Christmas Day isn’t upon us just yet, but we’ve already had the first couple of pre-season friendlies ahead of the 2026 campaign in rugby league.

This weekend saw four of the Championship‘s 21 teams in action, taking each other on across two games.

Here’s a round-up…

Want more Love Rugby League? Add us as a preferred source on Google and ensure you never miss our exclusives and breaking news!

Saturday: Keighley Cougars 22-26 Sheffield Eagles

Cougar Park was home to the first game of pre-season ahead of 2026 on Saturday as Keighley were edged out on home soil by Craig Lingard’s Sheffield.

The Cougars finished second-bottom of League 1 this year, while the Eagles finished 11th in the second tier, so both will be hoping for much brighter things in 2026.

They produced an entertaining match which included an early try on his unofficial Sheffield debut for Kai Morgan, who has been snapped up from Salford Red Devils amid their financial demise.

The visitors led 16-10 at half-time on Saturday, and extended their lead by another four points soon after the restart, but were never allowed to get away on the scoreboard by the hosts.

Keighley continued to respond to what was thrown their way and forced a nervy last three minutes when George Flanagan crashed over late on, but the Eagles held on to claim a 26-22 victory.

Sunday: North Wales Crusaders 30-6 Swinton Lions

League 1 champions Crusaders‘ win in Colwyn Bay on Sunday was much more comfortable, at least eventually.

New recruit Dec Patton was among the try-scorers for the Welsh side, with Swinton’s only try of the day scored by Ellis Anderson, who has been signed from Super League outfit St Helens ahead of 2026.

Reece Briers, the son of Lee, converted that for the Lions to see the scoreline at 10-6 with 25 minutes on the clock. It was all one-way traffic from there on though, with Crusaders going on to notch 20 unanswered points.

Ten came in the final 15 minutes of the first half, with the other ten all on the board by the 70th minute, with no points posted by either team in the closing ten minutes.

The Lions finished third in League 1 last term, four points behind champions Crusaders.

Come 2026, they will make the step up into the second tier together: with the Championship and League 1 having merged into a bumper 21-team competition.