London Skolars will be looking to put their league form behind them as they travel to Sheffield Eagles in the fourth round of the Tetley’s Challenge Cup this Saturday (2.00pm).

The Eagles have won three of their opening five games in the Championship, whereas the Skolars are yet to get off the mark in Championship One and Skolars Captain Dave Williams is welcoming the break from the league.

“I think we were all quite pleased with the draw,” said Williams. “Everyone wants a Super League team but if you can’t get that then Sheffield is probably the next best thing. They’ve been the top side in the Championship the last couple of seasons and it will be a big test for all of us.

“We have not started the season quite how we would have liked. We had a lot of changes to the squad and we probably haven’t gelled as much as we wanted for this time of the season.

“However there have been plenty of positives too and each week we are improving, it’s nice to have a break from the league and focus on the Challenge Cup.”

The Skolars started the season with hopes of improving on last season’s fourth-place finish, but their struggles have seen pressure mount and Williams says it will be nice to play the role of underdog.

“They are clear favourites for it so that puts all the pressure on them,” he said.

“We had a lot of pressure on us at the start of the season because I think people expected us to kick on from last season but we haven’t yet. So it’s nice to have no expectation on us, we can just go out and play to the best of our abilities and hopefully it will be enough.

“Sheffield had a good win last week against Keighley and they have plenty of quality players so we know lots about them. It is nice to have a bit more information on your opponents and hopefully we can put that to good use.”

Tickets for the Tetley’s Challenge Cup fourth round tie, Sheffield Eagles v London Skolars at Owlerton Stadium, Sheffield on Saturday (2.00pm) cost £10 for adults, £5 for concessions and £3 for Under 16s and Students.