Road to Wembley: 1895 Cup second round starts this weekend

The second round of the new 1895 Cup competition gets underway this weekend, with 16 teams carrying hope of reaching Wembley in August.

For two clubs involved, Wembley is still only two wins away in the Challenge Cup, with Bradford and Halifax going head to head in the famous old competition on Sunday.

The 1895 Cup final will take place after the Challenge Cup final in August, and the RFL have already confirmed that a re-shuffle would take place if a side is to reach the semi-finals of both competitions.

If that does happen, then the 1895 Cup semi-final will be put back until the Wednesday after the Challenge Cup semi-finals (to be played on Saturday July 27) – so if the Championship club then lost their Challenge Cup semi-final, they would have a second chance to reach Wembley via the 1895 Cup.

If a Championship club was to win their Challenge Cup semi-final, then the loser of the other 1895 Cup semi-final (to be played on Sunday July 28) would get a second chance on the Wednesday (July 31).

The last of the 16 teams to have played at Wembley were Sheffield Eagles, in their famous Challenge Cup win over Wigan in 1998.

Prior to that, Bradford were beaten there by St Helens in 1996 and 1997, while Widnes made it in 1993, losing to Wigan.

None of the clubs involved have ever played at the new Wembley.

There are four League One sides left in the competition, with Oldham the only one with a home draw, and that comes against league rivals Doncaster.

1895 Cup second round fixtures