Station Road, Swinton
| Station Road | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Station Road |
| Location | Station Road, Pendlebury |
| Coordinates | 53°30′54″N 2°20′04″W / 53.51504°N 2.3344°WCoordinates: 53°30′54″N 2°20′04″W / 53.51504°N 2.3344°W |
| Broke ground | 1929 |
| Built | 1929 |
| Opened | 1929 |
| Expanded | References |
| Closed | 1992 |
| Demolished | 1992 |
| Surface | Grass |
| Capacity | 60,000 |
| Record attendance | 44,621 Wigan vs Warrington Challenge Cup Semi Final 1951 |
| Tenants | |
| Swinton RLFC (1929–1992) | |
Station Road was a stadium in Swinton (actually in Pendlebury), near Manchester. England. It was the home of Swinton Rugby League Club between 1929 and 1992 and was widely recognised as one of the finest grounds in the Rugby League.
Swinton moved to Station Road when they were at their peak, having won all four major trophies the previous season. The decision to purchase the land, which stood alongside the railway line and Swinton railway station, was made after a breakdown in negotiations with their existing landlord at their Chorley Road ground, their home since 1887.
Contents |
[edit] International Venue
In its heyday it boasted a capacity of 60,000, although with a record attendance of 44,621 for Wigan vs Warrington in the 1951 Challenge Cup semi-final this was never really tested. All in all 19 internationals (including 15 test matches), 5 Championship finals, 17 Lancashire Cup finals, 4 Premiership finals and 30 Rugby League Challenge Cup semi-finals were played at the ground. In addition two World Cup matches were played at Station Road.
| 1960-01-10 |
Great Britain  |
33–7 |  France |
Station Road, Swinton Attendance: 22,923 Referee: Edouard Martung |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Britain's comprehensive victory over the French at Swinton was marred by the first double sending-off in World Cup annals, France's skipper Jean Barthe and Britain's second-rower Vince Karalius being despatched by Edouard Martung, a police inspector from Bordeaux.
| 31 October 1970 |
Great Britain |
27–17 |  New Zealand |
Station Road, Swinton Attendance: 5,609 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Britain eliminated New Zealand from the tournament, cruising to victory with five tries to three.[1]
List of GB matches played at Station Road
| Date | Result | Competition | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1930 | Great Britain 0-0 Australia | Test Series | |
| 1933 | Great Britain 19-16 Australia | Test Series | |
| 1937 | Great Britain 13-3 Australia | Test Series | |
| 1947 | Great Britain 7-10 New Zealand | Test Series | |
| 1948 | Great Britain 16-7 Australia | Test Series | |
| 1951 | Great Britain 20-19 New Zealand | Test Series | |
| 1952 | Great Britain 21-5 Australia | Test Series | |
| 1955 | Great Britain 25-6 New Zealand | Test Series | |
| 1956 | Great Britain 19-0 Australia | Test Series | |
| 1959 | Great Britain 15-22 Australia | Test Series | |
| 1961 | Great Britain 35-19 New Zealand | Test Series | |
| 1963 | Great Britain 12-50 Australia | Test Series | |
| 1965 | Great Britain 17-7 France | Test Series | |
| 1965 | Great Britain 9-2 New Zealand | Test Series | |
| 1967 | Great Britain 3-11 Australia | Test Series |
Also five England internationals were played at Station Road
| Date | Result | Competition | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 January 1930 | England 0-0 Australia | Test Series | 35,000 |
| 16 December 1933 | England 19-16 Australia | Test Series | 11,000 |
| 13 November 1937 | England 13-3 Australia | Test Series | 32,000 |
| 23 February 1946 | England 16-6 France | European Championship | |
| 12 October 1946 | England 10-13 Wales | European Championship | 20,000 |
[edit] Vandalism & closure
Fire damaged the disused main stand including offices and function rooms in July 1991, this was the last in a series of vandalism before the club moved out of Station Road. Station Road was sold at the end of the 1991–92 season by the club's directors to David McLean Homes for property development part of the deal involved sponsoring the Lions in their first season post Station Road. The last match to be played at Station Road was a local derby verses Salford on 20 April 1992 with 3,487 witnessing Salford winning 26-18 and Ian Pickavance of Swinton scoring the last try.[2] The site is now a housing estate.
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ AAP; Reuter (1970-11-02). "Britain has easy Cup win". The Age: pp. 18. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=2WIQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=sJADAAAAIBAJ&pg=4541,102738. Retrieved 2009-10-06.
- ^ "Salford v Swinton has it all". Oldham Advertiser. 16 January 2003. http://menmedia.co.uk/oldhamadvertiser/sport/s/436805_salford_v_swinton_has_it_all.
