2010 Championship Cup

British rugby league competition

Rugby league season

2010 Championship Cup

Teams| 20
Attendance| 49,202 (average: 1,144)
2010 season
Season Champions| Batley Bulldogs
Runners-up| Widnes Vikings

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2011 →

The 2010 Championship Cup (known for commercial reasons as the Northern Rail Cup) was the 9th season of the rugby league football competition for clubs in Great Britain's Co-operative Championship and Championship One.

The final was played at Bloomfield Road in Blackpool with Batley Bulldogs defeating the Widnes Vikings 25–24 to claim the trophy.

## Format

[edit]

The format and structure of the 2010 Northern Rail Cup competition was the same as in 2009. All the English-based Co-operative Championship and Championship One clubs have been divided equally into two pools for the group stages with five teams from each division in each pool.

Each team played two home games and two away games against teams in their pool with each club playing an equal number of The Co-operative Championship and The Co-operative Championship One clubs.

The top four teams in each pool following the conclusion of the group stage fixtures then progressed into an open draw for the knock-out quarter-final stage.

The Northern Rail Cup quarter-finals were played on the weekend of 5 and 6 June with the semi-finals taking place on 19 and 20 June.

The winners of the Northern Rail Cup were eligible to apply for a Super League licence in 2011.

Toulouse Olympique and newly formed South Wales Scorpions did not participate in the 2010 Northern Rail Cup.[1]

## Fixtures

[edit]

### Pool 1

[edit]

#### Round 1

[edit]

Home  | Score  | Away  | Match information

|
|
|

Date & time  | Referee  | Venue  | Attendance
Whitehaven | 26 – 34  |  Batley Bulldogs | 10 February, 19:30 GMT  |  | Recreation Ground (Whitehaven) | 888
Widnes Vikings | 50 – 6  |  Gateshead Thunder | 2 February, 15:00 GMT  |  | Stobart Stadium Halton | 2,200
Blackpool Panthers | 22 – 24  | Keighley Cougars | 31 January, 15:00 GMT  |  | Woodlands Memorial Ground |
Doncaster | 0 – 60  |  Barrow Raiders | 17 February, 19:45 GMT  |  | Keepmoat Stadium | 285
Workington Town | 18 – 19  |  Swinton Lions | 17 February, 19:30 GMT  |  | Derwent Park | 286

#### Round 2

[edit]

Home  | Score  | Away  | Match information

|
|
|

Date & time  | Referee  | Venue  | Attendance
Barrow Raiders | 34 – 8  |  Blackpool Panthers | 7 February, 14:00 GMT  |  | Craven Park | 1,474
Batley Bulldogs | 30 – 30  |  Widnes Vikings | 7 February, 14:00 GMT  |  | Mount Pleasant, Batley | 1,004
Keighley Cougars | 17 – 16  |  Whitehaven | 7 February, 14:00 GMT  |  | Cougar Park | 756
Gateshead Thunder | 12 – 26  |  Workington Town | 7 February, 15:00 GMT  |  | Gateshead International Stadium | 404
Swinton Lions | 30 – 20  |  Doncaster | 7 February, 15:00 GMT  |  | Park Lane (stadium) | 380

#### Round 3

[edit]

Home  | Score  | Away  | Match information

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|
|

Date & time  | Referee  | Venue  | Attendance
Batley Bulldogs | 46 - 10  |  Swinton Lions | 14 February, 14:00 GMT  |  | Mount Pleasant, Batley | 999
Keighley Cougars | 38 - 10  |  Workington Town | 14 February, 15:00 GMT  |  | Cougar Park | 654
Whitehaven | 54 - 10  |  Doncaster | 14 February, 14:00 GMT  |  | Recreation Ground (Whitehaven) | 808
Widnes Vikings | 22 - 20  |  Barrow Raiders | 14 February, 15:00 GMT  |  | Stobart Stadium Halton | 3,432
Blackpool Panthers | 74 - 6  |  Gateshead Thunder | 14 February, 15:00 GMT  |  | Woodlands Memorial Ground |

#### Round 4

[edit]

Home  | Score  | Away  | Match information

|
|
|

Date & time  | Referee  | Venue  | Attendance
Barrow Raiders | 62 - 18  | Keighley Cougars | 10 March, 19:45 GMT  | Craig Halloran  | Craven Park | 1,277
Doncaster | 20 – 40  |  Blackpool Panthers | 24 March, 19:45 GMT  | Tim Roby  | Keepmoat Stadium | 198
Gateshead Thunder | 4 - 100  |  Batley Bulldogs | 17 March, 19:30 GMT  | Chris Leatherbarrow  | Gateshead International Stadium | 237
Swinton Lions | 12 - 36  |  Widnes Vikings | 21 February, 15:00 GMT  | Warren Turley  | Park Lane (stadium) | 816
Workington Town | 22 - 14  |  Whitehaven | 21 February, 15:00 GMT  | M Thomason  | Derwent Park | 738

#### Pool 1 qualification table

[edit]

2010 Northern Rail Cup: Pool 1 Pos | Team  | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | BP | Pts

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1  |  Batley Bulldogs | 4  | 3  | 1  | 0  | 210  | 70  | +140  | 0  | 11
2  |  Widnes Vikings | 4  | 3  | 1  | 0  | 138  | 68  | +70  | 0  | 11
3  |  Barrow Raiders | 4  | 3  | 0  | 1  | 176  | 48  | +128  | 1  | 10
4  |  Keighley Cougars | 4  | 3  | 0  | 1  | 144  | 110  | +34  | 0  | 9
5  |  Blackpool Panthers | 4  | 2  | 0  | 2  | 144  | 84  | +60  | 1  | 7
6  |  Workington Town | 4  | 2  | 0  | 2  | 76  | 83  | −7  | 1  | 7
7  |  Whitehaven | 4  | 1  | 0  | 3  | 110  | 83  | +27  | 3  | 6
8  |  Swinton Lions | 4  | 2  | 0  | 2  | 71  | 120  | −49  | 0  | 6
9  |  Doncaster | 4  | 0  | 0  | 4  | 50  | 184  | −134  | 1  | 1
10  |  Gateshead Thunder | 4  | 0  | 0  | 4  | 28  | 250  | −222  | 0  | 0

Source: Northern Rail Cup Table – The RFL [2]
Rules for classification: 1st on competition points; 2nd on match points difference. Competition Points: For win = 3; For draw = 2; For loss by 12 points or fewer = 1.

### Pool 2

[edit]

#### Round 1

[edit]

Home  | Score  | Away  | Match information

|
|
|

Date & time  | Referee  | Venue  | Attendance
Dewsbury Rams | 50 - 4  |  London Skolars | 31 January, 15:00 GMT  |  | Tetley's Stadium | 887
Leigh Centurions | 24 - 12  |  Oldham | 31 January, 15:00 GMT  |  | Leigh Sports Village | 1,627
Sheffield Eagles | 13 - 6  |  Halifax | 17 February, 19:45 GMT  |  | Don Valley Stadium | 851
Hunslet Hawks | 0 - 68  |  Featherstone Rovers | 4 March, 20:00 GMT  |  | South Leeds Stadium |
Rochdale Hornets | 12 - 36  |  York City Knights | 17 February, 20:00 GMT  |  | Spotland Stadium | 362

#### Round 2

[edit]

Home  | Score  | Away  | Match information

|
|
|

Date & time  | Referee  | Venue  | Attendance
Featherstone Rovers | 18 - 18  |  Sheffield Eagles | 7 February, 15:00 GMT  |  | Chris Moyles Stadium | 1,175
Halifax | 24 - 0  |  Dewsbury Rams | 7 February, 15:00 GMT  |  | Shay Stadium | 2,141
London Skolars | 12 - 60  |  Hunslet Hawks | 7 February, 14:00 GMT  |  | New River Stadium | 328
Oldham | 22 - 14  |  Rochdale Hornets | 8 February, 20:00 GMT  |  | Boundary Park |
York City Knights | 13 - 12  |  Leigh Centurions | 7 February, 15:00 GMT  |  | Huntington Stadium | 911

#### Round 3

[edit]

Home  | Score  | Away  | Match information

|
|
|

Date & time  | Referee  | Venue  | Attendance
Leigh Centurions | 36 - 6  |  Featherstone Rovers | 14 February, 15:00 GMT  |  | Leigh Sports Village | 1,729
Sheffield Eagles | 40 - 10  |  York City Knights | 14 February, 15:00 GMT  |  | Don Valley Stadium | 840
Hunslet Hawks | 28 - 14  |  Oldham | 14 February, 14:00 GMT  |  | John Charles Centre for Sport | 519
London Skolars | 0 - 68  |  Halifax | 14 February, 15:00 GMT  |  | New River Stadium | 416
Rochdale Hornets | 12 - 48  |  Dewsbury Rams | 14 February, 15:00 GMT  |  | Spotland Stadium | 575

#### Round 4

[edit]

Home  | Score  | Away  | Match information

|
|
|

Date & time  | Referee  | Venue  | Attendance
Featherstone Rovers | 56 - 10  |  Rochdale Hornets | 23 February, 20:00 GMT  | Craig Halloran  | Chris Moyles Stadium | 777
Dewsbury Rams | 22 - 44  |  Leigh Centurions | 3 March, 19:45 GMT  | Jamie Leahy  | Tetley's Stadium | 888
Halifax | 36 - 42  |  Hunslet Hawks | 21 March, 15:00 GMT  | Ronnie Laughton  | Shay Stadium | 1,771
Oldham | 22 - 24  |  Sheffield Eagles | 21 February, 15:00 GMT  | Robert Hicks  | Boundary Park | 340
York City Knights | 34 - 12  |  London Skolars | 10 March, 19:00 GMT  | Tim Roby  | Huntington Stadium | 439

#### Pool 2 qualification table

[edit]

2010 Northern Rail Cup: Pool 2 Pos | Team  | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | BP | Pts

|
|
|
|
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|
|
|

1  |  Sheffield Eagles (Q) | 4  | 3  | 1  | 0  | 95  | 56  | +39  | 0  | 11
2  |  Leigh Centurions (Q) | 4  | 3  | 0  | 1  | 116  | 53  | +63  | 1  | 10
3  |  York City Knights (Q) | 4  | 3  | 0  | 1  | 93  | 76  | +17  | 0  | 9
4  |  Hunslet Hawks (Q) | 4  | 3  | 0  | 1  | 130  | 130  | 0  | 0  | 9
5  |  Featherstone Rovers | 4  | 2  | 1  | 1  | 148  | 64  | +84  | 0  | 8
6  |  Halifax | 4  | 2  | 0  | 2  | 134  | 55  | +79  | 2  | 8
7  |  Dewsbury Rams | 4  | 2  | 0  | 2  | 120  | 84  | +36  | 0  | 6
8  |  Oldham | 4  | 1  | 0  | 3  | 70  | 90  | −20  | 2  | 5
9  |  Rochdale Hornets | 4  | 0  | 0  | 4  | 48  | 162  | −114  | 1  | 1
10  |  London Skolars | 4  | 0  | 0  | 4  | 28  | 212  | −184  | 0  | 0

Source: Northern Rail Cup Table – The RFL [2]
Rules for classification: 1st on competition points; 2nd on match points difference. Competition Points: For win = 3; For draw = 2; For loss by 12 points or fewer = 1.
(Q) Teams qualifying for the next round

### Finals

[edit]

Sky Sports televised one Northern Rail Cup quarter-final tie live on Thursday 3 June and one of the semi-finals on Thursday 17 June as well as providing full coverage of the Northern Rail Cup final at Bloomfield Road, Blackpool, on Sunday 18 July.

| Quarter-finals | | | Semi-finals | | | Final |

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

|  |  |  | | |  |  |  | | |  |  |  |
| 1 |  Keighley Cougars | 32 | | |
| 2 |  York City Knights | 6 |
| |  Keighley Cougars | 18 |
|  |
| | |  Widnes Vikings | 48 |
| 3 |  Widnes Vikings | 26 |

| 4 |  Barrow Raiders | 12 |
| |  Batley Bulldogs | 25 |
|  |
| | |  Widnes Vikings | 24 |
| 5 |  Batley Bulldogs | 26 | |

| 6 |  Sheffield Eagles | 16 |
| |  Leigh Centurions | 4 |
|  |
| | |  Batley Bulldogs | 25 |
| 7 |  Hunslet Hawks | 6 |

| 8 |  Leigh Centurions | 42 |

#### Quarter-finals

[edit]

The Northern Rail Cup quarter-final draw took place on Wednesday 24 March and was broadcast live on Sky Sports’ weekly Boots N' All programme.

Barrow, Batley, Hunslet, Keighley, Leigh, Sheffield, Widnes & York all qualified for the quarter-final stage of the competition. The eight teams were entered into the open draw for the quarter-final knock-out stages which was played on the weekend of 5 and 6 June. Only Hunslet and York come from Co-operative Championship 1.

One quarter-final tie was brought forward to Thursday 3 June to be screened live on Sky Sports.

The teams lined up as per the table below:[3]

Home  | Score  | Away  | Match information

|
|
|

Date & time  | Referee  | Venue  | Attendance
Widnes Vikings  | 26 – 12  |  Barrow Raiders  | 19:30, 3 June 2010  |  | Stobart Stadium Halton  | 1,718
Keighley Cougars  | 32 – 6  |  York City Knights  | 15:00 6 June 2010  |  | Cougar Park  | 712
Batley Bulldogs  | 26 – 16  |  Sheffield Eagles  | 15:00 6 June 2010  |  | Mount Pleasant  | 708
Hunslet Hawks  | 6 – 42  |  Leigh Centurions  | 15:00 6 June 2010  |  | South Leeds Stadium  | 770

#### Semi-finals

[edit]

The semi-finals will take place on the weekend of 19 and 20 June with Sky Sports broadcasting one tie live on the Thursday night.

Home  | Score  | Away  | Match information

|
|
|

Date & time  | Referee  | Venue  | Attendance
Leigh Centurions  | 4 – 25  |  Batley Bulldogs  | 19:30, 17 June 2010  |  | Leigh Sports Village  | 2,058
Keighley Cougars  | 18 – 48  |  Widnes Vikings  | 15:00 20 June 2010  |  | Cougar Park  | 1,686

#### Final

[edit]

The Northern Rail Cup final took place at Bloomfield Road, Blackpool on Sunday 18 July at 4pm live on Sky Sports. The Match was contested by Batley Bulldogs and defending champions Widnes Vikings, who were looking for their 3rd cup victory in just 4 years. Batley won the match, beating Widnes 25-24 thanks to two late tries from Alex Brown. This was Batley's first appearance in a cup final since 1998 and first in a major final since 1952.[4] The victory leaves Batley eligible to apply for the 2012–14 Super League licences to gain promotion to the Super League, although coach Karl Harrison stated that they have no Super League ambitions.[5]

Home  | Score  | Away  | Match information

|
|
|

Date & time  | Referee  | Venue  | Attendance
Batley Bulldogs | 25-24  |  Widnes Vikings | 16:00 18 July 2010  | Robert Hicks  | Bloomfield Road, Blackpool | 8,138

## See also

[edit]

* 2010 RFL Championship
* 2010 Championship 1

## References

[edit]

1. ^ [1][permanent dead link‍]
2. ^ a b "Northern Rail Cup Table". RFL.
3. ^ http://www.therfl.co.uk/home/news_item_top.php?id=17091[permanent dead link‍]
4. ^ http://www.therfl.co.uk/home/news_item_top.php?id=18428[permanent dead link‍]
5. ^ "Batley win the Northern Rail Cup". 18 July 2010.

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2010 in rugby league

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*[Pld]: Played
*[W]: Won
*[D]: Drawn
*[L]: Lost
*[PF]: Points for
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*[PD]: Point difference
*[BP]: Bonus points
*[Pts]: Points
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