The draw for the first round of the 2016 iPro Sport Cup took place on Thursday night, live on BBC Newcastle
The home teams were drawn by former England, Huddersfield Giants, Hull FC and York City Knights player Chris Thorman; the away teams were drawn by BBC Newcastle’s Total Sport presenter and former Newcastle and Republic of Ireland footballer John Anderson.
As was the case last year, two amateur teams will take part in the tournament, and they have both been drawn against tough League 1 opposition. Wath Brow Hornets will have a home tie in Cumbria, but they will face Keighley Cougars.
And Leigh Miners Rangers, who did the treble at amateur level in 2016, face a trip to Newcastle to take on Newcastle Thunder.
The draw in full is as follows:
Pool A (northern regions)
Hunslet Hawks v York City Knights
Barrow Raiders v Rochdale Hornets
Wath Brow Hornets v Keighley Cougars
Doncaster v North Wales Crusaders
Newcastle Thunder v Leigh Miners Rangers
Pool B (midlands and southern regions)
London Skolars v South Wales Scorpions
Oxford v Hemel Stags
Coventry Bears v University of Gloucestershire All Golds
The first round ties will be played over the weekend of February 20-21 2016, with the final again set to be played at this year’s Summer Bash in Blackpool. North Wales Crusaders won the inaugural event last year.
