The Championship Cup, (known as the Northern Rail Cup for sponsorship reasons), and previously known as the National League Cup, was a rugby league football competition for clubs in the United Kingdom's Rugby League Championships. Although the French club Toulouse Olympique competed in the Championship from 2009 through 2011, they never participated in the cup until 2012 after they had left the Championship. The Cup's last season was 2013, after which it was replaced by the 1895 Cup.

History

The Trans-Pennine Cup was a short-lived competition for professional British rugby league clubs outside Super League. It was played for during the period in which all non-Super League professional clubs were grouped into a single competition, the Northern Ford Premiership. As part of the redevelopment of the Northern Ford Premiership competition; the National League cup was first held in 2002. It was known as the Buddies Cup, after its sponsor, a

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s manufacturer. Eighteen teams took part divided into three groups of six (East, West and Central). The Northern Ford Premiership was replaced by National Leagues One and Two in 2003. The competition was known as the Arriva Trains Cup after sponsor

Arriva Trains Northern Arriva Trains Northern was a train operating company in England owned by Arriva that operated the Regional Railways North East franchise from March 1997 until December 2004. Arriva resumed operating Northern train services again on 1 April 2016 ...

). The twenty National League teams were divided into four groups (North, East, West and Central) of five teams each, while in 2004 there were five groups (North, East, West, Pennine, Yorkshire) of four teams each. Northern Rail became the competition's sponsor in 2005 and the name Northern Rail Cup was adopted. Four teams from the then

National League Three The Rugby League Conference National Division (known as the National League Three From 2003 to 2003) was the fourth division of the British rugby league system. In 2012, it became the seventh tier of the system and was known as the National Confe ...

also entered the competition. There were no cross-group games in the 2005 competition; each team therefore played only six games in the group stages, with the top team from each of the first five groups progressing to the quarter-final directly. The second-placed team in each of these groups, plus the top team from group six (the group of teams from National League 3) played an additional round to determine the remaining three spots in the quarter-finals. For 2006 there were seven groups. Groups one to six comprised the 22 teams in National Leagues One and Two and the two southern National League Three teams, Hemel Stags and St Albans Centurions. There were four teams in each regional division. The top two teams from groups one to six and the best three third-placed teams qualified for the last sixteen knock out stage along with the winner of group seven. Group seven comprised northern National League Three teams that choose to enter, and included three teams: Bramley Buffaloes, Warrington Wizards and Dewsbury Celtic. In 2007 the competition adopted a new points system: Win – three points; Draw – two points; Loss by 12 points or fewer – one point. In 2009, the Northern Rail Nines tournament was started. Teams not involved in the Northern Rail Cup Final entered a rugby league nines event with the trophy and plate final played as curtain raisers to the Northern Rail Cup Final at Bloomfield Road,

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

Venues

Results

Winners

Championship Bowl

Records

Below is a list of National League Cup records. Most tries * 5 Paul Salmon ( Barrow Raiders) vs Workington Town 2002 * 5

Neil Turley Neil Turley (born 15 March 1980) is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. He played at representative level for England (Under-21s), and Lancashire rugby league team, Lancashire, and at club l ...

(

Leigh Centurions The Leigh Leopards are a professional rugby league club based in Leigh, Greater Manchester, England, who compete in the Betfred Super League. The club was founded in 1878, and is one of the original twenty-two clubs that formed the Northern R ...

) vs

Swinton Lions The Swinton Lions are a professional rugby league club based in Swinton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the Championship. The club has won the Championship six times and three Challenge Cups. Before 1996, the club was known s ...

2003 * 5 Neil Turley (Leigh Centurions) vs Chorley Lynx 2004 * 5 Jon Steel ( Hull Kingston Rovers) vs London Skolars 2005 * 5

Byron Ford Byron James Ford is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who last played for Newtown in the second tier NSW Cup competition in which he played for them in the 2008 NSW Cup grand final. He previously played in England wi ...

(Hull Kingston Rovers) vs York City Knights 2006 Most goals * Gareth Moore ( Batley Bulldogs) vs Gateshead Thunder 2010 Most goals in a final * 10 John Wilshere ( Salford City Reds) vs Doncaster 2008 equaling the all-time record for goals kicked in any final Most points * 42 (5 tries, 11 goals)

(

) at Chorley Lynx 2004 Highest score * Gateshead Thunder 4 vs 100 Batley Bulldogs – 2010 Highest away score * Gateshead Thunder 4 vs 100 Batley Bulldogs – 2010 Closest score * Batley Bulldogs 25 vs Widnes Vikings 24 – 2010 Most Final appearances (Club) * Leigh Centurions have contested 5 Championship Cup Finals. Most Competition Wins (Club) * Leigh Centurions have won 4 Championship Cup Finals, from 5 final appearances.

Broadcasting rights

Sky Sports broadcast a limited number of Championship Cup matches. In 2012 the rights passed to Premier Sports.Premier Sports to broadcast Championship matches
Sport on the Box 18 October 2011 Setanta Sports Australia broadcast live Northern Rail Cup matches in Australia.

References

External links

Official competition website

Fixture List for 2007 Season

Results for 2007 Season

Tables for 2007 Season

Scores from Sky Sports
{{British Rugby League links Rugby league competitions in the United Kingdom Sports leagues established in 2002 Sports leagues disestablished in 2013 2002 establishments in England 2013 disestablishments in England