Cumbria’s three Championship clubs will be in Sunday’s draw for the revamped 1895 Cup competition.
Former Leeds Rhinos, Castleford Tigers and England star Luke Gale will join broadcaster James Deighton for the Preliminary and Round One draws live on BBC Radio Leeds from 5.40pm.
The competition, which was won by Wakefield Trinity two years ago, returns for 2026 with a new format featuring 19 Betfred Championship clubs.
Sunday’s draw will see six balls pulled first to produce three Preliminary Round ties before the remaining 10 – and the addition of the three teams still in the Betfred Challenge Cup and home balls from the Preliminary Round ties – are drawn to determine eight Round One fixtures.
Preliminary Round fixtures will be played on the weekend of March 14/15 with Round One scheduled to take place on April 17/18.
The final of the 1895 Cup will be played on Monday August 31, with the venue to be confirmed in due course.
Ball numbers for Sunday’s draw are:
- Barrow Raiders
- Batley Bulldogs
- Dewsbury Rams
- Doncaster RLFC
- Hunslet RLFC
- London Broncos
- Midlands Hurricanes
- Newcastle Thunder
- North Wales Crusaders
- Rochdale Hornets
- Salford RLFC
- Sheffield Eagles
- Swinton Lions
- Whitehaven RLFC
- Widnes Vikings
- Workington Town
On the conclusion of the draw for the preliminary round, balls 17 to 19 will be added:
- Goole Vikings – 17
- Keighley Cougars – 18
- Oldham RLFC – 19
Key dates for the 1895 Cup
- Preliminary Round: March 14/15
- First Round: April 18/19
- Quarter Finals: May 16/17
- Semi Finals: June 13/14
- Final: August 31, venue TBC
