The 2004 Challenge Cup, known as the Powergen Challenge Cup for sponsorship reasons, was the 103rd staging of the

Challenge Cup The Challenge Cup is a knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, with the exception of 1915–1919 and 1939–1940, due to World War I and World War II respectively. It involves am ...

, a European

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

cup competition. The competition began in November 2003, and ended with the final in May 2004, which was played at the Millennium Stadium in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

due to ongoing reconstruction work at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

. The tournament was won by St. Helens, who beat

Wigan Warriors The Wigan Warriors are a professional rugby league club in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the Super League. Formed in 1872 as Wigan Football Club, Wigan was a founding member of the Rugby Football League, Northern Rugby ...

32–16 in the final. The

Lance Todd Trophy The Lance Todd Trophy is a trophy in rugby league, awarded to the annual Challenge Cup Final's man of the match. Introduced in 1945–46, the trophy was named in memory of Lance Todd, the New Zealand-born player and administrator, who was killed i ...

was won by Sean Long.

First round

Second round

Third round

Fourth round

Fifth round

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

Final

Teams: St Helens:

Paul Wellens Paul Simon Wellens (born 27 February 1980) is an English professional rugby league coach who is the head coach of St Helens in the Betfred Super League and a former professional rugby league footballer. A Great Britain and England interna ...

Ade Gardner Adrian Antonio Gardner (born 24 June 1983) is an English former professional rugby league footballer, who spent the vast majority of his career with St Helens in the Super League. He was an England and Great Britain representative er. Early ...

Martin Gleeson Martin Gleeson (born 25 May 1980) is the assistant attack coach at the rugby union club; Wasps RFC. He is the former assistant coach at the rugby league club Salford Red Devils in the Super League, and an English former professional rugby lea ...

Willie Talau Viliamu "Willie" Talau (born 25 January 1976) is a former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. A Samoa national rugby league team, Samoa and New Zealand national rugby league team, New Zealand international rep ...

, Darren Albert; Jason Hooper, Sean Long, Nick Fozzard,

Keiron Cunningham Keiron Cunningham (born 28 October 1976) is a professional rugby league coach and former player. A Great Britain and Wales international representative , he played his entire professional career at St Helens, making nearly 500 appearances for ...

, Keith Mason,

Chris Joynt Christopher Michael Joynt (born 7 December 1971) is a former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. Not to be confused with the American cannabis activist with the same name. A Great Britain international repres ...

Lee Gilmour Lee Andrew Gilmour (born 12 March 1978) is an English assistant coach at Wakefield Trinity in the Super League and a former professional rugby league footballer. He played in the Super League for the Wigan Warriors ( Heritage № 911) (with w ...

Paul Sculthorpe Paul Sculthorpe MBE (born 22 September 1977) is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played as a or forward in the 1990s and 2000s. He played for England and Great Britain at international level, as well as representing ...

Jon Wilkin Jon David Wilkin (born 1 November 1983), also known by the nicknames of "Wilko" or "Jean Jean", is an English former professional rugby league footballer who last played as a and for St Helens in the Super League, the Toronto Wolfpack in th ...

Ricky Bibey Ricky Bibey (22 September 1981 – 16 July 2022) was an English professional rugby league footballer who played as a or . He made his professional debut in 2001 for Wigan Warriors, and went on to play for Leigh Centurions, St Helens, Oldham ...

Mark Edmondson Mark Edmondson (born 28 June 1954 in Gosford, New South Wales) is a retired Australian professional tennis player. Edmondson won the 1976 Australian Open while ranked 212th in the world, and remains the lowest-ranked winner of a Grand Slam t ...

Coach:

Ian Millward Ian "Basil"/"Minibus" Millward (born 22 August 1960) is an Australian rugby league coach, occasional pundit and former player. Millward is now the assistant coach of St George Illawarra in the NRL Millward is the former head coach of Wigan, S ...

Wigan:

Kris Radlinski Kristian John Radlinski MBE (born 9 April 1976) is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played mainly as a . He played his entire professional career for his hometown club, Wigan Warriors, making over 300 appearances betwe ...

, David Hodgson,

Sean O'Loughlin Sean O'Loughlin (born 24 November 1982) is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played as a loose forward for and captained the Wigan Warriors in the Super League, and has also played for Great Britain and England at int ...

Kevin Brown Kevin Brown may refer to: Entertainment * Kevin Brown (blues musician) (born 1950), English blues guitarist * Kevin Brown (author) (born 1960), American journalist and translator * Kevin Brown (poet) (born 1970), American poet and teacher * Kevin ...

Brett Dallas Brett Dallas (born 18 October 1974) is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played as a er in the 1990s and 2000s. An Australian international and Queensland State of Origin representative er, his club career included stints with b ...

Danny Orr Daniel Crawford Orr (born 17 May 1978), is an English rugby league coach and former player. He is an assistant coach for the Salford Red Devils. A Great Britain national rugby league team, Great Britain international representative or , Orr pla ...

Adrian Lam Adrian Lam (born 25 August 1970) is a Papua New Guinean professional rugby league coach who is the head coach of the Super League Club Leigh Leopards (was Leigh Centurions), and a former rugby league footballer. He played for the Sydney Rooste ...

Quentin Pongia Quentin Lee Pongia (9 July 1970 – 18 May 2019) was a New Zealand rugby league footballer who represented New Zealand in the 1990s and 2000s. Background He was the grandson of fellow Kiwi international Jim Calder. His sister Megan Tahapeehi ...

Terry Newton Terry Newton (7 November 1978 – 26 September 2010) was an English professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. He played at representative level for Great Britain, England and Lancashire, and at club level for the L ...

, Craig Smith, Danny Tickle,

Gareth Hock Gareth Hock (born Gareth Charnock; 5 September 1983) is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played as a or for the Leigh Centurions in the Betfred Championship. He has represented Great Britain and England at internat ...

, Andy Farrell (c)
Subs: Stephen Wild, Mick Cassidy, Danny Sculthorpe, Terry O'Connor Coach:

Mike Gregory Michael Keith Gregory (20 May 1964 – 19 November 2007) was an English professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s, and coached in the 1990s and 2000s. He played for Warrington from 1982 to 1994, and won 20 caps fo ...

References

External links

Challenge Cup official website
{{2004 in rugby league St Helens R.F.C. Challenge Cup