1946–47 Lancashire Cup

The 1946 Rugby League Lancashire Cup competition

1946-47 Lancashire Cup
Structure	Regional knockout championship
Teams	13
Winners	Wigan
Runners-up	Belle Vue Rangers

1946 was the thirty-fourth occasion on which the Lancashire Cup completion had been held.
Wigan won the trophy by beating Belle Vue Rangers by the score of 9-3.
The match was played at Station Road, Pendlebury, Salford, (historically in the county of Lancashire). The attendance was 21,648 and receipts were £2,658.
Although it could not have been known at this time, this was to be the first of Wigan’s record breaking run of six consecutive Lancashire Cup victories.
It was also to be the first of two consecutive finals to be competed for by these two teams.

Background

The number of teams entering showed little change from before the war.
Leigh returned to the sport using a rented athletic stadium while their purpose built stadium was under construction.
Overall, the number of teams entering this year’s competition increased by one with the return of Leigh bringing the total up to 13.
The same pre-war fixture format was retained. This season saw one bye and one “blank” or “dummy” fixture in the first round. The second round also had one bye, but now no “blank” fixture”.
As last season, all the first round ties of the competition was played on the basis of two legged, home and away, ties. In addition, this season, the second round was also on a two leg, home and away basis.

Competition and results

Round 1

Involved 6 matches (with one bye and one “blank” fixture) and 13 clubs

Game No	Fixture Date	Home Team		Score		Away Team	Venue	agg	Att	Rec	Notes	Ref
1	Sat 07 Sep 1946	Liverpool Stanley		0-7		Belle Vue Rangers	Stanley Greyhound Stadium
2	Sat 07 Sep 1946	St Helens		5-14		Leigh	Knowsley Road		10,000
3	Sat 07 Sep 1946	Salford		10-3		Warrington	The Willows
4	Sat 07 Sep 1946	Widnes		26-5		Barrow	Naughton Park
5	Sat 07 Sep 1946	Wigan		49-4		Rochdale Hornets	Central Park
6	Sat 07 Sep 1946	Workington Town		2-8		Oldham	Borough Park
7		Swinton				bye
8		blank				blank

Round 1 – Second Leg

Involved 6 matches (with two “blank” fixture) and 12 clubs. These are the reverse fixture from the first leg

Game No	Fixture Date	Home Team		Score		Away Team	Venue	agg	Att	Rec	Notes	Ref
1	Sat 14 Sep 1946	Belle Vue Rangers		11-5		Liverpool Stanley	Belle Vue Stadium	18-5
2	Sat 14 Sep 1946	Leigh		17-4		St Helens	Madeley Park	31-9	9,200
3	Sat 14 Sep 1946	Warrington		10-5		Salford	Wilderspool	13-15
4	Sat 14 Sep 1946	Barrow		10-3		Widnes	Craven Park	15-29
5	Sat 14 Sep 1946	Rochdale Hornets		5-32		Wigan	Athletic Grounds	9-81
6	Sat 14 Sep 1946	Oldham		19-10		Workington Town	Watersheddings	27-12
7		Swinton				bye
8		blank				blank

Round 2 - Quarter Finals - First Leg

Involved 3 matches (with one bye) and 7 clubs

Game No	Fixture Date	Home Team		Score		Away Team	Venue	agg	Att	Rec	Notes	Ref
1	Tue 24 Sep 1946	Oldham		20-8		Leigh	Watersheddings
2	Wed 25 Sep 1946	Swinton		6-8		Widnes	Station Road
3	Wed 25 Sep 1946	Wigan		31-0		Salford	Central Park
4		Belle Vue Rangers				bye

Round 2 - Quarter Finals – Second Leg

Involved 3 matches (with one bye) and 7 clubs. These are the reverse fixture from the first leg

Game No	Fixture Date	Home Team		Score		Away Team	Venue	agg	Att	Rec	Notes	Ref
1	Wed 02 Oct 1946	Leigh		6-11		Oldham	Madeley Park	14-31
2	Thu 03 Oct 1946	Widnes		9-2		Swinton	Naughton Park	17-8
2	Wed 02 Oct 1946	Salford		0-19		Wigan	The Willows	0-50
3		Belle Vue Rangers				bye

Round 3 – Semi-Finals

Involved 2 matches and 4 clubs

Game No	Fixture Date	Home Team		Score		Away Team	Venue	agg	Att	Rec	Notes	Ref
1	Tue 15 Oct 1946	Oldham		7-21		Wigan	Watersheddings
2	Wed 16 Oct 1946	Belle Vue Rangers		5-0		Widnes	Belle Vue Stadium

Final

Game No	Fixture Date	Home Team		Score		Away Team	Venue	agg	Att	Rec	Notes	Ref
	Saturday 26 October 1946	Wigan		9-3		Belle Vue Rangers	Station Road		21,648	£2,658	4

Teams and scorers

Wigan	№	Belle Vue Rangers
	teams
Martin Ryan	1
Brian Nordgren	2
Johnny Lawrenson	3
Ernie Ashcroft	4
Gordon Ratcliffe	5
Ces Mountford	6
Tommy Bradshaw	7
Ken Gee	8
Joe Egan	9
George Banks	10
Harry Atkinson [1]	11
Billy Blan	12
Jack Blan [2]	13
9	score	3
7	HT	3
	Scorers
	Tries
Jack Blan (1)	T
	Goals
Johnny Lawrenson (3)	G
Referee

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

The road to success

All the first and second round ties were played on a two leg (home and away) basis.
The first club named in each of the first and second round ties played the first leg at home.
the scores shown in the first and second round are the aggregate score over the two legs.

	First Round					Second Round					Semi Finals					Final
	Workington Town		12
	Oldham		27
						Oldham		31
						Leigh		14
	St Helens		9
	Leigh		31
											Oldham		7
											Wigan		21
	Wigan		81
	Rochdale Hornets		9
						Wigan		50
						Salford		0
	Salford		15
	Warrington		13
																Wigan		9
																Belle Vue Rangers		3
	Liverpool Stanley		5
	Belle Vue Rangers		18
						Belle Vue Rangers
						bye
	blank
	blank
											Belle Vue Rangers		5
											Widnes		0
	#REF!		29
		Barrow	15
						Widnes		8
						Swinton		17
	Swinton
	bye

Notes and comments

1. The first Lancashire Cup match played by the newly name club
2. Leigh's belated return to the sport after the war years
3. The first Lancashire Cup match to be played at Leigh's temporary home
4. Station Road was the home ground of Swinton from 1929 to 1932 and at its peak was one of the finest rugby league grounds in the country and it boasted a capacity of 60,000. The actual record attendance was for the Challenge Cup semi-final on 7 April 1951 when 44,621 watched Wigan beat Warrington 3-2

See also

• 1946–47 Northern Rugby Football League season
• Rugby league county cups

External links

• Saints Heritage Society
• 1896–97 Northern Rugby Football Union season at wigan.rlfans.com
• Hull&Proud Fixtures & Results 1896/1897
• Widnes Vikings - One team, one passion Season In Review - 1896-97
• The Northern Union at warringtonwolves.org