Current Scottish RLC Champions Edinburgh Eagles will head down to face Gloucestershire University in the 1st round of the Challenge Cup on Sunday 24th January 2010. The Eagles were lucky enough to escape the preliminary round playoff but will face a 7 hour journey down to their opponents for the 1st round where they hope to build on last year’s success, where they became the first Scottish team in history to progress through to the 2nd round of the cup beating the Royal Air Force in Wolverhampton in a thrilling 18 - 16 encounter.

The Edinburgh side have been at the top of the Scottish game for the last three years and won the domestic competition a record breaking third year running this year after a last minute score in extra time in the Scottish Grand Final saw them defeat Carluke Tigers who themselves defeated the Eagles earlier in the year. Carluke Tigers President and chair of the West of Scotland Rugby League Service Morgan Martin Area wished Edinburgh well:

 

"Best of luck to Edinburgh - away to Gloucestershire Uni will no doubt be a hard task but the Eagles have a strong squad and I'm sure they will represent Scotland Rugby League well and get the job done."

Edinburgh Eagles President Ash Carroll was asked his thoughts on the draw:

"I'm really happy with the draw, knowing the standard of student rugby league, this will be a tough game but one I'm sure we will all be up for. It's a long trek down there but after our run in the challenge cup last year we enjoy a bus trip! A few of the lads have been training together so now's the time to up the intensity ready for the 24th."

"We put up a brave fight against Leeds Met Carnegie last year in round two of the cup and only came away with a 20-6 loss which shows that we can compete with the Universities' in this competition. We are aspiring to round 2 and that is what we are hoping to achieve to push the game forward in Scotland one round at a time."

Edinburgh Eagles head coach Angus McNab also commented on the upcoming challenge cup fixture stating:

"The Carnegie Challenge Cup is a fantastic competition and the final is one of the biggest events in the UK sporting calendar. For us to be part of it is amazing and I really hope we can emulate last year and get to round 2. Gloucester will be very tough opponents and are playing in a great championship in the University Super 8 competition. I hope we are not too rusty as the last game was September for us and we will need to be switched in to stand a chance.  Last year was our chance to shock a few people with our performance v the RAF and I'm sure this time we will be less of an unknown quantity."

 The draw was as follows:

Preliminary Round – to be played on 2 and 3 January

Pool A
Leigh Miners Rangers  V Millom ARLFC
York Acorn ARLFC  V Skirlaugh ARLFC
Orchard Park & Greenwood V Wath Brow Hornets
Waterhead ARLFC  V Sharlston Rovers
Egremont Rangers  V Oulton Raiders
Widnes St Maries  V Myton Warriors ARLFC
Yorkshire Cup Winners V Leigh East
Oldham St Annes  V Wigan St Judes ARLFC
West Bowling ARLFC  V Normanton Knights ARLFC
Wigan St Patricks  V Broughton Red Rose

Pool B
Nottingham Outlaws  V Hull University
Warrington Wizards  V Birmingham University
Leeds Met University  V St Mary’s University

1st Round Draw – to be played on 23 and 24 January.

Pool A
Orchard Park  & Greenwood or Wath Brow  V Kells 
Stanningley V Oldham St Annes or Wigan St Judes
Bradford Dudley Hill V Castleford Panthers
Castleford Lock Lane V Thornhill Trojans
Shaw Cross Sharks V Leigh Miners Rangers or Millom
Crosfields V Rochdale Mayfield 
Ince Rose Bridge V Egremont Rangers or Oulton Raiders
Milford Marlins  V Eastmoor Dragons
Heworth V Hunslet Warriors
Saddleworth Rangers V Siddal
York Acorn or Skirlaugh V Thatto Heath Crusaders
East Hull V Stanley Rangers
Eccles & Salford Juniors V Yorkshire Cup Winners or Leigh East
Hull Dockers V Halton Simms Cross
West Bowling or Normanton Knights V Wigan St Patricks or Broughton Red Rose
East Leeds V Ovenden
Waterhead or Sharlston Rovers V West Hull
Widnes St Maries or Myton Warriors V Lancashire Cup Winners

Pool B
RAF V Warrington Wizards or Birmingham University
British Police V Dewsbury Celtic
West London Sharks V Nottingham Outlaws or Hull University
Featherstone Lions V  Army
Leeds Met University or St Mary’s University V Loughborough University 
Gloucestershire University V Edinburgh Eagles
Northumbria University V  Navy
Blackwood Bulldogs V Edge Hill University

For the Preliminary Round of the competition 62 sides were split into two pools.

Pool A consisted of 46 teams - 38 National Conference League clubs, the five regional winners, the Lancashire and Yorkshire Cup winners and Broughton Red Rose.  Ten matches were drawn with 26 sides receiving a bye to the First Round.

Pool B contained 16 teams – the British Police, eight University teams, Scottish champions, Welsh champions and five Rugby League conference teams.  Three matches were drawn with 10 clubs receiving a bye to the first round where they were joined by three service teams.

The first round of the draw again saw sides split into two pools – 18 matches were drawn from Pool A and eight matches from Pool B.
No clubs received byes in the First Round.