The Sportsman, BBC Sport and Premier Sports have each confirmed coverage of the Fourth Round of the Betfred Challenge Cup later this month, as the road to the May 28 Final at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium continues.
BBC Sport will continue their round by round coverage on Sunday February 27 by showing the Royal Navy’s first appearance at this stage of the competition, and a trip to the Fox’s Biscuits Stadium to face Batley Bulldogs – who were the first ever winners of the Challenge Cup 125 years ago.
That tie will kick off at 1pm, and it will be followed at 3pm by The Sportsman’s coverage of the meeting of two ambitious Betfred Championship clubs, York City Knights and Newcastle Thunder, at the LNER Community Stadium.
Then on Monday Night, Premier Sports will show their first Betfred Challenge Cup of the season, the blockbuster of two local rivals with rich pedigree in the competition – Leigh Centurions versus Widnes Vikings.
Leigh have won the Challenge Cup on each of their two Final appearances, in 1921 and famously against Leeds at Wembley in 1971 when their captain-coach Alex Murphy won the Lance Todd Trophy as man of the match.
Widnes have won the game’s oldest knockout competition seven times in 13 Final appearances, with four of the wins coming from seven Finals inside a decade between 1975-84, and the most recent appearance a defeat by Wigan in 1993.
The updated schedule of Fourth Round ties is as follows:
Sunday February 27
Batley Bulldogs v Royal Navy (1pm, live on BBC Sport)
Doncaster v Whitehaven (2pm)
Halifax Panthers v Featherstone Rovers (3pm)
London Broncos v Bradford Bulls (3pm)
North Wales Crusaders v Hunslet (2.30pm, venue tbc)
Rochdale Hornets v Barrow Raiders (3pm)
Workington Town v Dewsbury Rams (2pm)
York City Knights v Newcastle Thunder (3pm, live on The Sportsman)
Monday February 28
Leigh Centurions v Widnes Vikings (7.45pm, live on Premier Sports)
TBC
Hunslet Club Parkside v Sheffield Eagles
