What do you think?

The cup is already suffering from its mid season, disjointed schedule, and now has the novel Super 8s to compete with.

This season it has captured my imagination more than previous from the round we entered into it up until now. Then again, it has been a long time in between drinks. Maybe non Leeds or Rovers fans should answer to give a more unbiased answer?

Hang on. You mean because Wigan were out of the cup quite a long time ago and with the introduction on the Super 8s that you have lost interest? Who would have thought!

Ask any Rhinos or HKR fan what they think to the cup. Leeds are set to take 30K to Wembley, the super 8s is just adding to the cup fever.

I do agree that the cup should be brought forward a little more - Maybe not as early as May. The current cup schedule is rewarding the more consistent E.g Saints. Around May they might have won the cup...fast forward three months and they are dire like Wire.

Leeds end at Wembley is sold out.

I think the cup should move back to a final on the end of May bank holiday

With Magic weekend, trips to the South of France, internationals, Grand final, WCC...the CC is no longer the only day out, so it isn't unexpected.

It was at the end of May as a season ending show piece event which, since the advent of summer rugby, we now have the Grand Final to round the season off.

If you have the Challenge Cup final at the end of May, when would you have the different rounds and why should it be more exciting/ popular because of a May final.
The rugby season is still in it's early stages and you would risk the comp being less popular.
Also we now have the Magic Weekend to work around ??

i think the OP has it wrong, its the super 8s that have seen the crowds dwindling, apart from leeds home games, all games attendences have been 'not great'

as for the CC, attendence figures have been low for a few seasons now

There are plenty of issues with 'the eights', but I don't think you can put it down to the cup - or visa versa. Let's be honest, people have been talking about the "demise of the cup" well before the Super Eights were even discussed.

As for crowds in the 8s, I personally think that a lot of it is down to sheer number of games. Friday was the fourth time Leeds had played Wigan, and it's highly likely there will be a fifth meeting. That's just too much.

It should be obvious that my question was meant in the general sense, it goes without saying that for the teams in the final it will seem as "magical" as ever. And I wasn't at any point suggesting that the magic has actually gone, just that it might be dwindling and perhaps be in the shadow of the Super 8s.


Oh I see, you don't disagree, you just wanted a cheap pop at a Wigan fan

Challenge Cup success is a novelty for Leeds though

I agree that the number of repeat games doesn't help, but it does seem odd that at some clubs even some season ticket holders haven't shown up. I know it's holiday time, but it just seems odd that they'd go to a game against a bottom 4 side but not a top 8 rival. Maybe it just needs more time for fans to get used to the format.

As for the cup final, I think a move to July at the end of the regular season could work, as without football and RU on it would get a lot more media exposure. It'd also offer all the non-finalists a week off, so the players would be fresher for the Super8's.

Really? You might want to check the history books.

No one's jealous of Wigan buying success for a decade either so jog on or go back to your foot stamping that's clearly about being knocked out, yet again.

LOL don't get your knickers in a twist over a bit of banter.



Nobody mentioned our success but you, who is apparently not bothered by it.

Wembley visits aren't though, so decent effort.

Yet another thread that ends up with Leeds and Wigan fans bickering, they're both as bad as each other.

As for the cup the magic is never lost to the teams who make the final. Overall it has lost a bit but that started when the final ceased to be the big day out at the end of the season having been replaced by the Grand Final.

loiner81 is a very sensitive soul isn't he?

That's me.



To be fair, when I quoted him the smiley he'd used showed up as : mrgreen : so I just assumed that, like every other Wigan fan roaming the earth, he was referring back to those years when Wigan bought every player available to win 6000 Challenge Cups on the bounce, making fans of all other clubs supposedly jealous, and Wigan homeless & having to cheat the salary cap to avoid relegation...

If we want the Challenge Cup to get bigger crowds we need to look at including 1 home game on each season ticket. If your team doesn't get a home tie that year, you get the "value" deducted from the following years season ticket.
As it is, Wembley will be full and the cup will always be the biggest showcase we have on FTA TV......so no panic!

didnt clubs try that a few seasons ago? i know home fans got free entry at the fourth round, cant remember if away fans did too, a few of the lower tier teams complained about losing out on shared gate receipts too

if we are going to do that then they need to be compensated for that fixture imo

What about Home fans get in on their ST (casuals pay on the gate) and the away club keeps the revenue from the tickets they pre-sell to their fans? Then there's an incentive for both clubs to market the games, with the home side re-engaging lost fans and the away side boosting their coffers?
It's not a perfect solution, but it's better than letting challenge cup attendances plummet.

Every season ticket holder got the 1st cup game for free. However a certain Mr Hethrington spat his dummy out when Leeds were drawn at home to Saints iirc and virtually everyone got in for free.

So all the other clubs spinelessly went along with him and voted to get rid of it? These decisions are voted on by all the SL clubs! Hetherington is by far the most experienced and successful of them but surely half the clubs don't just slavishly follow him.

All it takes is one chairman to refuse free entry as part of the season ticket for it to be stopped.