# 1998 Challenge Cup

The 1998 Challenge Cup, known as the Silk Cut Challenge Cup for sponsorship reasons, was the 97th staging of the Challenge Cup, a rugby league cup competition.
The competition ended with the final on 2 May 1998, which was played at Wembley Stadium.
The tournament was won by Sheffield Eagles, who beat Wigan Warriors 17–8 in the final, and is generally considered to be one of the biggest upsets in the history of the Challenge Cup final. The Lance Todd Trophy was won by Mark Aston.

## First round

The first round consisted of 60 teams, including clubs in National Conference Division 1 and Division 2, and other amateur clubs from around the country. Additionally, Dublin Blues became the first ever Irish team to take part in the cup. Matches were played on 5–6 December 1997, with the replay being played on 13 December 1997.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team |
| 1 | Worth Village | 32–4 | Fulham Travellers |
| 2 | Charleston | w/o | West London Colonials |
| Walkover for Charleston – West London Colonials withdrew ||||
| 3 | West Bowling | 18–24 | Thornhill |
| 4 | Redhill | 36–12 | Wigan St Judes |
| 5 | Oulton | 36–16 | Loughborough University |
| 6 | Wigan Rose Bridge | w/o | Kells |
| Walkover for Wigan Rose Bridge – Kells withdrew ||||
| 7 | Normanton | 14–14 | Folly Lane |
| Replay | Folly Lane | 22–15 | Normanton |
| 8 | Leigh East | 18–4 | East Hull |
| 9 | Skirlaugh | w/o | Blackpool Gladiators |
| Walkover for Skirlaugh – Blackpool Gladiators withdrew ||||
| 10 | Moldgreen | 18–8 | Barrow Island |
| 11 | Blackbrook | 17–23 | Haydock |
| 12 | Dewsbury Moor | 32–7 | Dublin Blues |
| 13 | Teesside Steelers | 10–48 | Leeds University |
| 14 | New Earswick All Blacks | 6–34 | BRK |
| 15 | Milford | 6–16 | Queens |
| 16 | London Skolars | 10–12 | Myton |
| 17 | Ideal ABI | 5–30 | Hunslet Warriors |
| 18 | Ellenborough | 40–14 | Crosfields |
| 19 | Siddal | 40–6 | Lindley Swifts |
| 20 | Eccles | 12–26 | Featherstone Lions |
| 21 | Broughton Red Rose | 14–24 | Hull Dockers |
| 22 | Millom | 22–2 | York Acorn |
| 23 | Ovenden | 18–16 | Dodworth |
| 24 | Waterhead | 28–4 | Westgate Redoubt |
| 25 | Stanningley | 50–16 | Nottingham Crusaders |
| 26 | Shaw Cross | 0–20 | Clayton |
| 27 | Farnworth | 26–12 | Lowca |
| 28 | Queensbury | 24–16 | East Leeds |
| 29 | John Moores Univ | 16–40 | Eastmoor |
| 30 | Norland | w/o | Westfield |
| Walkover for Norland – Westfield withdrew ||||

## Second round

The 30 winners of the previous round were joined by an additional 14 clubs from the National Conference Premier Division. Matches were played on 20–21 December 1997, with the replay and postponed matches being played on 27–28 December 1997.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team |
| 1 | Charleston | 8–34 | Saddleworth Rangers |
| 2 | Eastmoor Dragons | 40–8 | Leeds University |
| 3 | Worth Village | 4–52 | Thornhill |
| 4 | Moldgreen | 22–20 | Siddal |
| 5 | Redhill | 14–19 | Castleford Lock Lane |
| 6 | Folly Lane | 37–14 | Askam |
| 7 | Hunslet Warriors | 14–6 | Millom |
| 8 | BRK | 20–18 | Leigh East |
| 9 | Walney Central | 12–12 | Leigh Miners Rangers |
| Replay | Leigh Miners Rangers | 46–4 | Walney Central |
| 10 | Woolston Rovers | 22–0 | Oldham St Annes |
| 11 | Haydock | 11–0 | Waterhead |
| 12 | Stanningley | 10–37 | Farnworth |
| 13 | Wigan Rose Bridge | 8–37 | West Hull |
| 14 | Myton Warriors | 0–52 | Norland |
| 15 | Ellenborough Rangers | 28–22 | Queensbury |
| 16 | Dudley Hill | 14–42 | Skirlaugh Bulls |
| 17 | Queens | 42–18 | Beverley |
| 18 | Heworth | 12–4 | Clayton |
| 19 | Ovenden | 30–22 | Wigan St Patricks |
| 20 | Dewsbury Moor | 8–27 | Oulton Raiders |
| 21 | Rochdale Mayfield | 4–28 | Featherstone Lions |
| 22 | Egremont Rangers | 22–12 | Hull Dockers |

### Play-off

An additional play-off match between Oldham R.L.F.C. and one of the winners of the second round took place before the next round. This was due to Oldham being originally excluded from the cup, as the original club had been liquidated at the end of the previous season, but the Rugby Football League (RFL) later allowed the club to enter the competition following an appeal, with several of the remaining amateur clubs in the competition offering to play Oldham for a place in the next round. The match took place on 18 January 1998.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Attendance |
| 1 | Oldham R.L.F.C. | 36–14 | Heworth | 2,943 |

## Third round

The 22 winners of the previous round were joined by an additional 18 clubs from the First Division and Second Division. Matches were played on 31 January and 1 February 1998.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Attendance |
| 1 | Keighley Cougars | 66–16 | Saddleworth Rangers | 3,116 |
| 2 | York | 37–5 | Norland | 965 |
| 3 | Rochdale Hornets | 44–4 | Leigh Miners Rangers | 737 |
| 4 | Doncaster Dragons | 18–23 | Featherstone Lions | 1,012 |
| 5 | Wakefield Trinity | 44–6 | BRK | 1,369 |
| 6 | Swinton Lions | 74–6 | Folly Lane | 2,425 |
| 7 | Widnes Vikings | 48–8 | Oldham R.L.F.C. | 4,500 |
| 8 | Dewsbury Rams | 40–2 | Thornhill | 2,355 |
| 9 | Hull Kingston Rovers | 34–16 | Queens | 1,584 |
| 10 | Lancashire Lynx | 46–0 | West Hull | 488 |
| 11 | Workington Town | 12–8 | Haydock | 1,139 |
| 12 | Bramley | 10–16 | Ellenborough Rangers | 500 |
| 13 | Featherstone Rovers | 56–0 | Woolston Rovers | 1,126 |
| 14 | Batley Bulldogs | 44–2 | Oulton Raiders | 849 |
| 15 | Hunslet Hawks | 44–12 | Skirlaugh Bulls | 830 |
| 16 | Barrow | 52–8 | Farnworth | 927 |
| 17 | Leigh Centurions | 44–4 | Hunslet Warriors | 1,259 |
| 18 | Whitehaven Warriors | 48–7 | Castleford Lock Lane | 830 |
| 19 | Eastmoor Dragons | 14–20 | Egremont Rangers | 600 |
| 20 | Mold Green | 10–20 | Ovenden | 900 |

## Fourth round

The 20 winners of the previous round were joined by an additional 12 clubs from the Super League. Matches were played on 14–15 February 1998, with the replay being played on 18 February 1998.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Attendance |
| 1 | Egremont Rangers | 18–0 | Workington Town | 3,054 |
| 2 | Barrow | 22–36 | Widnes Vikings | 2,415 |
| 3 | Lancashire Lynx | 28–28 | Dewsbury Rams | 756 |
| Replay | Dewsbury Rams | 31–14 | Lancashire Lynx | 850 |
| 4 | Halifax Blue Sox | 28–8 | Huddersfield Giants | 5,862 |
| 5 | Leeds Rhinos | 12–15 | Castleford Tigers | 7,067 |
| 6 | Batley Bulldogs | 20–44 | London Broncos | 956 |
| 7 | Leigh Centurions | 11–66 | Sheffield Eagles | 1,391 |
| 8 | Wakefield Trinity | 6–42 | Warrington Wolves | 2,844 |
| 9 | Featherstone Lions | 20–56 | Hull Kingston Rovers | 1,913 |
| 10 | Ellenborough Rangers | 14–12 | Hunslet Hawks | 1,338 |
| 11 | Rochdale Hornets | 10–48 | Bradford Bulls | 5,466 |
| 12 | Swinton Lions | 39–21 | York | 780 |
| 13 | Ovenden | 0–74 | Salford Reds | 1,415 |
| 14 | Whitehaven Warriors | 12–26 | Hull Sharks | 2,030 |
| 15 | Keighley Cougars | 0–76 | Wigan Warriors | 4,700 |
| 16 | Featherstone Rovers | 24–56 | St. Helens | 2,759 |

## Fifth round

Matches were played on 28 February and 1 March 1998.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Attendance |
| 1 | Hull Sharks | 78–0 | Ellenborough Rangers | 3,013 |
| 2 | Dewsbury Rams | 0–56 | Wigan Warriors | 3,350 |
| 3 | Widnes Vikings | 6–48 | Salford Reds | 5,000 |
| 4 | St. Helens | 35–22 | Warrington Wolves | 8,499 |
| 5 | London Broncos | 21–18 | Halifax Blue Sox | 3,092 |
| 6 | Sheffield Eagles | 84–6 | Egremont Rangers | 2,500 |
| 7 | Hull Kingston Rovers | 46–24 | Swinton Lions | 2,551 |
| 8 | Castleford Tigers | 26–21 | Bradford Bulls | 10,283 |

## Quarter finals

Matches were played on 14–15 March 1998.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Attendance |
| 1 | London Broncos | 46–18 | Hull Kingston Rovers | 4,111 |
| 2 | Salford Reds | 41–10 | Hull Sharks | 6,210 |
| 3 | Castleford Tigers | 22–32 | Sheffield Eagles | 7,467 |
| 4 | Wigan Warriors | 22–10 | St. Helens | 17,179 |

## Semi finals

The semi finals were played at neutral venues on 28 and 29 March 1998. Sheffield Eagles won 22–18 against Salford Reds, reaching the Challenge Cup final for the first time in their history, but the match was overshadowed when a man invaded the pitch and attacked referee Stuart Cummings immediately after the end of the game. Wigan Warriors won 38–8 in a one-sided game against London Broncos.
* 28 March 1998
| Sheffield Eagles | 22 – 18 | Salford Reds |
| Tries: Taewa, Jackson, Aston, Laughton Goals: Aston (3) | Report | Tries: Rogers, White, Edwards Goals: Blakeley (2) Drop goals: Crompton, Blakeley |
* Headingley, Leeds Attendance: 6,961 Referee: Stuart Cummings
* 29 March 1998
| London Broncos | 8 – 38 | Wigan Warriors |
| Tries: Fatnowna, Mardon | Report | Tries: Moore (2), Radlinski (2), Bell, Robinson Goals: Farrell (7) |
* Alfred McAlpine Stadium, Huddersfield Attendance: 11,058 Referee: Russell Smith

## Final

* 2 May 1998
| Sheffield Eagles | 17 – 8 | Wigan Warriors |
| Tries: Pinkney, Crowther, Turner Goals: Aston (2) Drop goals: Aston | Report | Tries: Bell Goals: Farrell (2) |
* Wembley Stadium, London Attendance: 60,669 Referee: Stuart Cummings
| FB | 1 | Waisale Sovatabua |
| RW | 2 | Nick Pinkney |
| RC | 3 | Whetu Taewa |
| LC | 4 | Keith Senior |
| LW | 6 | Matt Crowther |
| SO | 22 | Dave Watson |
| SH | 7 | Mark Aston |
| PR | 8 | Paul Broadbent (c) |
| HK | 9 | Johnny Lawless |
| PR | 10 | Dale Laughton |
| SR | 11 | Paul Carr |
| SR | 12 | Darren Shaw |
| LF | 19 | Rod Doyle |
| Substitutions: ||
| IC | 24 | Martin Wood |
| IC | 25 | Lynton Stott |
| IC | 15 | Darren Turner |
| IC | 17 | Michael Jackson |
| Coach: ||
| John Kear ||
| FB | 1 | Kris Radlinski |
| RW | 5 | Mark Bell |
| RC | 4 | Gary Connolly |
| LC | 3 | Danny Moore |
| LW | 2 | Jason Robinson |
| SO | 6 | Henry Paul |
| SH | 7 | Tony Smith |
| PR | 10 | Tony Mestrov |
| HK | 9 | Robbie McCormack |
| PR | 17 | Stephen Holgate |
| SR | 11 | Denis Betts |
| SR | 12 | Simon Haughton |
| LF | 13 | Andy Farrell (c) |
| Substitutions: ||
| IC | 8 | Neil Cowie |
| IC | 20 | Lee Gilmour |
| IC | 16 | Terry O'Connor |
| IC | 14 | Mick Cassidy |
| Coach: ||
| John Monie ||