The 2006 Challenge Cup (also known as the Powergen Challenge Cup due to sponsorship from
Powergen) was the 105th tournament played for
rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...
's
Challenge Cup. It features teams from across Europe including England, Scotland,
Wales
Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
, France and Russia.
The competition started in January 2006 with the preliminary round where the
Gloucestershire Warriors from the
Rugby League Conference surprised an established Pennine League team in
Illingworth. The final was scheduled to be played at the new
Wembley Stadium but in March 2006 it became apparent that the stadium would not be ready for the final on 26 August so it was switched to
Twickenham.
In the final
St. Helens proved too strong for the
Huddersfield Giants
The Huddersfield Giants are an English professional rugby league club from Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. Huddersfield play their home games at the John Smiths Stadium and compete in Super League, the top tier of British rugby league sy ...
, winning by 42 points to 12. It was Huddersfield's first final since 1953, when they also faced St Helens.
Round 1
:''(week ending 5 February)''
Sees the introduction of the major amateur clubs from the
National Conference League and the teams from
National League 3
Round 2
:''(week ending 19 February)''
Round 3
:''(week ending 12 March)''
Round 3 sees the introduction of the
National League 1 and 2 teams and teams from France and Russia. Amateurs Thornhill Trojans provided the first surprise result by beating national 2 team Workington Town. Late season snow caused a number of postponements on the Sunday.
Round 4
:''(week ending 2 April)''
Round 4 sees the introduction of the
Super League
Super League (also known as the Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, and legally Super League Europe Ltd.) is a professional rugby league competition, and the highest level of the British rugby league system, which consists of twelve t ...
teams. Some matches are now televised live by the
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
. In this round the matches chosen for transmission were at Bradford and Wakefield.
Round 5
:''(week ending 21 May)''
No new teams enter at this stage. In this round the matches chosen for transmission were at St Helens and Widnes.
Quarter-finals
:''(week ending 4 June)''
In this round the matches chosen for transmission were at Hull KR and Leeds. Hull KR pulled off a major surprise when they beat Superleague team Warrington Wolves.
Semi-finals
:''(week ending 30 July)''
Unlike earlier rounds, matches from now on will be played on neutral grounds. Huddersfield have the chance to win the Cup for the first time in 1953 when they beat this year's final opponents St Helens.
Final

The final was originally scheduled to be played at
Wembley Stadium though because of the construction delay was alternatively held at
Twickenham Stadium
Twickenham Stadium (; usually known as Twickenham, and for sponsorship purposes known as the Allianz Stadium Twickenham) is a rugby union stadium in Twickenham, London, England. It is owned by the Rugby Football Union (RFU), the English rugby u ...
,
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
.

Teams:
St Helens:
Paul Wellens,
Ade Gardner,
Jamie Lyon,
Willie Talau,
Francis Meli;
Leon Pryce,
Sean Long,
Paul Anderson,
Keiron Cunningham,
Jason Cayless,
Jon Wilkin,
Paul Sculthorpe,
Jason Hooper
Subs:
Lee Gilmour,
James Roby,
James Graham,
Maurie Fa'asavalu Coach:
Daniel Anderson
Huddersfield:
Paul Reilly,
Martin Aspinwall,
Stephen Wild,
Michael De Vere,
Stuart Donlan,
Chris Thorman (c),
Robbie Paul,
Paul Jackson,
Brad Drew,
Jim Gannon,
Chris Nero,
Andy Raleigh,
Stuart Jones
Subs: Paul Smith,
Eorl Crabtree,
Steve Snitch,
Wayne McDonald Coach:
Jon Sharp
UK Broadcasting rights
The tournament was screened in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
by the
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
.
External links
Rugby Football LeaguePowergen Challenge Cup 2006on BBC.co.uk
{{2006 in rugby league
Challenge Cup
St Helens R.F.C.
Challenge Cup
Challenge Cup
Challenge Cup
Challenge Cup
Challenge Cup
Challenge Cup