| CLARE BALDING ON THE CHALLENGE CUP The Challenge Cup has in the past been Wigan's domain. They are not as dominant as they were in the 1980s and '90s, but they are very good at knockout rugby.
They travel to Wakefield on Saturday for a fifth round clash that looks too tight to call.
They have both beaten each other away from home this season so the two coaches, Wakefield's John Kear and Wigan's Brian Noble, will have been working hard on ways of exposing the opposition side.
I've got a soft spot for both coaches as they regularly bring their expertise into our BBC studio.
Kear and the whole of Wakefield have had a torrid time of late with two deaths in their squad and they will be playing with more than the usual amount of passion and emotion and I wish them well.
On Sunday we are in St Helens for their clash with Catalans Dragons.
Had the game taken place two weeks ago St Helens would be runaway favourites, but having been turned over emphatically by Wigan up at Murrayfield they are going to be nursing their wounds a little bit.
Catalans have shown their powers of recovery are immense this season and they have a never-say-die attitude that shouldn't be underestimated.
This match-up is a repeat of the 2007 final and intriguingly it pits the St Helens coach, Mick Potter, up against his former charges.
No-one should know the Catalans style of play better than Mick and it should be an occasion he can enjoy, although I suspect he might be slightly dreading it.
I expect St Helens to win and march on to a fourth successive cup final win.
After Sunday's match we have the quarter-final draw live and there's an interactive forum on Saturday on the Red Button, where you can air your views on all things rugby league.
Enjoy the weekend,
Clare
Clare Balding presents BBC TV coverage of Wakefield v Wigan on Saturday and St Helens v Catalans Dragons on Sunday.
Clare was talking to Paul Birch. | 
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