now first up i love the CC i has a great nostalgic thing about it and like many southerners before sky cam along it was the only chance we'd get to watch RL, without it i'd never have found the sport.

but its pretty much a given that no non SL team will ever again win the CC yes some NL1 teams do have a good run now and again.

the point is today the crowd was awful. anyone tuning in to see a CC quater final to see empty stands round most of the park would be put off.

i think that as the SL has a monopoly on winning the CC and that you can no longer get relegated out of SL means its essentially blocked this trophy for everyone.

yes some of the uni teams did really well this year but only upto a point the big clubs come in later on in the competition something i disagree with. they have more money and better players why should they get a bye for a few rounds. would it degrade the trophy to make it that all SL teams can only enter players say under 21? something needs to be done to save the comp before it just gets washed away in a tide of apathy

When was the last time a team from outside the top division won the Challenge Cup?

This weekend's games have been the most exciting I think I have ever seen at this stage. Both of the live games have restored my faith in the Challenge Cup and we should acknowledge the role that Super League and its competitiveness has played in that.

That pretty much puts a nail in the coffin of this thread.

You could say the same about football. The last time a team outside the top flight won the FA Cup was almost 30 years ago and I think there's been less than 10 winners from outside the top flight in over 100 years. I can't see it happening again any time soon.

The simple fact is that there aren't enough players in the game for teams in the lower leagues to be truly competitive. It's not the fact that SL has caused this, it's just the fact the sport simply isn't big enough for teams in the Championship to get players in their team that can be competitive enough to sustain a cup run.

exactly what i was going to type, both games have shown our game in great light to a national audience this weekend

My faith in the CC has been restored this weekend. I'd like to say thanks to the 4 teams that have been televised for making this happen.

When was the last time a team from outside the top flight reached the semis?

oh

Franchising has breathed new life into the challenge cup and it started last year when there was no relegation.

All the SL teams have had a good crack at it. Up until last year we had the bottom 4 or 5 teams effectively opting out of the competition by resting players in favour of making sure they were fit and available for the relegation fight.

2 or 3 seasons ago Widnes from NL1 knocked out Cas who were in SL. At the time about 6 of the Cas first choice team had supposed injuries that kept them out of the tie. All these players were back the following week for the SL tie.

When we get to 16 teams we'll have even more teams giving it there best shot.

Even in the pre SL era no team from outside of the top flight won the CC but we did have more teams trying to win it. Relegation in the SL era is like relegation from the football premier league disastrous and to be avoided at all costs.

Us 3 years ago?