| 2019 RFL 1895 Cup | |
| Duration: | 5 Rounds |
| No Of Teams: | 20 |
| Biggest Home Win: | Doncaster 70–6 West Wales Raiders (5 May 2019) |
| Biggest Away Win: | Halifax 8–52 Sheffield Eagles (5 June 2019) |
| Season: | 2019 |
| Season Champs: | Sheffield Eagles |
| Season Champ Name: | Winners |
| Second Place: | Widnes Vikings |
| Mvp: | Anthony Thackeray (Sheffield Eagles) |
| Mvp Link: | Ray French Award |
| Nextseason Link: | 2021 RFL 1895 Cup |
| Nextseason Year: | 2021 |
The 2019 RFL 1895 Cup, known as the 2019 AB Sundecks 1895 Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the inaugural tournament for the RFL 1895 Cup, a rugby league football competition for clubs in the United Kingdom. The tournament was played between League 1 and Championship teams between May and August 2019. The format of the tournament was confirmed in December 2018, and consisted of five rounds. In round 1 eight League 1 teams played in a knock out round. Round 2 introduced the 12 English teams from the Championship who with the winners from round 1 will play eight ties. The quarter-finals and semi-finals followed in June and July, with the final played at Wembley Stadium on 24 August, with the Challenge Cup final also being played on this day.[1]
The competition commenced in May without sponsorship but in June it was announced that the cup would be sponsored by AB Sundecks, owned by former Leigh Centurions chairman Derek Beaumont.[2]
The teams participating in the inaugural 1895 Cup are as follows:
As some of the games in the later stages were scheduled for midweek, Coventry Bears, London Skolars and North Wales Crusaders decided against entering the competition for logistical reasons.[3]
Toulouse Olympique and Toronto Wolfpack were ineligible to enter the competition as the clubs are not full members of the Rugby Football League.
The first round ties were played on 4–5 May. The draw was made at Odsal Stadium on 12 March immediately after the draw for the fourth round of the Challenge Cup.[4] The tie between Hunslet and Workington was streamed live on the RFL's OurLeague app.[5]
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| width=17% | Date and Time | width=22% | Venue | width=10% | Referee | width=7% | Attendance |
| Newcastle Thunder | 38–12 | Keighley Cougars | 4 May 2019, 14:30 | Kingston Park | T. Crashley | 340 | |
| Hunslet | 28–31 | Workington Town | 4 May 2019, 15:00 | South Leeds Stadium | C. Smith | 296 | |
| Doncaster | 70–6 | West Wales Raiders | 5 May 2019, 15:00 | Keepmoat Stadium | C. Worsley | 248 | |
| Oldham | 48–12 | Whitehaven | 5 May 2019, 15:00 | Whitebank Stadium | J. Roberts | 369 | |
| Source:[6] | |||||||
The second round was played between 2–5 June. The draw was made on 5 May.[7]
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| width=17% | Date and Time | width=22% | Venue | width=10% | Referee | width=7% | Attendance |
| Batley Bulldogs | 38–18 | Rochdale Hornets | 2 June 2019 15:00 | Mount Pleasant | B. Pearson | 700 | |
| Dewsbury Rams | 44–26 | Swinton Lions | 2 June 2019 15:00 | Tetleys Stadium | J. Smith | 453 | |
| Leigh Centurions | 62–12 | Workington Town | 2 June 2019 15:00 | Leigh Sports Village | A. Sweet | 1,660 | |
| Oldham | 12–24 | Doncaster | 2 June 2019 15:00 | Vestacare Stadium | M. Rossleigh | 283 | |
| York City Knights | 30–16 | Newcastle Thunder | 2 June 2019 15:00 | Bootham Crescent | N. Bennett | 796 | |
| Barrow Raiders | 50–6 | Bradford Bulls | 5 June 2019 19:30 | Craven Park | J. Child | 1,161 | |
| Halifax | 8–52 | Sheffield Eagles | 5 June 2019 20:00 | Cougar Park | T. Grant | 312 | |
| Widnes Vikings | 22–16 | Featherstone Rovers | 5 June 2019 20:00 | Halton Stadium | G. Dolan | 1,515 | |
| Source:[8] | |||||||
The quarter-finals were played during the week starting June 24.
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| width=17% | Date and Time | width=22% | Venue | width=10% | Referee | width=7% | Attendance | |||||
| Doncaster | 28–32 | Sheffield Eagles | 26 June 2019 19:30 | LD Nutrition Stadium | C. Worsley | 374 | ||||||
| Leigh Centurions | 19–18 | Barrow Raiders | 26 June 2019 19:30 | Totally Wicked Stadium | G. Hewer | 1,012 | ||||||
| York City Knights | 16–17 | Batley Bulldogs | 26 June 2019 19:30 | Bootham Crescent | T. Grant | 1,395 | ||||||
| Widnes Vikings | 54–6 | Dewsbury Rams | 26 June 2019 20:00 | Select Security Stadium | M. Mannifield | 1,458 | ||||||
| Source:[9] | ||||||||||||
The semi-finals were played on Sunday 28 July.
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| width=17% | Date and Time | width=22% | Venue | width=10% | Referee | width=7% | Attendance | |||||
| Leigh Centurions | 8–12 | Widnes Vikings | 28 July 2019, 15:00 | Leigh Sports Village | B. Thaler | 4,460 | ||||||
| Sheffield Eagles | 18–2 | Batley Bulldogs | 28 July 2019, 15:00 | Olympic Legacy Park | G. Hewer | 727 | ||||||
| Source: | ||||||||||||
The final was played at Wembley Stadium on 24 August. Sheffield Eagles beat Widnes Vikings 36–18 after being 12–18 down at half-time. The inaugural winner of the Ray French Award was Sheffield's Anthony Thackeray.
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| width=17% | Date and Time | width=22% | Venue | width=10% | Referee | width=7% | Attendance | |||||
| Sheffield Eagles | 36–18 | Widnes Vikings | 24 August 2019, 17:45 | Wembley Stadium | C. Kendall | Not separately recorded | ||||||
| Source: | ||||||||||||