[5] When the details of the competition were announced in December 2020, it was envisaged that the first round, would feature the League 1 clubs; and Dewsbury Rams, Newcastle Thunder, Oldham and Whitehaven from the Championship.

[6] A further meeting of the clubs was held on 13 January 2021, to discuss alternative schedules for both the cup competitions and the league fixtures, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Barrow, Keighley and West Wales Raiders, decided to enter, and played in a 16-team round 1 with the 13 participating Championship clubs.

[23] The draw was made live on BBC Two, during the half-time interval of the third round match between Catalans Dragons and Wakefield Trinity.

[27] The draw for the semi-final was made live on BBC Two, during the half-time interval of the quarter-final match between Castleford Tigers and Salford Red Devils.

Castleford Tigers: Evalds, Olpherts, Mata’utia, Shenton, Turner, Trueman, O'Brien, Griffin, McShane, Millington, Holmes, Sene-Lefao, Massey.

Interchanges: Watts, Adam Milner, Foster, Smith St Helens: Coote, Makinson, Naiqama, Percival, Grace, Lomax, Fages, Walmsley, Roby, McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Thompson, Batchelor, Knowles.

Due to the exceptional circumstances imposed by COVID-19 the RFL made the decision to arrange for every game played behind closed doors to be broadcast live.

A new to rugby league broadcaster, The Sportsman's digital services, showed games from all the first three rounds on its website or social media channels.

The games that were not picked up by the BBC or The Sportsman's digital services were broadcast by the RFL itself on a pay-per-view basis via the Our League app.