The first cup competition in Welsh rugby dates back to 1877-78 when Newport beat Swansea by a goal to nil in the final of the South Wales Challenge Cup at Bridgend. The South Wales Football Club organised the competition and paid 50 guineas for a silver trophy to be presented to the winners. The draw for the first tournament was as follows:

Carmarthen v Cardiff to be played at Neath
Talgarth v Merthyr at Merthyr
Brecon v Monmouth Grammar School at Cardiff
Cowbridge Grammar School v Llanelli at Neath
Carmarthen Grammar School v Lampeter College at Carmarthen
Glamorgan 10th Rifle Volunteers (Cardiff) v Llandovery College at Swansea
Pontypool v Newport at Newport
Llandeilo v Neath at Neath
Swansea v Abergavenny at Brecon

Newport retained their title against Cardiff the next season and also won the cup in 1882, 1883, 1885 and 1891. The 1883 final between Newport and Swansea in Swansea attracted a crowd of 6,000. The tournament ran until 1897, when Llanelli ‘A’ beat Risca 18-0. It was disbanded following accusations of foul play and rule breaking off the field.

In 1971, the WRU introduced its own Challenge Cup tournament with a showpiece final at Cardiff Arms Park. Llanelli appeared in the first five finals, losing the first to Neath and then winning four titles on the trot, and have 13 successes from 18 finals. The competition has had five different names due to four different sponsorships down the years. The Cup took on its latest mantra as the Konica Minolta Cup during the 2003-2004 season when the worldwide digital imaging company took over the sponsorship of the competition in a four year deal which had previously seen the trophy lifted under the guise of Principality Cup, Swalec Cup and Schweppes Cup in its long and illustrious history.

Resurrected from the South Wales Challenge Cup, the WRU Challenge Cup began in the 1971–1972 season. The competitions format enables every member club within the Welsh Rugby Union to have a shot at glory and reach the prestigious Final at the end of the season. Played over a series of rounds in a knock-out format (ie the winner of the match goes through, the loser is out) the number of clubs involved are distilled down to a final two with the Premiership clubs coming in with a bye at the fourth round stage. Clubs are drawn together randomly in a formal draw process to decide the fixture list for each round. If a club cannot field a team or fulfil a Cup fixture for whatever reason it is scratched from the competition with the remaining club in the fixture automatically getting a walkover to the next round.

Neath won the inaugural tournament in 1972 against Llanelli in the Final. It was a loss that would galvanize the West Walians who took the loss firmly on the chin and went on to dominate the competition's finals in the succeeding years. 1973 saw an emphatic 30-7 win over Cardiff whilst the following two years saw Llanelli enact a double victory over Aberavon, 12-10 and 15-6 respectively. Their success continued in 1976 with a victory over Swansea but there ended the winning streak. 1977 saw Newport claim the title for the first time in their history over previous beaten finalists Cardiff in a narrow 16-15 win and then Swansea triumphed over the defending champions in ‘78.

Bridgend rounded off the seventies with their 18-12 win over fellow first time finalists Pontypridd as they began a sequence of four Cup Final appearances. They secured their second title in as many years as they overcame previous champions Swansea in 1980 before going on to make the following two finals only to lose on both occasions to Cardiff who finally secured their first title in 1981. Their second title was not quite as clean cut as Cardiff won on a try count in 1982; the scores with Bridgend were tied at 12-12 at the final whistle.

Pontypool gained their first Challenge Cup trophy in 1983 as they defeated Swansea in their third unsuccessful final in seven years. Meanwhile, Cardiff returned to winning ways in the mid eighties with an impressive 24-19 victory over Neath in 1984. They made the final the following year but lost out to Llanelli as they secured the slender 15-14 win, yet they returned to form in 1986 with a 28-21 win over the ‘77 champions Newport and triumphed the subsequent year with an extra time 16-15 success over Swansea. Llanelli returned to the top in 1988 with a victory over Neath, who avenged their defeat the following year with a 14-13 success over the reigning champions in 1989.

Neath continued their winning fashion with the first win of the nineties, 16-10 over Bridgend. The early nineties saw Llanelli enjoy a period of success akin to their success in the Cup in the early seventies; they defeated Pontypool, Swansea and Neath in 1991, 1992 and 1993 respectively. The 1993 Final saw Rupert Moon and Phil Davies celebrate by lifting the trophy together after Ieuan Evans had waded in with a try. Though Llanelli reached the Final again in 1994 they tasted defeat at the hands of Cardiff in the 15-8 loss.

The next four years saw four varying winners. Swansea secured the Cup in 1995 whilst Pontypridd secured a notable first cup victory in 1996 over Neath, having reached the final the previous year. Cardiff clinched the title in 1997 in a high scoring game with Swansea, the scores ended 33-26 in the final ever match at a reduced capacity Arms Park, the club from the Capital City made full use of 'home' advantage and Nigel Walker's try against Swansea at the old East terrace end of the National Stadium proved the difference.

The Final of the competition went on the road for the following two seasons as the redevelopment of the Arms Park site got under way in order to create the Millenium Stadium ready for the 1999 Rugby World Cup. In keeping with the move of Welsh International Test matches across the border to England, the 1998 Final saw Llanelli regain the trophy at Bristol City FC's Ashton Gate ground, itself  future Rugby World Cup venue. First time finalists Ebbw Vale were undone by a determined Llanelli team which saw a superb try from prop Martyn Madden.

1999 saw Swansea regain the title with a 37-10 triumph over Llanelli. This match, the last on the road during the construction of the Millennium Stadium saw the Final return to Cardiff just a few miles down the road at Ninian Park, the home of Cardiff City FC.

Not to be outdone by the All Whites, the West Walian side reversed the result in the 1999-2000 season with a 22-12 victory over the defending champions in the first WRU Challenge Cup Final to take place at the new home of Welsh rugby; the Millennium Stadium. 2001 saw Newport gain their first Cup trophy in twenty-four years with a 13-8 success over Neath whilst Pontypridd attained their second title in six years in 2002 after defeating cup kings Llanelli.

Avenging this defeat, Llanelli ran out 32-9 victors over Newport in 2003 but it signified a marked end and change in the emphasis of the competition as a move towards a much more structured Elite rugby set up saw the creation of the regions over the summer with a new semi-professionl tier of performance immediately below them. With the introduction of regionalism came a change in the role of the Challenge Cup competition and it now sat as the pinnacle of Cup achievement domestically along side a newly created Premiership for the new breed of young aspiring professionals in the game.

Neath won the newly formatted competition in 2004 against Caerphilly as the Cheesemen stepped out to enjoy their first ever final. Llanelli reclaimed the trophy the following season to maintain the title of Cup kings that had been enjoyed in the days prior to regionalism. Scott Quinnell, who had been amongst the team that clinched the 2002-2003 title before stepping up to Scarlets regional level now guided the new-look Llanelli team to glory as Coach. Pontypridd rounded off a fantastic ten year spell in the competition with their third win in a decade in 2006, in a closely fought battle with Neath in which the scores closed at 26-25 and Neath were denied the kudos of a Premiership Cup double.

Romance returned to the competition in the most recent Final as the Llandovery stole victory from the jaws of defeat by beating Cardiff in their first ever appearance in the Final.

With the Blues, Ospreys, Dragons, Scarlets and the now disbanded Warriors not taking part in the competition, the monopoly that the top clubs have held on the trophy will be challenged in future competitions. Maintaining its traditional appeal, the Cup competition has now gained extra strength in the fact that the playing field has been very much levelled. Clubs from the Principality Premiership meet the spectrum of all divisions from the ASDA Leagues in the knockout rounds and all teams aim to reach the annual Cup Final, staged at the Millennium Stadium, to showcase the talent of players at community and semi-pro level.

South Wales Challenge Cup Winners
1878 and 1879: Newport
1880: Swansea
1881: Cardiff
1882 and 1883: Newport
1884: Llanelli
1885: Newport
1886: Llanelli
1887: Swansea
1890: Penygraig
1891: Newport 2nds
1892: Llandaff
1893: Pontymister
1894: Llanelli ‘A’
1895: Neath ‘A’
1896: Pontymister
1897: Llanelli ‘A’

WRU Challenge Cup
1972: Neath
1973 to 1976: Llanelli

Schweppes Cup
1977: Newport
1978: Swansea
1979 and 1980: Bridgend
1981 and 1982 Cardiff
1983: Pontypool
1984: Cardiff
1985: Llanelli
1986 and 1987: Cardiff
1988: Llanelli
1989 and 1990: Neath
1991 and 1992: Llanelli

SWALEC Cup
1993: Llanelli
1994: Cardiff
1995: Swansea
1996: Pontypridd
1997: Cardiff
1998: Llanelli
1999: Swansea

WRU Challenge Cup
2000: Llanelli

Principality Cup
2001: Newport
2002: Pontypridd
2003: Llanelli

Konica Minolta Cup
2004: Neath
2005: Llanelli
2006: Pontypridd
2007: Llandovery