# 2016 League 1 Cup

The 2016 League 1 Cup known as the 2016 iPro Sport cup for sponsorship reasons is the second playing of the competition, first played in 2015.
The competition is for the rugby league clubs in the British League 1 - the third tier of rugby league in Britain. As there are 15 teams in League 1 but French club Toulouse Olympique declined to enter the tournament, two amateur teams were invited into the competition to bring the numbers to 16. In 2016 these clubs were Wath Brow Hornets and Leigh Miners Rangers.

## Teams

| Team | Appearance | First appearance | Last appearance |
| Barrow Raiders | 2nd | 2015 | 2015 |
| Coventry Bears | 2nd | 2015 | 2015 |
| Doncaster | 1st | 2016 | N/A |
| Gloucestershire All Golds | 2nd | 2015 | 2015 |
| Hemel Stags | 2nd | 2015 | 2015 |
| Hunslet Hawks | 1st | 2016 | N/A |
| Keighley Cougars | 2nd | 2015 | 2015 |
| Leigh Miners Rangers | 1st | 2016 | N/A |
| London Skolars | 2nd | 2015 | 2015 |
| Newcastle Thunder | 2nd | 2015 | 2015 |
| North Wales Crusaders | 2nd | 2015 | 2015 |
| Oxford | 2nd | 2015 | 2015 |
| Rochdale Hornets | 2nd | 2015 | 2015 |
| South Wales Scorpions | 2nd | 2015 | 2015 |
| Wath Brow Hornets | 1st | 2016 | N/A |
| York City Knights | 2nd | 2015 | 2015 |

## First round

The first round draw of the 2016 iPro Sport Cup was broadcast live on BBC Radio Newcastle on Thursday November 26 from 6.45pm. Last year's winners, North Wales Crusaders, joined the other 13 Kingstone Press League 1 clubs and Kingstone Press National Conference League teams Leigh Miners Rangers and Wath Brow Hornets in the bag from which eight ties played over the weekend of February 20–21 will be selected.
The draw was made by former England, Huddersfield Giants, Hull FC and York City Knights player Chris Thorman and BBC Newcastle presenter and former footballer John Anderson . For the first round the teams were split into two pools – Pool A (Northern regions) and Pool B (Midlands and Southern regions).

### Pool A

| Home | Score | Away | Match information | Match information | Match information | Match information |
| Home | Score | Away | Date and time | Venue | Referee | Attendance |
| Wath Brow Hornets | 4 – 10 | Keighley Cougars | 20 February 2016, 14:30 | Cleator Moor | C Straw | 300 |
| Newcastle Thunder | 36 – 12 | Leigh Miners Rangers | 20 February 2016, 18:30 | Kingston Park | T Crashley | 200 |
| Hunslet Hawks | 4 – 24 | York City Knights | 21 February 2016, 15:00 | South Leeds Stadium | D Merrick | 464 |
| Doncaster | 35 – 28 | North Wales Crusaders | 21 February 2016, 15:00 | Keepmoat Stadium | A Sweet | 513 |
| Barrow Raiders | 4 – 14 | Rochdale Hornets | 21 February 2016, 15:30 | Craven Park | S Mikalauskas | 659 |
| Source: |||||||||

### Pool B

| Home | Score | Away | Match information | Match information | Match information | Match information |
| Home | Score | Away | Date and time | Venue | Referee | Attendance |
| London Skolars | 44 – 6 | South Wales Scorpions | 20 February 2016, 16:00 | New River Stadium | J Smith | 100 |
| Coventry Bears | 24 – 48 | Gloucestershire All Golds | 21 February 2016, 14:00 | Butts Park Arena | T Grant | 146 |
| Oxford Rugby League | 34 – 12 | Hemel Stags | 21 February 2016, 14:30 | Maidenhead RFC | G Hewer | 155 |
| Source: |||||||||

## Second round

The second round draw took place on Sunday February 21 live on BBC Radio Leeds. Home teams were drawn by former Great Britain and Leeds Rhinos player Francis Cummins; the away teams by BBC Radio Leeds presenter James Deighton.
| Home | Score | Away | Match information | Match information | Match information | Match information |
| Home | Score | Away | Date and time | Venue | Referee | Attendance |
| Doncaster | 12 – 24 | London Skolars | 3 April 2016, 15:00 | Keepmoat Stadium | J Roberts | 367 |
| Keighley Cougars | 54 – 14 | Oxford Rugby League | 3 April 2016, 15:00 | Cougar Park | C Straw | 402 |
| Rochdale Hornets | 16 – 40 | York City Knights | 3 April 2016, 15:00 | Spotland Stadium | A Sweet | 451 |
| Gloucestershire All Golds | 36 – 28 | Newcastle Thunder | 3 April 2016, 15:00 | Prince of Wales Stadium | S Mikalauskas | 102 |
| Source: |||||||||

## Semi finals

The draw for the semi-finals was made on 3 April 2016.
| Home | Score | Away | Match information | Match information | Match information | Match information |
| Home | Score | Away | Date and time | Venue | Referee | Attendance |
| London Skolars | 22 – 31 | Keighley Cougars | 30 April 2016, 14:30 | New River Stadium | Tom Grant | 436 |
| York City Knights | 58 – 14 | Gloucestershire All Golds | 1 May 2016, 15:00 | Bootham Crescent | Scott Mikalauskas | 469 |
| Source: |||||||||

## Final

| Home | Score | Away | Match information | Match information | Match information | Match information |
| Home | Score | Away | Date and time | Venue | Referee | Attendance |
| Keighley Cougars | 22 – 18 | York City Knights | 28 May 2016, 12:00 | Bloomfield Road, Blackpool | Scott Mikalauskas | |
| Source: |||||||||