Above photo - Blackwood Bulldogs and Edinburgh Eagles line up with the Challenge Cup before their 2010 tie.

The Challenge Cup is Rugby League's most historic and prestigious competition and is the only knock-out tournament of its kind to include teams from all levels of the sport.

It is an eight month long competition that starts out featuring many grassroots clubs and climaxes with a spectacular final at Wembley Stadium, London which not only attracts fans from both competing finalists but the whole Rugby League community.

Since the first final in 1897, which saw Batley beat St Helens 10-3 in front of nearly 13,500 people in Leeds, the competition has grown from strength to strength.

Welsh clubs first appeared in the competition in 1908 and Merthyr Tydfil sprung a shock by knocking out established club Whitehaven.

From 1998, there has always been at least one Welsh side in this famous competition.

Saturday 29th February 1908 - Round 1 - Beverley 3 Merthyr Tydfil 15
Saturday 14th March 1908 - Round 2 - Merthyr Tydfil 33 Whitehaven 5
Saturday 28th March 1908 - Round 3 - Leigh 8 Merthyr Tydfil 2
Saturday 12th December 1908 - Welsh Round 1 - Barry 9 Aberdare 5
Saturday 12th December 1908 - Welsh Round 1 - Mid Rhondda 8 Treherbert 7
Saturday 26th December 1908 - Welsh Round 2 - Mid Rhondda 2 Barry 0
Saturday 27th February 1909 - Round 1 - Hunslet 25 Mid Rhondda 5
Saturday 27th February 1909 - Round 1 - Beverley 7 Ebbw Vale 2
Saturday 26th February 1910 - Round 1 - Merthyr Tydfil 7 Ebbw Vale 12
Saturday 12th March 1910 - Round 2 - Huddersfield 3 Ebbw Vale 8
Saturday 19th March 1910 - Round 3 - Salford 8 Ebbw Vale 2
Saturday 31st December 1910 - Preliminary Round - Coventry 18 Merthyr Tydfil 3
Saturday 18th February 1911 - Round 1 - Batley 7 Ebbw Vale 2
Saturday 17th February 1912 - Round 1 - Halifax 10 Ebbw Vale 2
Saturday 12th February 1927 - Round 1 - Widnes 23 Pontypridd 2
Saturday 9th February 1952 - Round 1 - Cardiff 7 Dewsbury 7
Saturday 16th February 1952 - Round 1 Replay - Dewsbury 16 Cardiff 0
Sunday 14th February 1982 - Round 1 - Cardiff City Blue Dragons 8 Widnes 19
Sunday 30th January 1983 - Preliminary Round - Wigan 14 Cardiff City Blue Dragons 4
Sunday 12th February 1984 - Round 1 - Cardiff City Blue Dragons 6 Hull 34
Sunday 27th January 1985 - Preliminary Round - Leeds 68 Bridgend Blue Dragons 6

Sunday 5th December 1998 - Round 1 - Barrow Island 24 UWIC 4

Sunday 17th December 1999 - Round 1 - Durham 6 Cardiff Cougars 36

Sunday 16th January 2000 - Round 2 - Cardiff Cougars 18 Rochdale Mayfield 10

Sunday 30th January 2000 - Round 3 - Keighley Cougars 90 Cardiff Cougars 0

Sunday 3rd December 2000 - Round 1 - Wales Students 15 Askam 18

Wednesday 5th December 2001 - Round 1 - Royal Air Force 40 UWIC 13

Sunday 1st December 2002 - Round 1 - Shaw Cross Sharks 56 Cardiff Demons 12

Sunday 30th November 2003 - Round 1 - Aberavon Fighting Irish 6 Ince Rose Bridge 28

Sunday 16th January 2005 - Preliminary Round - Cardiff Demons 12 Walney Central 28

Sunday 12th March 2006 - Round 3 - Celtic Crusaders 64 Lokomotiv Moscow 4

Sunday 1st April 2006 - Round 4 - Rochdale Hornets 32 Celtic Crusaders 8

Saturday 10th March 2007 - Round 3 - Celtic Crusaders 50 Eastmoor Dragons 10

Sunday 1st April 2007 - Round 4 - Rochdale Hornets 20 Celtic Crusaders 16

Sunday 9th March 2008 - Round 3 - Celtic Crusaders 58 Lokomotiv Moscow 10

Friday 18th April 2008 - Round 4 - Leeds Rhinos 38 Celtic Crusaders 16

Sunday 18th January 2009 - Preliminary Round - UWIC 18 Valley Cougars 20

Sunday 25th January 2009 - Round 1 - Royal Navy 38 Valley Cougars 28

Friday 3rd April 2009 - Round 4 - Hull Kingston Rovers 32 Celtic Crusaders 6

Sunday 24th January 2010 - Round 1 - Blackwood Bulldogs 42 Edge Hill 16

Sunday 14th February 2010 - Round 2 - Edinburgh Eagles 16 Blackwood Bulldogs 28

Sunday 7th March 2010 - Round 3 - Oldham Roughyeds 80 Blackwood Bulldogs 6

Sunday 18th April 2010 - Round 4 - York City Knights 8 Crusaders 58

Sunday 9th May 2010 - Round 5 - Crusaders 34 Catalans Dragons 35

Sunday 23rd January 2011 - Round 1 - Valley Cougars 24 The Army 30

Sunday 6th March 2011 - Round 3 - South Wales Scorpions 6 Dewsbury Rams 62

Sunday 7th May 2011 - Round 4 - Leeds Rhinos 30 Crusaders 20

There have now been 47 Challenge Cup ties featuring Welsh sides.

Ebbw Vale were never drawn at home in the history of the Challenge Cup.

There was a gap of over 89 years between Welsh victories in the Challenge Cup between Huddersfield's defeat by Ebbw Vale in 1910 and Cardiff Cougars' win at Durham in 1999.

The only professional Welsh club to never take part in the Challenge Cup was South Wales in 1996. The new club, South Wales Scorpions, which has no links to the 1996 outfit, made their Challenge Cup debut in 2011, meaning that there were three Welsh sides in the competition for only the second time in 102 seasons.