1975–76 League Cup (rugby league)

1975–76 League Cup
Structure National knockout championship
Number of teams 32
Winners Widnes
Runners-up Hull F.C.
< 1974–75 Seasons 1976–77 >

This was the fifth season for the League Cup, known as the Players No.6 Trophy for sponsorship reasons.

Widnes won the trophy by beating Hull F.C. by the score of 19-13 in the final played at Headingley, Leeds, West Yorkshire. The attendance was 9,035 and receipts were £6275.

Background

This season saw no changes in the entrants, no new members and no withdrawals, the number remaining at eighteen.

Competition and results[1][2][3]

Round 1 - First round[4]

Involved 16 matches and 32 clubs

Game No Fixture Date Home Team Score Away Team Venue Att Rec Notes Ref
1Fri 26 Sep 1975Castleford26-15YorkWheldon Road
2Fri 26 Sep 1975Mayfield3-53SalfordThe Willows34491, 2, 3
3Sat 27 Sep 1975Barrow16-9Pilkington RecsCraven Park6124
4Sat 27 Sep 1975Wigan30-7KeighleyCentral Park[2]
5Sat 27 Sep 1975Workington Town16-9BramleyDerwent Park
6Sun 28 Sep 1975Batley18-9WhitehavenMount Pleasant
7Sun 28 Sep 1975Blackpool Borough11-36St HelensBorough Park[5]
8Sun 28 Sep 1975Bradford Northern12-32Wakefield TrinityOdsal[6]
9Sun 28 Sep 1975Doncaster12-23Hull F.C.Bentley Road Stadium/Tattersfield[7]
10Sun 28 Sep 1975Huddersfield20-12WarringtonFartown[8][9]
11Sun 28 Sep 1975Hull KR33-10Rochdale HornetsCraven Park (1)
12Sun 28 Sep 1975Huyton14-20OldhamAlt Park, Huyton
13Sun 28 Sep 1975Leigh12-5Featherstone RoversHilton Park
14Sun 28 Sep 1975New Hunslet28-8HalifaxElland Road Greyhound Stadium5
15Sun 28 Sep 1975Swinton7-23LeedsStation Road
16Sun 28 Sep 1975Widnes27-12DewsburyNaughton Park[10]

Round 2 - Second round[11]

Involved 8 matches and 16 clubs

Game No Fixture Date Home Team Score Away Team Venue Att Rec Notes Ref
1Fri 7 Nov 1975Hull KR23-8LeighCraven Park (1)6
2Sat 8 Nov 1975Wigan5-18WidnesCentral Park[2][10]
3Sun 9 Nov 1975Huddersfield14-5BarrowFartown[9]
4Sun 9 Nov 1975Hull F.C.9-9LeedsBoulevard[7]
5Sun 9 Nov 1975St Helens47-9BatleyKnowsley Road[5]
6Sun 9 Nov 1975Salford46-3OldhamThe Willows
7Sun 9 Nov 1975Wakefield Trinity14-24CastlefordBelle Vue[6]
8Sun 9 Nov 1975Workington Town23-6New HunsletDerwent Park

Round 2 - Second round replays

Involved 1 match and 2 clubs

Game No Fixture Date Home Team Score Away Team Venue Att Rec Notes Ref
1Thu 13 Nov 1975Leeds11-23Hull F.C.Headingley[7]

Round 3 - Quarterfinals[11]

Involved 4 matches with 8 clubs

Game No Fixture Date Home Team Score Away Team Venue Att Rec Notes Ref
1Sat 22 Nov 1975Hull F.C.9-8St HelensBoulevard[5][7]
2Sun 23 Nov 1975Huddersfield10-19CastlefordFartown[9]
3Sun 23 Nov 1975Hull KR14-18WidnesCraven Park (1)[10]
4Sun 23 Nov 1975Salford16-8Workington TownThe Willows

Round 4 – Semifinals[11]

Involved 2 matches and 4 clubs

Game No Fixture Date Home Team Score Away Team Venue Att Rec Notes Ref
1Sat 29 Nov 1975Castleford9-17WidnesWheldon Road [10]
2Sat 13 Dec 1975Salford14-22Hull F.C.The Willows[7]

Final

Game No Fixture Date Home Team Score Away Team Venue Att Rec Notes Ref
Saturday 24 January 1976Widnes19-13Hull F.C.Headingley903562757[7][10][12][13]

Teams and scorers[12][13][14][15][15]

Widnes № Hull
teams
Ray Dutton1Mike Stephenson
Alan Prescott2Alf Macklin
Derek "Mick" George3George Clark
Mal Aspey4Steve Portz
David Jenkins5Paul Hunter
Eric Hughes6Brian Hancock
Reg Bowden7Ken Foulkes
Jim Mills8Bill Ramsey
Keith Elwell9Peter Flanagan
John Wood10Alan Wardell
John Foran11Keith Boxall
Barry Sheridan12Malcolm Walker
Mick Adams13Mick Crane
? Not used14? Not used
? Not used15Chris Davidson (for Ken Foulkes)
Coach
19score13
8HT8
Scorers
Tries
David Jenkins (2)TPaul Hunter (1)
Reg Bowden (1)TMick Crane (2)
Mick Adams (1)T
Goals
Ray Dutton (3)GKeith Boxhall (2)
Drop Goals
Reg Bowden (1)DG
RefereeJ. V. Moss (Manchester)
Man of the matchReg Bowden - Widnes - scrum-half/halfback
Competition SponsorPlayer's №6

Scoring - Try = three (3) points - Goal = two (2) points - Drop goal = one (1) point

Prize money

As part of the sponsorship deal and funds, the prize money awarded to the competing teams for this season is as follows :-

Finish Position Cash Prize No. receiving prize Total Cash
Winner?1
Runner-up?1
semi-finalist?2
loser in Rd 3?4?
loser in Rd 2?8?
Loser in Rd 1?16?
Loser in Prelim Round???
Grand Total

The road to success

This tree excludes any preliminary round fixtures

First Round Second Round Third Round Semi Finals Final
               
Huddersfield 20
Warrington 12
Huddersfield 14
Barrow 5
Barrow 16
Pilkington Recs 9
Huddersfield 10
Castleford 19
Bradford Northern 12
Wakefield Trinity 32
Wakefield Trinity 14
Castleford 24
Castleford 26
York 15
Castleford 9
Widnes 17
Hull KR 33
Rochdale Hornets 10
Hull KR 23
Leigh 8
Leigh 12
Featherstone Rovers 5
Hull KR 14
Widnes 18
Wigan 30
Keighley 7
Wigan 5
Widnes 18
Widnes 27
Dewsbury 12
Widnes 19
Hull F.C. 13
Mayfield 3
Salford 53
Salford 46
Oldham 3
Huyton 14
Oldham 20
Salford 16
Workington Town 8
Workington Town 16
Bramley 9
Workington Town 23
New Hunslet 6
New Hunslet 28
Halifax 8
Salford 14
Hull F.C. 22
Doncaster 12
Hull F.C. 23
Hull F.C. 9 (23)
Leeds 9 (11)
Swinton 7
Leeds 23
Hull F.C. 9
St Helens 8
Blackpool Borough 11
St Helens 36
St Helens 47
Batley 9
Batley 18
Whitehaven 9

Notes and comments

1 * Mayfield are a Junior (amateur) club from Rochdale
2 * Although Mayfield were drawn at home, the match was moved to Salford
3 * Rothmans Rugby League Yearbooks 1990-1991 [12] and 1991-92[13] and Wigan official archives[2] give the score as 3-57, but RUGBYLEAGUEprojects[1] and The News of the World/Empire News annual 1976-77[3] give it as 3-53
4 * Pilkington Recs are a Junior (amateur) club from St Helens, home ground was City Road until they moved to Ruskin Drive from 2011-12
5 * Wigan official archives[2] gives the score as 25-8 but RUGBYLEAGUEprojects[1] gives it as 28-8
6 * Wigan official archives[2] gives the score as 23-3 but RUGBYLEAGUEprojects[1] and The News of the World/Empire News annual 1976-77[3] give it as 23-8
7 * Headingley, Leeds, is the home ground of Leeds RLFC with a capacity of 21,000. The record attendance was 40,175 for a league match between Leeds and Bradford Northern on 21 May 1947.

General information for those unfamiliar

The council of the Rugby Football League voted to introduce a new competition, to be similar to The Football Association and Scottish Football Association's "League Cup". It was to be a similar knock-out structure to, and to be secondary to, the Challenge Cup. As this was being formulated, sports sponsorship was becoming more prevalent and as a result John Player and Sons, a division of Imperial Tobacco Company, became sponsors, and the competition never became widely known as the "League Cup"
The competition ran from 1971-72 until 1995-96 and was initially intended for the professional clubs plus the two amateur BARLA National Cup finalists. In later seasons the entries were expanded to take in other amateur and French teams. The competition was dropped due to "fixture congestion" when Rugby League became a summer sport The Rugby League season always (until the onset of "Summer Rugby" in 1996) ran from around August-time through to around May-time and this competition always took place early in the season, in the Autumn, with the final usually taking place in late January
The competition was variably known, by its sponsorship name, as the Player's No.6 Trophy (1971–1977), the John Player Trophy (1977–1983), the John Player Special Trophy (1983–1989), and the Regal Trophy in 1989.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Rugby League Project".
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Wigan "Cherry and White" archived results".
  3. 1 2 3 Frank Butler and Patrick Collins (1976). News of the World Football Annual 1976-77 - 90th year. News of the World Ltd.
  4. ↑ "Wigan "Cherry and White" J Player Round 1 results".
  5. 1 2 3 "Saints Heritage Society - History - Season 1896-97".
  6. 1 2 "I'm Wakefield 'til I die...".
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "HULL&PROUD - Stats - Fixtures & Results".
  8. ↑ "Warrington Wolves - Results Archive - 1897".
  9. 1 2 3 "Huddersfield Rugby League Heritage" (PDF).
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 "Widnes Vikings - History - Season In Review - 1896-97".
  11. 1 2 3 "Wigan "Cherry and White" J Player Round 2 on results".
  12. 1 2 3 Raymond Fletcher and David Howes (1990). Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1990-1991. Queen Anne Press. ISBN 0 35617851 X.
  13. 1 2 3 Raymond Fletcher and David Howes (1991). Rothmans Rugby Lague Yearbook 1991-1992. Queen Anne Press. ISBN 0 35617852 8.
  14. ↑ "Widnes Stat Attack archived results".
  15. 1 2 "Hull RLFC official stats".

External links

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