Challenge Cup attendance watch: Hull derby draws huge crowd as quarter-final showpiece

It was another pulsating weekend of action as the quarter-finals of this year’s Challenge Cup took place: with some enthralling encounters produced.

Here’s a look at the four Challenge Cup attendances from the last few days…

Catalans Dragons v Salford Red Devils: Undisclosed

French outfit Catalans have gone down the route of not disclosing their attendances for Challenge Cup games at Stade Gilbert Brutus this term.

We didn’t get an official figure for their Fourth Round tie against Featherstone Rovers, and won’t be getting one here for Friday night’s game against Salford. In terms of the game itself, the Dragons prevailed on home soil, winning 20-12.

Wakefield Trinity v Leigh Leopards: 6,125

More often than not, a Challenge Cup game proves to be most Super League side’s lowest attendance of the campaign, and this ticks that box so far for Wakefield.

A strong travelling Leigh contingent watched on as the Leopards reached the semi-finals with a 20-12 victory, but there were only just over 6,000 spectators in Belle Vue overall on Friday night.

Hull FC v Hull KR: 20,226

The big attendance of the weekend came in Hull, and it’s no surprise given who was involved in terms of the derby. Visitors KR were 32-16 winners, keeping their hopes of winning a first major honour since 1985 alive in the backyard of their cross-city rivals.

FC limited the amount of tickets given to the Robins, and there were over 4,000 at Craven Park watching on a big screen! But there were still more than 20,000 present at the MKM Stadium on Saturday afternoon – and in the Challenge Cup nowadays, that’s largely unheard of.

This was actually the Black and Whites’ biggest crowd for a home Challenge Cup tie since 1961, so automatically became their biggest-ever for a cup tie at their current home ground.

You have to go all the way back to 1989 to find a bigger crowd for a Challenge Cup quarter-final than this, too, and it brought the biggest crowd for a cup game outside of the final since the 2008 semi-final between Leeds Rhinos and St Helens in Huddersfield.

Warrington Wolves v St Helens: 10,114

Two more local foes met at the Halliwell Jones Stadium on Sunday afternoon as the quarter-final action was rounded off by a clash between Warrington and Saints. Warrington prevailed 20-12, and will move on to the semis.

Attendance wise, just over 10,000 were there to see the Wolves’ win, including a strong travelling contingent that had made the short journey. That’s not quite Wire’s lowest attendance of the season, either, so a positive from that point of view.

MONDAY’S READS ON LRL

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👉🏻 Challenge Cup Team of the Week: Hull KR have FIVE inclusions as Leigh also dominate

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