A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
| Duration | 9 Rounds |
|---|---|
| Number of teams | 75 |
| Highest attendance | 76,235 (Final) |
| Lowest attendance | 55  Oxford vs Lock Lane (3rd Round)[1][note 1] |
| Broadcast partners | BBC Sport Sky Sports |
| Winners |  Hull |
| Runners-up |  Warrington Wolves |
| Biggest home win |  Halifax 80 – 4 Lock Lane (5th round) |
| Biggest away win | Pilkington Recs 0–78 Halifax (4th round) |
| Lance Todd Trophy | Marc Sneyd |
The 2016 Challenge Cup, (also known as the Ladbrokes Challenge Cup[2] for sponsorship reasons) was the 115th staging of the Challenge Cup the main rugby league knockout tournament for teams in the Super League, the British National Leagues and a number of invited amateur clubs.
The cup was won by Hull F.C. who beat Warrington Wolves 12–10 in the final at Wembley Stadium on 27 August 2016.
The defending champions, Leeds Rhinos who were looking to win the trophy three times in a row were defeated by Huddersfield Giants in the sixth round.[3]
The format of the competition is eight knock-out rounds followed by a final. The first two rounds are composed entirely of amateur teams. The nine winners of the second round ties are joined in round 3 by the 15 Championship 1 teams. For the fourth round the 12 Championship teams are included in the draw. Starting in 2015 and continuing for the 2016 competition round 5 sees four Super League teams entering the competition. These are the four teams that finished in the bottom four positions of the 2015 Super League and are; Widnes Vikings, Hull Kingston Rovers, Salford Red Devils, and Wakefield Trinity Wildcats. These are the same four teams that joined at this stage in the 2015 competition. The remaining eight Super League teams join in round 6.
First round
The draw for the first round of the 2016 Challenge Cup was held on 7 January 2016 at Wembley Stadium and featured 36 amateur teams from around the United Kingdom including two student teams, all three armed services and the police. Home teams were drawn by Tom Briscoe and the away teams drawn by Lizzie Jones.
Fixtures for the first round were played over the weekend of the 30–31 January 2016.
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Attendance | ||||||||
| Thatto Heath Crusaders | 16 – 23 | Hunslet Club Parkside | 30 January 2016, 13:30 | Hattons Solicitors Crusader Park | M Griffiths | ||||||
| York Acorn | 36 – 10 | Sharlston Rovers | 31 January 2016, 13:30 | Acorn Sports & Social Club | H Neville | ||||||
| London Chargers | 14 – 22 | Shaw Cross Sharks | 30 January 2016, 14:00 | Old Blues RFC | G Dolan | ||||||
| Aberdeen Warriors | 16 – 42 | Northumbria University | 30 January 2016, 14:00 | Rubislaw Playing Fields | P Marklove | ||||||
| Normanton Knights | 18 – 31 | Distington | 30 January 2016, 14:00 | Queen Elizabeth Drive | A Haigh | ||||||
| West Bowling | 0 – 16 | Lock Lane | 30 January 2016, 14:00 | Odsal Recreation Ground | M Rossleigh | ||||||
| Royal Navy | 18 – 20 | Featherstone Lions | 30 January 2016, 14:00 | United Services Recreation Ground | G Evans | ||||||
| Hull Dockers | 8 – 6 | Thornhill Trojans | 30 January 2016, 14:00 | The Willows Sports & Social Club | C Campbell | ||||||
| Kells | 30 – 0 | Nottingham Outlaws | 30 January 2016, 14:00 | Old Arrowthwaite | J Stearne | ||||||
| East Leeds | 0 – 32 | Oulton Raiders | 30 January 2016, 14:00 | Richmond Hill | S Ellis | ||||||
| Millom | 32 – 14 | University of Hull | 30 January 2016, 13:30 | Coronation Field | C Braithwaite | ||||||
| Widnes West Bank | 20 – 38 | Rochdale Mayfield | 30 January 2016, 14:00 | Ted Gleave Sports Ground | N Bennett | ||||||
| Leigh Miners Rangers | 14 – 20 | Underbank Rangers | 30 January 2016, 13:30 | Twist Lane | J Jones | ||||||
| Wath Brow Hornets | 26 – 4 | Royal Air Force | 30 January 2016, 14:30 | Cleator Club | B Pearson | ||||||
| Stanningley | 16 – 28 | Pilkington Recs | 30 January 2016, 14:30 | Arthur Miller Stadium | L Staveley | ||||||
| Egremont Rangers | 64 – 0 | Blue Bulls | 30 January 2016, 15:30 | Gillfoot Park | J McMullen | ||||||
| West Hull | 36 – 4 | Great Britain Police | 31 January 2016, 14:00 | West Hull Community Park | K Moore | ||||||
| British Army | 4 – 30 | Siddal | 31 January 2016, 14:30 | Aldershot Military Stadium | L Moore | ||||||
| Source:[4] | |||||||||||
Second round
The draw for the second round was held at RAF Coningsby on 2 February 2016 and the teams were drawn by Sheffield Eagles coach Mark Aston and Batley Bulldogs coach John Kear.
Ties were played on 13 February.
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Attendance | ||||||||
| Millom | 12 – 46 | Pilkington Recs | 13 February 2016, 14:00 | Coronation Field | N Bennett | ||||||
| Shaw Cross Sharks | 6 – 40 | Lock Lane | 13 February 2016, 14:00 | Shaw Cross Club | B Pearson | ||||||
| Hunslet Club Parkside | 18 – 19 | West Hull | 13 February 2016, 14:00 | Hillidge Road | S Race | ||||||
| York Acorn | 28 – 10 | Distington | 13 February 2016, 14:00 | Acorn Sports & Social Club | P Marklove | ||||||
| Hull Dockers | 12 – 14 | Featherstone Lions | 13 February 2016, 14:00 | The Willows Sports & Social Club | M Griffiths | ||||||
| Egremont Rangers | 22 – 26 | Rochdale Mayfield | 13 February 2016, 14:00 | Gillfoot Park | M Mannifield | ||||||
| Siddal | 18 – 16 | Northumbria University | 13 February 2016, 14:00 | Siddal Sport & Community Centre | M Rossleigh | ||||||
| Kells | 42 – 6 | Underbank Rangers | 13 February 2016, 14:30 | Old Arrowthwaite | G Dolan | ||||||
| Wath Brow Hornets | 30 – 4 | Oulton Raiders | 13 February 2016, 14:30 | Cleator Club | J Jones | ||||||
| Source:[5] | |||||||||||
Third round
The third round draw was held on 16 February at North Wales Crusaders ground, the Glyndwr University Racecourse Stadium, Wrexham. The draw was made by Paul Rowley and Lee Briers. The 12 ties were played over the last weekend of February.
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Attendance | ||||||||
| Siddal RLFC | 30 – 4 |  Newcastle Thunder
|
27 February 2016, 14:00 | Reactiv Park | B Pearson | 405 | |||||
| Rochdale Mayfield | 14 - 40 |  Rochdale Hornets
|
27 February 2016, 14:00 | Mayfield Sports Centre | G Hewer | 937 | |||||
| Pilkington Recs | 13 – 0 |  London Skolars
|
27 February 2016, 14:30 | Ruskin Drive | L Moore | 500 (estimated) | |||||
| Kells ARLFC | 12 – 6 |  Hemel Stags
|
27 February 2016, 14:30 | Copeland Athletics Club | J Callaghan | 250 (estimated) | |||||
| Featherstone Lions | 37 – 20 |  South Wales Scorpions
|
27 February 2016, 15:00 | Mill Pond Stadium | S Mikalauskas | 400 (estimated) | |||||
| Wath Brow Hornets | 14 – 32 |  Toulouse Olympique
|
27 February 2016, 15:00 | Cleator Moor | D Merrick | 400 (estimated) | |||||
| West Hull | 0 – 54 |  Doncaster
|
28 February 2016, 14:00 | West Hull Community Park | T Crashley | 268 | |||||
 North Wales Crusaders
|
36 – 40 |  Gloucestershire All Golds
|
28 February 2016, 14:30 | Glyndŵr University Racecourse Stadium | J Bloem | 324 | |||||
| Oxford
|
22 – 37 | Lock Lane | 28 February 2016, 14:30 | Maidenhead RFC | B Robinson | 55 | |||||
 York City Knights
|
66 – 0 | York Acorn | 28 February 2016, 15:00 | Bootham Crescent | A Sweet | 2,293 | |||||
 Hunslet Hawks
|
46 – 12 |  Barrow Raiders
|
28 February 2016, 15:00 | South Leeds Stadium | T Grant | 354 | |||||
 Keighley Cougars
|
54 – 28 |  Coventry Bears
|
28 February 2016, 15:00 | Cougar Park | J Roberts | 421 | |||||
| Source:[1] | |||||||||||
Fourth round
The draw for the fourth round was made on 1 March at the White Lion pub in Swinton. The draw was made by retired players Adrian Morley and Paul Wellens.[6] The 24 teams in the draw comprise the 7 Championship 1 teams and 5 National Conference League teams who won through from the third round and the 12 teams of the Championship.
Ties were played over the weekend of 18–20 March.[6]
