1895 Cup final line-up locked in with venue confirmation still awaited

London Broncos will face Widnes Vikings in this year’s 1895 Cup final on August 31, but a venue for the competition’s showpiece is still to be confirmed.

Late last month, the Rugby Football League (RFL) announced that the 1895 Cup final would take place on Bank Holiday Monday in August as part of a new-look charity round organised by the governing body.

Up until now, the final of the competition had always been woven into the fabric of Challenge Cup finals day at Wembley, with 2022 when Leigh won it being the exception as that came at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

But the decision was taken to remove it from Wembley ahead of this season, and with the two finalists now confirmed, an official announcement on the venue is still awaited.

Wakefield Trinity’s DIY Kitchens Stadium has been mooted as the destination for a number of months, but nothing official has been distributed on that front.

Trinity were winners of the 1895 Cup back in 2024, scooping it as part of their treble-winning campaign at Championship level before returning to Super League.

This year, it’ll be another former Super League club’s name on the trophy with either London or Widnes set to lift it for the first time.

1895 Cup final line-up locked in with venue confirmation still awaited

London are yet to be beaten in either the Championship or 1895 Cup this season, and look strong favourites to win both competitions after their off-season takeover by Australian businessman Grant Wechsel and NRL icon Darren Lockyer.

Jason Demetriou’s side booked their spot in the 1895 Cup final for the first time on Saturday, winning 62-24 away against Midlands Hurricanes.

Brandon Webster-Mansfield grabbed a brace of tries in the first half at Avery Fields to help the Broncos into a healthy 24-12 lead at the break, and went on to complete hat-trick early on in second half.

Finley Glare, Siliva Havili and Alex Walker were all also among the capital club’s second half try-scorers, with their only defeat in 2026 coming against Super League opposition in the shape of Bradford Bulls, who beat them in the Challenge Cup Third Round.

Sunday afternoon then saw Widnes sweep aside Rochdale, winning 52-0 on home soil at the DCBL Stadium.

The Hornets had actually been drawn as the home side, but the tie was reversed due to the Crown Oil Arena being unavailable.

Racing into an unassailable 32-0 half-time advantage on Sunday, Widnes then added 20 further unanswered second half points to cap off a dominant display.

They’ll head into the final in August as underdogs, but the Vikings have some wrongs to right having also reached the 1895 Cup final back in 2019 during the competition’s inaugural edition.

On that occasion at Wembley, they were beaten by Sheffield Eagles.