| 1978–79 John Player Trophy | |
|---|---|
| Structure | National knockout championship |
| Teams | 32 |
| Winners | Widnes |
| Runners-up | Warrington |
This was the eighth season for rugby league's League Cup competition, which was now known as the John Player Trophy for sponsorship reasons.
Widnes won the final against Warrington by the score of 16-4. The match was played at Knowsley Road, St Helens, Merseyside. The attendance was 10,743 and receipts were £11709.
This season saw no changes in the entrants, no new members and no withdrawals, the number remaining at eighteen.
Bad weather - Due to an exceptionally inclement (i.e. frost, snow etc.) winter there were very few Rugby League matches played during the months of January and February
Involved 16 matches and 32 Clubs
| Game No | Fixture Date | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Venue | Att | Rec | Notes | Ref | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fri 22 Sep 1978 | Castleford | 18-10 | Swinton | Wheldon Road | ||||||
| 2 | Fri 22 Sep 1978 | Salford | 25-7 | Rochdale Hornets | The Willows | ||||||
| 3 | Sat 23 Sep 1978 | Leigh Miners W. | 9-21 | Halifax | Hilton Park | 1621 | 1 | ||||
| 4 | Sat 23 Sep 1978 | St. Helens | 16-11 | Leeds | Knowsley Road | 4700 | [3] | ||||
| 5 | Sun 24 Sep 1978 | Barrow | 8-26 | Bradford Northern | Craven Park | ||||||
| 6 | Sun 24 Sep 1978 | Doncaster | 2-30 | Wigan | Bentley Road Stadium/Tattersfield | 1332 | [4] | ||||
| 7 | Sun 24 Sep 1978 | Huddersfield | 10-21 | Widnes | Fartown | [5] [6] | |||||
| 8 | Sun 24 Sep 1978 | Hull Kingston Rovers | 67-11 | Oldham | Craven Park (1) | 2 | |||||
| 9 | Sun 24 Sep 1978 | Keighley | 20-4 | York | Lawkholme Lane | ||||||
| 10 | Sun 24 Sep 1978 | Leigh | 13-13 | Huyton | Hilton Park | ||||||
| 11 | Sun 24 Sep 1978 | Milford | 5-38 | Dewsbury | McLaren Field | 3129 | 3 | ||||
| 12 | Sun 24 Sep 1978 | New Hunslet | 7-17 | Hull F.C. | Elland Road Greyhound Stadium | [7] | |||||
| 13 | Sun 24 Sep 1978 | Wakefield Trinity | 27-2 | Batley | Belle Vue | [8] | |||||
| 14 | Sun 24 Sep 1978 | Warrington | 14-4 | Blackpool Borough | Wilderspool | 4 | [9] | ||||
| 15 | Sun 24 Sep 1978 | Whitehaven | 3-9 | Featherstone Rovers | Recreation Ground | ||||||
| 16 | Sun 24 Sep 1978 | Workington Town | 17-8 | Bramley | Derwent Park |
Involved 1 match and 2 Clubs
| Game No | Fixture Date | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Venue | Att | Rec | Notes | Ref | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tue 26 Sep 1978 | Huyton | 8-10 | Leigh | Alt Park, Huyton |
Involved 8 matches and 16 Clubs
| Game No | Fixture Date | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Venue | Att | Rec | Notes | Ref | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sat 2 Dec 1978 | Widnes | 11-10 | St. Helens | Naughton Park | 5030 | [3] [6] | ||||
| 2 | Sun 3 Dec 1978 | Castleford | 20-9 | Workington Town | Wheldon Road | ||||||
| 3 | Sun 3 Dec 1978 | Featherstone Rovers | 0-7 | Warrington | Post Office Road | [9] | |||||
| 4 | Sun 3 Dec 1978 | Hull F.C. | 12-18 | Bradford Northern | Boulevard | [7] | |||||
| 5 | Sun 3 Dec 1978 | Hull Kingston Rovers | 16-14 | Salford | Craven Park (1) | ||||||
| 6 | Sun 3 Dec 1978 | Keighley | P | Wigan | Lawkholme Lane | 5 | [2] | ||||
| 7 | Sun 3 Dec 1978 | Leigh | 17-8 | Dewsbury | Hilton Park | ||||||
| 8 | Sun 3 Dec 1978 | Wakefield Trinity | 15-10 | Halifax | Belle Vue | [8] |
Involved 1 match and 2 Clubs - and due to the first match being postponed because of extremely inclement weather
| Game No | Fixture Date | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Venue | Att | Rec | Notes | Ref | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wed 6 Dec 1978 | Keighley | 9-5 | Wigan | Lawkholme Lane | [2] |
Involved 4 matches with 8 clubs
| Game No | Fixture Date | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Venue | Att | Rec | Notes | Ref | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sun 17 Dec 1978 | Bradford Northern | 16-13 | Wakefield Trinity | Odsal | [8] | |||||
| 2 | Sun 17 Dec 1978 | Hull Kingston Rovers | 23-10 | Castleford | Craven Park (1) | ||||||
| 3 | Sun 17 Dec 1978 | Keighley | 4-15 | Widnes | Lawkholme Lane | [6] | |||||
| 4 | Sun 17 Dec 1978 | Warrington | 27-0 | Leigh | Wilderspool | [9] |
Involved 2 matches and 4 Clubs
Bad weather - Due to an exceptionally inclement (i.e. frost, snow etc.) winter there were very few Rugby League matches played during the months of January and February [2] [8]
| Game No | Fixture Date | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Venue | Att | Rec | Notes | Ref | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sat 27 Jan 1979 | Warrington | P | Hull Kingston Rovers | Wilderspool | 6 | [11] | ||||
| 2 | Wed 24 Jan 1979 | Widnes | 21-3 | Bradford Northern | Naughton Park | [6] | |||||
| 3 | Sun 1 Apr 1979 | Warrington | 9-5 | Hull Kingston Rovers | Wilderspool | [9] |
The final was originally scheduled to take place on 27 January 1979, but was re-scheduled due to the postponement of the semi-final matches. The final took place on 28 April 1979, a week before the Challenge Cup final. [12]
| Fixture Date | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Venue | Att | Rec | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday 28 April 1979 | Widnes | 16–4 | Warrington | Knowsley Road | 10743 | 11709 | 8, 9 | [6] [9] [13] [ page needed ] [14] [ page needed ] |
| Widnes | № | Warrington |
|---|---|---|
| teams | ||
| David Eckersley | 1 | Derek Finnegan/Finnigan |
| Stuart Wright | 2 | Michael "Mike"/"Mick" Kelly |
| Mal Aspey | 3 | Steve Hesford |
| Eric Hughes | 4 | Billy Benyon |
| Mick Burke | 5 | Dave Sutton |
| David Moran | 6 | Ken Kelly |
| Reg Bowden (c) | 7 | Parry Gordon |
| Jim Mills | 8 | Roy Lester |
| Keith Elwell | 9 | Tony Waller |
| Glyndwr "Glyn" Shaw | 10 | Mike Nicholas |
| Alan Dearden | 11 | Brian Case |
| David Hull | 12 | Tommy Martyn |
| Mick Adams | 13 | Alan Gwilliam |
| ? Not used | 14 | Eddie Hunter (for Ken Kelly) |
| ? Not used | 15 | ? Not used |
| Coach | ||
| 16 | score | 4 |
| 2 | HT | 2 |
| Scorers | ||
| Tries | ||
| Stuart Wright (1) | T | |
| David Hull (1) | T | |
| Goals | ||
| Mick Burke (3) | G | Steve Hesford (2) |
| Drop Goals | ||
| Keith Elwell (2) | DG | |
| Mick Adams (2) | DG | |
| Referee | G. Frederick "Fred" Lindop (Wakefield) | |
| Man of the match | David Eckersley - Widnes - Fullback | |
| Competition Sponsor | John Player |
Scoring - Try = three points - Goal = two points - Drop goal = one point
As part of the sponsorship deal and funds, the prize money awarded to the competing teams for this season was as follows: [15]
| Finish Position | Cash Prize | No. receiving prize | Total Cash |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | £8,000 | 1 | £8,000 |
| Runner-up | £3,500 | 1 | £3,500 |
| Semi-finalist | £1,750 | 2 | £3,500 |
| Loser in Rd 3 | £900 | 4 | £3,600 |
| Loser in Rd 2 | £700 | 8 | £5,600 |
| Loser in Rd 1 | £550 | 16 | £8,800 |
| Grand Total | £33,000 | ||
This tree excludes any preliminary round fixtures
| First round | Second round | Third round | Semifinals | Final | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Keighley | 20 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| York | 4 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Keighley | 9 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wigan | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Doncaster | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wigan | 30 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Keighley | 4 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Widnes | 15 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Huddersfield | 10 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Widnes | 21 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Widnes | 11 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| St. Helens | 10 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| St. Helens | 16 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Leeds | 11 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Widnes | 21 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bradford Northern | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| New Hunslet | 7 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hull F.C. | 17 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hull F.C. | 12 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bradford Northern | 18 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Barrow | 8 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bradford Northern | 26 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bradford Northern | 16 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wakefield Trinity | 13 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wakefield Trinity | 27 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batley | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wakefield Trinity | 15 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Halifax | 10 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Leigh Miners W. | 9 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Halifax | 21 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Widnes | 16 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Warrington | 4 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Whitehaven | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Featherstone Rovers | 9 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Featherstone Rovers | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Warrington | 7 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Warrington | 14 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Blackpool Borough | 4 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Warrington | 27 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Leigh | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Leigh | 13 (10) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Huyton | 13 (8) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Leigh | 17 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dewsbury | 8 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Milford | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dewsbury | 38 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Warrington | 9 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hull Kingston Rovers | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hull Kingston Rovers | 67 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Oldham | 11 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hull Kingston Rovers | 16 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Salford | 14 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Salford | 26 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rochdale Hornets | 7 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hull Kingston Rovers | 23 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Castleford | 10 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Castleford | 18 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Swinton | 10 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Castleford | 20 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Workington Town | 9 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Workington Town | 17 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bramley | 8 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
1 * Leigh Miners' Welfare are a Junior (amateur) club from Leigh (formed by merger of Astley & Tyldesley and Hope Rangers - and now renamed as Leigh Miners Rangers) [16]
2 * new record score between professional clubs in the competition - at the time, beating the previous record of 9-51 set when Blackpool Borough lost at home to Leeds by 9-51 in season 1972–73
3 * Milford are a Junior (amateur) club from Leeds
4 * Warrington official archives [9] show the game as being played on 30 September but RUGBYLEAGUEproject [1] and Wigan official archives [10] shows it as played on 24 September
5 * Postponed due to frozen pitch
6 * Postponed due to frozen pitch - was due to be televised by BBC
7 * Postponed due to the postponement of the Semi Final ties caused by frost and other extremely inclement weather.
8 * The Final had been due to be played on Saturday 27 January but was put back due to backlog of semi-finl ties caused by enforced postponement due to extreme inclement weather
9 * Knowsley Road was the home of St Helens R.F.C. from 1890 until its closure in 2010. The final capacity was 17,500 although the record attendance was 35,695 set on 26 December 1949 for a league game between St Helens and Wigan.
1965–66 was the fifty-third occasion on which the Lancashire Cup completion had been held.
The 1971–72 Lancashire Cup was the fifty-ninth occasion on which the completion had been held. Wigan won the trophy by beating Widnes by the score of 15-8 in the final. The match was played at Knowsley Road, Eccleston, St Helens,. The attendance was 6,970 and receipts were £2,204.00
The 1980–81 Lancashire Cup was the 68th staging of the rugby league knockout competition, the Lancashire Cup.
The 1985–86 Lancashire Cup competition was the seventy-third occasion on which the tournament had been held. Wigan won the trophy by beating Warrington in the final by the score of 34-8.
The 1987–88 Lancashire Cup was the seventy-fifth occasion on which the Lancashire Cup competition had been held. It was contested during the 1987–88 Rugby Football League season by clubs in Lancashire. Wigan won the trophy by beating Warrington in the final.
1988–89 was the seventy-sixth occasion on which the Lancashire Cup completion was held. Wigan won the trophy, beating Salford 22-17. The match was played at Knowsley Road, St Helens, with an attendance of 19,154 and receipts of £71,879.00
The 1989–90 Lancashire Cup was the 77th occasion on which the completion had been held. Warrington won the trophy by beating Oldham by the score of 24-16 in the final. The match was played at Knowsley Road, Eccleston, St Helens, Merseyside,. The attendance was 9.990 and receipts were £41,804.
The 1965–66 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy was the inaugural season of the BBC2 Floodlit Trophy competition. Castleford won the trophy by beating St. Helens with the score of 4–0. The match was played at Knowsley Road, Eccleston, St Helens, Merseyside. The attendance was 11,510 and receipts were £3,548. This was to be the first of Castleford's three victories in successive seasons in the first three Floodlit competitions.
The 1967–68 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy was the third occasion on which the BBC2 Floodlit Trophy competition had been held.
The 1969–70 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy was the fifth occasion on which the BBC2 Floodlit Trophy competition had been held.
This year was another new name on the trophy after the 1969 runner-up defeated the reigning cup-holders
Leigh won the trophy by beating Wigan by the score of 11-6
The match was played at Central Park, Wigan,. The attendance was 12,312 and receipts were £2,854
This was to be Wigan's last appearance in the final of the competition.
The 1971–72 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy was the seventh occasion on which the BBC2 Floodlit Trophy competition had been held.
This year was another new name on the trophy
St. Helens won the trophy by beating Rochdale Hornets by the score of 8-2
The match was played at Knowsley Road, Eccleston, St Helens, Merseyside. The attendance was 9,255 and receipts were £2,493
This was St. Helens first victory after being runner-up in three of the previous six finals
The 1972–73 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy was the eighth occasion on which the BBC2 Floodlit Trophy competition had been held.
This year was another new name on the trophy
Leigh won the trophy by beating Widnes by the score of 5-0
The match was played at Central Park, Wigan,. The attendance was 4,691 and receipts were £1,391
This was Leigh's first victory after being runner-up in two of the previous finals
The 1975–76 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy was the eleventh occasion on which the BBC2 Floodlit Trophy competition had been held.
The 1976–77 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy was the twelfth occasion on which the BBC2 Floodlit Trophy competition had been held.
The 1978–79 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy was the 14th staging of the BBC2 Floodlit Trophy competition, and was held in 1978.
The 1979–80 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy was the fifteenth occasion on which the BBC2 Floodlit Trophy competition had been held.
This year, for the last time, a new name appeared on the trophy when Hull F.C. won the trophy by beating Hull Kingston Rovers by the score of 13-3
The match was played at Boulevard, in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire. The attendance was 18,500, and the receipts were £16,605
The attendance was a record for a BBC2 Floodlit Trophy, never to be beaten
This was the seventh season for the competition, from this season the League Cup was known as the John Player Trophy for sponsorship reasons.
This was the ninth season for the League Cup, known as the John Player Trophy for sponsorship reasons.
The 1991–92 Regal Trophy was a British rugby league knockout tournament. It was the 21st season that the competition was held, and was the third staging of the competition since it was re-named the Regal Trophy.
The 1993–94 Regal Trophy was a British rugby league knockout tournament. It was the 23rd season that the competition was held, and was the fifth staging of the competition since it was re-named the Regal Trophy.