2006 Challenge Cup
{{short description|Rugby league competition}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2014}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2014}}
{{Infobox Rugby football league challenge cup
|title = 2006 Powergen Challenge Cup
|league =
|logo = Challnge Cup logo.jpg
|pixels = 150
|duration = 8 Rounds
|no_of_teams =
|highest_attendance = 65,187
|lowest_attendance =
|avg_attendance =
|TV = {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} BBC Sport
|biggest_home_win = Leigh East 86-10 Askam
|biggest_away_win = Ovenden 10-50
{{leagueicon|york city|12}} York City Knights
|season = 2006
|season_champs = {{leagueicon|st helens|16px}} St. Helens
|season_champ_name = Winners
|league_leaders =
|league_leaders_name =
|second_place = {{leagueicon|huddersfield|16px}} Huddersfield Giants
|MVP = {{leagueicon|st helens|16px}} Sean Long
|MVP_link = Lance Todd Trophy
|top_scorer =
|prevseason_link = 2005 Challenge Cup
|prevseason_year = 2005
|nextseason_link = 2007 Challenge Cup
|nextseason_year = 2007
}}
The 2006 Challenge Cup (also known as the Powergen Challenge Cup due to sponsorship from Powergen) was the 105th tournament played for rugby league's Challenge Cup. It features teams from across Europe including England, Scotland, Wales, France and Russia.
The competition started in January 2006 with the preliminary round where the Gloucestershire Warriors from the Rugby League Conference surprised an established Pennine League team in Illingworth. The final was scheduled to be played at the new Wembley Stadium but in March 2006 it became apparent that the stadium would not be ready for the final on 26 August so it was switched to Twickenham.
In the final St. Helens proved too strong for the Huddersfield Giants, winning by 42 points to 12. It was Huddersfield's first final since 1953, when they also faced St Helens.
Round 1
:(week ending 5 February)
Sees the introduction of the major amateur clubs from the National Conference League and the teams from National League 3
| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center" |
| Tie no
!Home team !Score !Away team |
|---|
| 1
|30-12 |
| 2
|15-14 |
| 3
|30-12 |
| 4
|24-32 |
| 5
|16-38 |
| 6
|10-12 |
| 7
|86-10 |
| 8
|32-22 |
| 9
|12-8 |
| 10
|28-12 |
| 11
|32-28 |
| 12
|42-12 |
| 13
|29-22 |
| 14
|13-42 |
| 15
|12-33 |
| 16
|18-0 |
| 17
|46-0 |
| 18
|76-0 |
| 19
|20-36 |
| 20
|34-4 |
| 21
|32-18 |
| 22
|20-28 |
| 23
|33-32 |
| 24
|40-12 |
| 25
|38-18 |
Round 2
:(week ending 19 February)
| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center" |
| Tie no
!Home team !Score !Away team |
|---|
| 1
|38-26 |
| 2
|20-22 |
| 3
|10-8 |
| 4
|30-18 |
| 5
|22-46 |
| 6
|35-16 |
| 7
|0-28 |
| 8
|38-24 |
| 9
|25-12 |
| 10
|22-28 |
| 11
|18-28 |
| 12
|14-20 |
| 13
|14-32 |
Round 3
:(week ending 12 March)
Round 3 sees the introduction of the National League 1 and 2 teams and teams from France and Russia. Amateurs Thornhill Trojans provided the first surprise result by beating national 2 team Workington Town. Late season snow caused a number of postponements on the Sunday.
| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center" |
| Tie no
!Home team !Score !Away team |
|---|
| 1
|6-34 |
| 2
|72-0 |Pia |
| 3
|16-12 |
| 4
|20-10 |
| 5
|24-10 |
| 6
|10-18 |
| 7
|64-4 |
| 8
|68-0 |
| 9
|34-18 |
| 10
|2-20 |
| 11
|62-1 |
| 12
|0-38 |
| 13
|80-0 |
| 14
|34-10 |
| 15
|14-36 |
| 16
|42-18 |
| 17
|6-26 |
| 18
|10-50 |
| 19
|0-34 |
| 20
|14-30 |
Round 4
:(week ending 2 April)
Round 4 sees the introduction of the Super League teams. Some matches are now televised live by the BBC. In this round the matches chosen for transmission were at Bradford and Wakefield.
| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center" |
| Tie no
!Home team !Score !Away team |
|---|
| 1
|56-6 |
| 2
|23-12 | Hull |
| 3
|66-0 |
| 4
|32-8 |
| 5
|40-8 |
| 6
|16-28 |
| 7
|44-10 |
| 8
|8-40 |
| 9
|48-6 |
| 10
|0-22 |
| 11
|12-36 |
| 12
|32-4 |
| 13
|18-20 |
| 14
|22-32 |
| 15
|56-0 |
| 16
|14-4 |
Round 5
:(week ending 21 May)
No new teams enter at this stage. In this round the matches chosen for transmission were at St Helens and Widnes.
| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center" |
| Tie no
!Home team !Score !Away team |
|---|
| 1
|16-4 |
| 2
|38-4 |
| 3
|16-34 |
| 4
|66-0 |
| 5
|44-12 |
| 6
|82-8 |
| 7
|46-2 |
| 8
|42-18 |
Quarter-finals
:(week ending 4 June)
In this round the matches chosen for transmission were at Hull KR and Leeds. Hull KR pulled off a major surprise when they beat Superleague team Warrington Wolves.
{{Rugbyleaguebox |
bg = #eeeeee |
date = 4 June 2006 |
team1 = 16px Leeds Rhinos |
score = 36–18 |
report = [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_league/challenge_cup/5040536.stm (Report)] |
team2 = 16px Harlequins |
points1 = Danny Williams (12), Scott Donald (8), Kevin Sinfield (8), Danny McGuire (4), Willie Poching (4) |
points2 = Luke Dorn (4), Tyrone Smith (4), Pat Weisner (4), Michael Worrincy (4), Rob Purdham (2) |
stadium = Headingley, Leeds |
attendance = |
referee= Karl Kirkpatrick }}
{{Rugbyleaguebox |
bg = #eeeeee |
date = 4 June 2006 |
team1 = 16px Hull Kingston Rovers |
score = 40–36 |
report = [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_league/challenge_cup/5040504.stm (Report)] |
team2 = 16px Warrington Wolves |
points1 = Byron Ford (12), Gareth Morton (12), Makali Aizue (4), Dwayne Barker (4), Ben Cockayne (4), Jon Goddard (4) |
points2 = Chris Bridge (8), Henry Fa'afili (8), Logan Swann (8), Martin Gleeson (4), Stuart Reardon (4), Michael Sullivan (4) |
stadium = Craven Park, Hull |
attendance = |
referee= Steve Ganson }}
{{Rugbyleaguebox |
bg = #eeeeee |
date = 4 June 2006 |
team1 = 16px Huddersfield Giants |
score = 44–14 |
report = [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_league/challenge_cup/5040422.stm (Report)] |
team2 = 16px Salford City Reds |
points1 = Michael De Vere (12), Paul March (8), Chris Nero (8), Robbie Paul (8), Martin Aspinwall (4), Brad Drew (4) |
points2 = David Hodgson (10), Aaron Moule (4) |
stadium = Galpharm Stadium, Huddersfield |
attendance = |
referee= Ashley Klein }}
{{Rugbyleaguebox |
bg = #eeeeee |
date = 3 June 2006 |
team1 = 16px St. Helens |
score = 56–10 |
report = [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_league/challenge_cup/5040102.stm (Report)] |
team2 = 16px Catalans Dragons |
points1 = Ade Gardner (12), Paul Anderson (8), Vinnie Anderson (4), Sean Long (4), Jamie Lyon (4), Leon Pryce (4), Jon Wilkin (4) |
points2 = Stacey Jones (4), Justin Murphy (4), Laurent Frayssinous (2) |
stadium = Knowsley Road, St. Helens |
attendance = |
referee= Richard Silverwood }}
Semi-finals
:(week ending 30 July)
Unlike earlier rounds, matches from now on will be played on neutral grounds. Huddersfield have the chance to win the Cup for the first time in 1953 when they beat this year's final opponents St Helens.
{{Rugbyleaguebox |
bg = #eeeeee |
date = 29 July 2006 |
team1 = 16px St. Helens |
score = 50–0 |
report = [https://web.archive.org/web/20071001005821/http://www.rleague.com/db/article.php?id=26035 (Report)] |
team2 = 16px Hull Kingston Rovers |
points1 = Jamie Lyon (18), Willie Talau (8), Jon Wilkin (8), Vinnie Anderson (4), Ade Gardner (4), Sean Long (4), Paul Wellens (4) |
points2 = |
stadium = Galpharm Stadium, Huddersfield |
attendance = 12,868 |
referee= Karl Kirkpatrick }}
{{Rugbyleaguebox |
bg = #eeeeee |
date = 30 July 2006 |
team1 = 16px Leeds Rhinos |
score = 12–30 |
report = [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_league/challenge_cup/5210858.stm (Report)] |
team2 = 16px Huddersfield Giants |
points1 = Scott Donald (4), Willie Poching (4), Kevin Sinfield (2) |
points2 = Michael De Vere (14), Stuart Donlan (8), Chris Nero (8) |
stadium = Odsal Stadium, Bradford |
attendance = 12,574 |
referee= }}
Final
File:Giants Saints.jpg prior to the match]]
The final was originally scheduled to be played at Wembley Stadium though because of the construction delay was alternatively held at Twickenham Stadium, London.
| class="wikitable" |
| {{Rugbyleaguebox |
bg = #eeeeee | date = 26 August 2006 | team1 = 16px St. Helens | score = 42–12 | report = [https://web.archive.org/web/20071001045703/http://www.rleague.com/db/index.php?id=80375 (Report)] | team2 = 16px Huddersfield Giants | points1 = Jamie Lyon (18), Jon Wilkin (8), Jason Cayless (4), Maurie Fa'asavalu (4), Sean Long (4), Willie Talau (4) | points2 = Martin Aspinwall (4), Michael De Vere (4), Robbie Paul (4) | stadium = Twickenham Stadium, London | attendance = 65,187 | referee= Richard Silverwood }} |
Teams:
St Helens: Paul Wellens, Ade Gardner, Jamie Lyon, Willie Talau, Francis Meli; Leon Pryce, Sean Long, Paul Anderson, Keiron Cunningham, Jason Cayless, Jon Wilkin, Paul Sculthorpe, Jason Hooper
Subs: Lee Gilmour, James Roby, James Graham, Maurie Fa'asavalu Coach: Daniel Anderson
Huddersfield: Paul Reilly, Martin Aspinwall, Stephen Wild, Michael De Vere, Stuart Donlan, Chris Thorman (c), Robbie Paul, Paul Jackson, Brad Drew, Jim Gannon, Chris Nero, Andy Raleigh, Stuart Jones
Subs: Paul Smith, Eorl Crabtree, Steve Snitch, Wayne McDonald Coach: Jon Sharp
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:left" |
| Next: 2007 |
UK Broadcasting rights
The tournament was screened in the United Kingdom by the BBC.
| class="wikitable" |
| Round
! BBC live match |
|---|
| Round 4
| |
| Round 5
| |
| Quarter finals
| |
| Semi finals
| St. Helens v Hull Kingston Rovers |
| Final |
External links
- [http://therfl.co.uk/ Rugby Football League]
- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_league/challenge_cup/5051048.stm Powergen Challenge Cup 2006] on BBC.co.uk
- [http://www.rlphotos.com/2006specials/RLCCFinal1/index.htm 2006 Challenge Cup Final at rlphotos.com]
{{St. Helens RLFC - 2006 Challenge Cup Final Winners}}
{{Challenge Cup}}
{{St Helens RLFC}}
{{2006 in rugby league}}