Rhinos set to face holders Wigan in Challenge Cup
LEEDS Rhinos will face Challenge Cup holders Wigan Warriors in a mouthwatering sixth-round tie.
The teams are set to meet at Headingley next month in a repeat of the 2011 final, which was won by the Warriors 28-18.
Wigan, who also beat the Rhinos at Wembley twice in the 1990s, won the competition for a record 20th time last year thanks to a last-gasp victory over Huddersfield Giants.
It means back-to-back games between the rivals, with Leeds scheduled to take on the Warriors at the
DW Stadium in Super League on May 12.
The 12 Super League clubs are joined in the last 16 by the remaining lower-league teams, who have each had to win three games to reach this stage.
The Championship is guaranteed a representative in the quarter-finals after York Knights were pitted against London Broncos.
Castleford Tigers will host fellow Super League strugglers Hull FC at Wheldon Road, a tie which sees Andy Last, inset, go up against his former employers.
Last, who missed out on the Hull job after a spell in interim charge in 2020, was appointed as Castleford’s permanent head coach last week.
It will be the fifth Challenge Cup meeting between the clubs since 2015, with Hull winning all four previous matches.
Ian Watson has been handed a return to the AJ Bell Stadium after Huddersfield were drawn against Salford Red Devils.
The Giants are aiming to go one better this year following their Tottenham Hotspur Stadium heartbreak at the hands of Wigan.
Wakefield Trinity, who are still looking for their first win of the year after losing all 10 Super League games, face a home clash with Leigh Leopards – one of the sides to beat them – while Daryl Powell’s Warrington Wolves have been given a challenging assignment against Catalans Dragons in Perpignan.
Halifax Panthers – fifth in the Championship and conquerors of arch-rivals Bradford Bulls – can look forward to a dream date with four-time defending Super League champions St Helens at the Shay. Batley Bulldogs’ reward for beating Keighley Cougars is a trip to Hull KR.
The Bulldogs are seventh in the second tier after reaching the Grand Final in 2022. The ties are scheduled for the weekend of May 18–21, with dates and broadcasting arrangements to be confirmed in due course.
The final will be played at Wembley on Saturday, August 12.
Challenge Cup sixth-round draw: Catalans Dragons v Warrington Wolves, Castleford Tigers v Hull FC, York Knights v London Broncos, Halifax Panthers v St Helens, Hull KR v Batley Bulldogs, Wakefield Trinity v Leigh Leopards, Leeds Rhinos v Wigan Warriors, Salford Red Devils v Huddersfield Giants.
Batley, Halifax, London and York will also go into the hat for the 1895 Cup semi-final draw.
The draw will be made on the weekend of June 17/18 and ties played on the weekend of July 23/24 for the right to meet in the curtainraiser at Wembley on Challenge Cup final day.