly spectacular cup final in which Marc Sneyd picked up a second consecutive Lance Todd trophy as he inspired the Black and Whites to a narrow win over the Cherry and Whites.
Wakefield – 1963
The 60s was a great time for Trinity. They won three Challenge Cups in four years at the start of the decade before winning back-to-back league titles at the end of the 60s as well as contesting the famous watersplash final in 1968 against Leeds. Five years prior they won their last Challenge Cup trophy with a 25-10 win over Wigan.
Wigan – 2013
Oddly the competition’s most successful team hasn’t won the trophy in nearly a decade. The last time they won it they nilled Hull FC on the road to winning the double. That day Iain Thornley scored and nine years later he finds himself back at the club as they chase down the Challenge Cup in 2022.