1985–86 John Player Special Trophy
1985–86 League Cup | |
---|---|
Structure | National knockout championship |
Teams | 36 |
Winners | Wigan |
Runners-up | Hull KR |
This was the fifteenth season of the competition. The League Cup was again known as the John Player Special Trophy this season for sponsorship reasons.
Wigan won the final, beating Hull KR by the score of 11-8. The match was played at Elland Road, Leeds. The attendance was 17,573 and receipts were £66714.
Background
This season saw several changes in the entrants :-
1 Bridgend Blue Dragons and Southend Invicta both folded
2 and the invitation to two junior clubs continued
This involved a decrease in entrants to thirty-six, in turn resulting in a 4 match, 8 club preliminary round to reduce the number of clubs taking part in the first round proper to thirty-two
There were no drawn matches throughout the tournament
Preliminary Round[3]
Involved 4 matches and 8 Clubs
Game No | Fixture Date | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Venue | Att | Rec | Notes | Ref | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Sun 10 Nov 1985 | Carlisle | 6-24 | Rochdale Hornets | Brunton Park | 752 | |||||
2 | Sun 10 Nov 1985 | Featherstone Rovers | 10-14 | Warrington | Post Office Road | 1803 | [4] | ||||
3 | Sun 10 Nov 1985 | Keighley | 24-6 | Jubilee Hotel (Featherstone) | ?? Lawkholme Lane or Bradford ?? | 1007 | 1 | ||||
4 | Sun 10 Nov 1985 | West Hull | 10-24 | Castleford | Boulevard | 2500 | 2 |
Round 1 - First Round[3]
Involved 16 matches and 32 Clubs
Game No | Fixture Date | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Venue | Att | Rec | Notes | Ref | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Sat 23 Nov 1985 | Halifax | 2-11 | Hull KR | Thrum Hall | 4147 | |||||
2 | Sun 24 Nov 1985 | Barrow | 5-2 | Leeds | Craven Park | 4886 | |||||
3 | Sun 24 Nov 1985 | Batley | 2-70 | Leigh | Mount Pleasant | 1543 | 3 | ||||
4 | Sun 24 Nov 1985 | Blackpool Borough | 22-24 | Wakefield Trinity | Borough Park | 683 | [5] | ||||
5 | Sun 24 Nov 1985 | Bramley | 8-46 | Oldham | McLaren Field | 2738 | |||||
6 | Sun 24 Nov 1985 | Doncaster | 22-20 | Runcorn Highfield | Bentley Road Stadium/Tattersfield | 375 | |||||
7 | Sun 24 Nov 1985 | Fulham | 13-20 | Warrington | Chiswick Poly Sports Grd and various | 1493 | [4] | ||||
8 | Sun 24 Nov 1985 | Hunslet | 20-12 | Workington Town | Elland Road | 726 | |||||
9 | Sun 24 Nov 1985 | Keighley | 20-10 | Huddersfield Barracudas | Lawkholme Lane | 1264 | 4 | [6] | |||
10 | Sun 24 Nov 1985 | St Helens | 42-6 | Dewsbury | Knowsley Road | 5364 | [7] | ||||
11 | Sun 24 Nov 1985 | Salford | 18-12 | Rochdale Hornets | The Willows | 2844 | |||||
12 | Sun 24 Nov 1985 | Sheffield Eagles | 16-24 | Bradford Northern | Owlerton Stadium | 1342 | |||||
13 | Sun 24 Nov 1985 | Whitehaven | 7-12 | Widnes | Recreation Ground | 3097 | [2] | ||||
14 | Sun 24 Nov 1985 | Wigan | 26-0 | Mansfield Marksman | Central Park | 10040 | 5 | [2] | |||
15 | Sun 24 Nov 1985 | York | 12-10 | Castleford | Clarence Street | 3765 | |||||
16 | Sun 27 Nov 1985 | Hull F.C. | 44-0 | Swinton | Boulevard | 3797 | [8] |
Round 2 - Second Round[9]
Involved 8 matches and 16 Clubs
Game No | Fixture Date | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Venue | Att | Rec | Notes | Ref | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Sat 30 Nov 1985 | Widnes | 30-6 | Bradford Northern | Naughton Park | 2222 | [10] | ||||
2 | Sun 1 Dec 1985 | Hull F.C. | 30-10 | Salford | Boulevard | 5659 | [8] | ||||
3 | Sun 1 Dec 1985 | Hull KR | 8-7 | Oldham | Craven Park (1) | 7069 | |||||
4 | Sun 1 Dec 1985 | Leigh | 48-6 | Hunslet | Hilton Park | 3267 | |||||
5 | Sun 1 Dec 1985 | St Helens | 36-20 | Doncaster | Knowsley Road | 4092 | [7] | ||||
6 | Sun 1 Dec 1985 | Wakefield Trinity | 21-30 | Wigan | Belle Vue | 7360 | [2][5] | ||||
7 | Sun 1 Dec 1985 | Warrington | 34-14 | Barrow | Wilderspool | 3705 | [4] | ||||
8 | Sun 1 Dec 1985 | York | 21-16 | Keighley | Clarence Street | 2511 |
Round 3 -Quarter Finals[11]
Involved 4 matches with 8 clubs
Game No | Fixture Date | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Venue | Att | Rec | Notes | Ref | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Sat 7 Dec 1985 | Warrington | 22-26 | Wigan | Wilderspool | 6737 | [2][4] | ||||
2 | Sun 8 Dec 1985 | Hull KR | 24-16 | York | Craven Park (1) | 6228 | |||||
3 | Sun 8 Dec 1985 | Widnes | 31-35 | Leigh | Naughton Park | 6153 | [10] | ||||
4 | Wed 11 Dec 1985 | St Helens | 57-14 | Hull | Knowsley Road | 7536 | [7][8] |
Round 4 – Semi-Finals[12]
Involved 2 matches and 4 Clubs
Game No | Fixture Date | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Venue | Att | Rec | Notes | Ref | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Sat 14 Dec 1985 | Wigan | 36-8 | Leigh | Knowsley Road | 10509 | [2] | ||||
2 | Sat 21 Dec 1985 | Hull KR | 22-4 | St Helens | Headingley | 3856 | [7] |
Final
Game No | Fixture Date | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Venue | Att | Rec | Notes | Ref | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Saturday 11 January 1986 | Wigan | 11-8 | Hull KR | Elland Road | 17573 | 66714 | 6 | [8][13][14][15] |
Wigan | № | Hull KR |
---|---|---|
teams | ||
Steve Hampson | 1 | John Lydiat |
Ray Mordt | 2 | Garry Clark |
David Stephenson | 3 | Mike Smith |
Ellery Hanley | 4 | John Dorahy |
Henderson Gill | 5 | David Laws |
Steve Ella | 6 | Gordon Smith |
Mike Ford | 7 | Paul Harkin |
Greg Dowling | 8 | Peter Johnston |
Nicky Kiss | 9 | David Watkinson |
Shaun Wane | 10 | Asuquo "Zook" Ema |
Graeme West | 11 | Christopher Burton |
Andy Goodway | 12 | Andy Kelly |
Ian Potter | 13 | Gavin Miller |
Shaun Edwards (for Henderson Gill on 74th minute) | 14 | Ian Robinson (for Peter Johnston 74 min) |
Nick Du Toit (for Ian Potter Half Time) | 15 | ? Not used |
Colin Clarke and Alan McInnes | Coach | Roger Millward |
11 | score | 8 |
7 | HT | 4 |
Scorers | ||
Tries | ||
Mike Ford (1) | T | John Lydiat (1) |
Shaun Wane (1) | T | David Laws (1) |
Goals | ||
David Stephenson (1) | G | |
Drop Goals | ||
Greg Dowling (1) | DG | |
Referee | John Holdsworth (Kippax) | |
Man of the match | Paul Harkin - Hull K R - Scrum-half/Halfback | |
Competition Sponsor | John Player Special |
Scoring - Try = four (4) 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 |
Note - the author is unable to trace the award amounts for this season. Can anyone help ?
The road to success
This tree excludes any preliminary round fixtures
First Round | Second Round | Third Round | Semi Finals | Final | ||||||||||||||||||||
Fulham | 13 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Warrington | 20 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Warrington | 34 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Barrow | 14 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Barrow | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Leeds | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Warrington | 22 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Wigan | 26 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Blackpool Borough | 22 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Wakefield Trinity | 24 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Wakefield Trinity | 21 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Wigan | 30 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Wigan | 26 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Mansfield Marksman | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Wigan | 36 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Leigh | 8 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Whitehaven | 7 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Widnes | 12 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Widnes | 30 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Bradford Northern | 6 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Sheffield Eagles | 16 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Bradford Northern | 24 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Widnes | 31 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Leigh | 35 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Batley | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Leigh | 70 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Leigh | 48 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Hunslet | 6 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Hunslet | 22 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Workington Town | 12 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Wigan | 11 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Hull KR | 8 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Halifax | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Hull KR | 11 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Hull KR | 8 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Oldham | 7 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Bramley | 8 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Oldham | 46 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Hull KR | 24 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
York | 16 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
York | 12 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Castleford | 10 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
York | 21 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Keighley | 16 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Keighley | 20 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Huddersfield Barracudas | 10 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Hull KR | 22 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
St Helens | 4 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
St Helens | 42 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Dewsbury | 6 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
St Helens | 36 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Doncaster | 20 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Doncaster | 22 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Runcorn Highfield | 20 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
St Helens | 57 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Hull | 14 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Hull | 44 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Swinton | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Hull | 30 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Salford | 10 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Salford | 18 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Rochdale Hornets | 12 |
Notes and comments
1 * Jubilee Hotel are a Junior (amateur) club from Featherstone
2 * West Hull are a Junior (amateur) club from Hull
3 * highest score, highest score by away team, and highest winning margin - all between professional clubs, to date
4 * RUGBYLEAGUEproject[1] and Huddersfield Heritage[6] give the score as 20-10 but Wigan official archives[2] gives it as 20-18
5 * Mansfield Marksman have moved from Mansfield and are now playing at North Street, Alfreston
6 * Elland Road, Leeds, is the home ground of Leeds United A.F.C. with a capacity of 37,914 (The record attendance was 57,892 set on 15 March 1967 for a cup match Leeds v Sunderland). The ground was originally established in 1897 by Holbeck RLFC who played there until their demise after the conclusion of the 1903-04 season
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
- 1985-86 Rugby Football League season
- 1985 Lancashire Cup
- 1985 Yorkshire Cup
- John Player Special Trophy
- Rugby league county cups
References
- ^ a b "Rugby League Project".
- ^ a b c d e f g "Wigan "Cherry and White" archived results".
- ^ a b "Wigan "Cherry and White" J Player Rd 1 archived results".
- ^ a b c d "Warrington Wolves - Results Archive - 1897". Archived from the original on 2014-02-02.
{{cite web}}
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ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help) - ^ a b "Wakefield until I die".
- ^ a b "Huddersfield Rugby League Heritage" (PDF).
- ^ a b c d "Saints Heritage Society - History - Season 1896-97".
- ^ a b c d "HULL&PROUD - Stats - Fixtures & Results".
- ^ "Wigan "Cherry and White" J Player Rd 2 archived results".
- ^ a b "Widnes Vikings - History - Season In Review - 1896-97".
- ^ "Wigan "Cherry and White" J Player Rd 3 archived results".
- ^ "Wigan "Cherry and White" J Player SF archived results".
- ^ "Wigan "Cherry and White" J Player Final archived results".
- ^ a b Raymond Fletcher and David Howes (1990). Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1990-1991. Queen Anne Press. ISBN 0 35617851 X.
- ^ a b Raymond Fletcher and David Howes (1991). Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1991-100. Queen Anne Press. ISBN 0 35617852 8.
- ^ "Wigan "Cherry and White" archived results".