League 1 Cup
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (May 2016) |
 | |
| Sport | Rugby league |
|---|---|
| Instituted | 2015 |
| Ceased | 2017 |
| Number of teams | 16 |
| Country |  England Wales (RFL) |
| Holders |  Barrow Raiders (1st title) |
| Most titles | Barrow Raiders Keighley Cougars North Wales Crusaders (1 title) |
| Website | Official Site |
| Related competition | League 1 NCL |
The League 1 Cup was a knockout cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League for the third division of rugby league in Britain. The cup was contested by the British League 1 teams, as well as two teams from the National Conference League.[1] The final took place on the same weekend as The Summer Bash, and was the first game of the weekend to be played.
In 2017 it was announced the League 1 Cup would be retired after just three seasons.
History
[edit]In 2013 the Championship Cup was decommissioned after 12 seasons and the Challenge Cup became the only cup competition available to the Championships. In 2015, as part of the new structure a new cup competition was to be introduced, but only available to League 1 clubs and two clubs invited from the National Conference League.[2] The first final was played as the opening game of The Summer Bash at Bloomfield Road in Blackpool.
In 2017 the Rugby Football League (RFL) confirmed the 16 League 1 clubs had voted to scrap the League 1 Cup, mainly due to it interfering with the domestic league season. The last winners were Barrow Raiders.
Format
[edit]The first round of the League 1 Cup is split into two pools; Northern regions and South and Midlands regions, all the League 1 clubs and any National Conference League (NCL) clubs invited to enter to make the number of teams up to 16 enter at this stage. A draw is made at the beginning of each round to determine fixtures.
In the first year of the cup, 2015, there were only 14 clubs in League 1 so two NCL clubs were invited to play in the competition. In 2016 and 2017 although there were 16 clubs in League 1, the non-UK based clubs; Toulouse Olympique (2016) and Toronto Wolfpack (2017); decided not to enter the cup so one NCL club was invited to play in their stead.
Other than a regional based first round to reduce travel costs, the cup is a knock-out competition with no seeding. Only the final is played at a neutral venue.
- First Round: 16 clubs enter
- Second Round: Last 8
- Semi Finals: Last 4.
- Final: Played at Bloomfield Road
Cup Finals
[edit]| Year | Winners | Score | Runner–up | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | North Wales Crusaders |
12–8 |  Swinton Lions |
Bloomfield Road, Blackpool | 8,650[note 1] |
| 2016 | Keighley Cougars |
22–18 |  York City Knights |
9,521[note 1] | |
| 2017 | Barrow Raiders |
38–32 | North Wales Crusaders |
11,557[note 1] |
- ^ a b c Attendance figure is the total for day 1 of the Summer Bash, not the number of spectators present when the game was played.
Winners
[edit]| Club | Wins | Last win | Runners-up | Last final lost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Wales Crusaders |
1 | 2015 | 1 | 2017 |
| Keighley Cougars |
1 | 2016 | 0 | N/A |
| Barrow Raiders |
1 | 2017 | 0 | N/A |
| Swinton Lions |
0 | N/A | 1 | 2015 |
| York City Knights |
0 | N/A | 1 | 2016 |
Sponsorship
[edit]In February 2015, the Rugby Football League (RFL) announced a 3-year deal with isotonic soft drink company iPro for the competition to be been known as the iPro Sport Cup.[1]
The official rugby ball supplier was Steeden.[3]
| Period | Sponsor | Name |
|---|---|---|
| 2015–2017 | iPro | iPro Sport Cup |
References
[edit]- ^ a b "The iPro Sport Cup". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
- ^ "iPro Sport Cup". Rugby Football League. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
- ^ "Steeden become Official Match Ball Partner".