Friday night's clash between Leeds Rhinos and St Helens is the next chapter in a long history of meetings between the two clubs in the Betfred Challenge Cup. After both clubs secured convincing round four wins over Wests Warriors and West Hull to book their place in the next round, the Totally Wicked Stadium plays host on Friday live on The Sportsman, kick off 8pm.

The match is the 23rd meeting in the competition between the clubs, 114 years after the first meeting in 1911. Over the years, they have met in two Challenge Cup Finals and eight Semi Finals, played across seven different venues and score exactly 800 combined points (392 for St Helens, 408 for Leeds).

Ahead of Friday, here's a look back at some of the key meetings down the years:

St Helens vs Leeds Cup History

Leeds and Saints' history in the Cup started back in 1911 when a Leeds side took a slender 11-6 win away from their red and white counterparts in round two thanks to tries from Sam Whitaker, Billy Jarman and Ernest Oliver. A second-round clash in 1930 followed - this time St Helens progressed with a 18-5 result at Headingley - but the clubs head to wait over forty years to do battle in the Cup again.

1971 was the next time Leeds and Saints were drawn together, a year before the first of two meetings in the Challenge Cup Final between the clubs in 1972. Leeds' sole final win over the Saints came in 1978 as David Smith, John Atkinson and Phil Cookson found the try line alongside drop goals from David Ward and John Holmes to bring the Cup back to Headingley for a second consecutive season.

Heading into the 90s, fans of the Leeds club will fondly remember the 1994 semi final at Central Park when Ellery Hanley sealed a historic win over Saints in a 20-8 victory with two tries. It was one of two Leeds wins during that decade as the Rhinos also beat Saints on their way to Cup glory in 1999.

2003 was another memorable meeting in the history of the Cup as both clubs met in the semi finals for a third straight season. Played at Huddersfield's John Smith's Stadium, Leeds managed to force the game into extra time as Danny McGuire nipped over for a try with two minutes on the clock. After a bruising contest there could only be one winner and that was to be the Rhinos, as McGuire showed a great turn of pace to take Kevin Sinfield's offload and race around Paul Wellens to score score a miraculous try in the corner. It remains one of the most dramatic endings to a Challenge Cup semi final in the history of the competition.

McGuire was back to his old tricks in 2010 too in another top meeting. Since the 2003 fixture, Saints had beaten Leeds three times, including on their way to lifting the Cup in 2008, but the Rhinos came into the match buoyed by a 12-10 victory over Wigan last time out. For most of the game, nothing could separate the two sides as they went blow for blow, but McGuire was the catalyst for Brian McClennan's side to take the club back to Wembley.

15 years after the sides went to battle in that semi final, the clubs have met a further four times ahead of Friday night's clash. A dominant 32-12 win on home soil saw Leeds take down a Saints side en route to Cup success in 2014, plus Brian McDermott followed it up with a 24-14 result a year later as they completed the Treble.

Recently, Saints have won their last two outings against the Rhinos in 2021 and 2024. Leeds' hold on the Cup from the 2020 win over Salford was short lived as a round three loss at the Totally Wicked Stadium saw them bow out of the Cup at the hands of the eventual winners, and last year saw Saints back up a tight win in the league over Leeds with a 20-6 result in round six.

All Meetings in Challenge Cup

1911 Round Two - St Helens 6 Leeds 11

1930 Round Two - Leeds 5 St Helens 18

1971 Round Two - Leeds 4 St Helens 0

1972 Final - St Helens 16 Leeds 13

1977 Semi Final - St Helens 2 Leeds 7

1978 Final - Leeds 14 St Helens 12

1983 Round Two - Leeds 13 St Helens 23

1992 Round Two - Leeds 12 St Helens 32

1994 Semi Final - Leeds 20 St Helens 8

1999 Round Five - Leeds 24 St Helens 16

2000 Round Five - Leeds 26 St Helens 20

2001 Semi Final - St Helens 27 Leeds 22

2002 Semi Final - Leeds 16 St Helens 42

2003 Semi Final - Leeds 33 St Helens 26

2004 Round Five - St Helens 24 Leeds 14

2008 Semi Final - Leeds 16 St Helens 26

2009 Round Four - Leeds 18 St Helens 22

2010 Semi Final - St Helens 28 Leeds 32

2014 Round Five - Leeds 32 St Helens 12

2015 Semi Final - Leeds 24 St Helens 14

2021 Round Three - St Helens 26 Leeds 18

2024 Round Six - Leeds 6 St Helens 20

Wembley Final Appearances

In the long history of the Challenge Cup competition, Leeds and St Helens have only met twice in the competition finale at Wembley Stadium. Back in the 1970s, the clubs walked out at the Wembley final for the first time in 1972, as the Saints secured their fourth Cup title, before Leeds took revenge six years later.

1972 Challenge Cup Final - St Helens 16 Leeds 13

1978 Challenge Cup Final - Leeds 14 St Helens 12

Make sure you're cheering on the Rhinos on Friday

Tickets and travel for the away Betfred Challenge Cup Round 4 game against St Helens are on sale now, so make sure you're getting behind Brad and the team.

Tickets and travel can be purchased online at tickets.therhinos.co.uk, over the phone on 0371 423 1315 and from Leeds Rhinos Ticket Office Transfer Windows (Opening Hours). For more information, head to https://www.therhinos.co.uk/ar...