1981–82 John Player Trophy
1981–82 League Cup | |
---|---|
Structure | National knockout championship |
Teams | 33 |
Winners | Hull F.C. |
Runners-up | Hull Kingston Rovers |
This was the eleventh season for the rugby league League Cup, which was once again known as the John Player Trophy for sponsorship reasons.
Hull F.C. won the trophy, beating derby rivals Hull Kingston Rovers by the score of 12-4 in the final, which was played at Headingley, Leeds, West Yorkshire. The attendance was 25,245 and receipts were £42987.
Background
This season saw two change in the entrants. With the entry of Cardiff City and Carlisle into the league and also this competition, no junior team was invited, and the number of entrants increased to thirty-three
To cater for the odd number, a Preliminary Round consisting of just one single match was introduced.
Competition and Results
Preliminary Round
Involved 1 match and 2 Clubs
Game No | Fixture Date | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Venue | Att | Rec | Notes | Ref | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Wed 30 Sep 1981 | Leigh | 41-4 | Blackpool Borough | Hilton Park | 4235 |
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 | Fri 16 Oct 1981 | Workington Town | 22-9 | Bramley | Derwent Park | 2299 | |||||
2 | Sat 17 Oct 1981 | Hunslet | 8-44 | Widnes | Elland Road | 1062 | [4] | ||||
3 | Sat 17 Oct 1981 | Warrington | 24-15 | Fulham | Wilderspool | 2639 | [5] | ||||
4 | Sun 18 Oct 1981 | Batley | 7-16 | Featherstone Rovers | Mount Pleasant | 1363 | |||||
5 | Sun 18 Oct 1981 | Carlisle | 14-7 | Cardiff City | Brunton Park | 3224 | |||||
6 | Sun 18 Oct 1981 | Castleford | 21-7 | Leigh | Wheldon Road | 5060 | |||||
7 | Sun 18 Oct 1981 | Dewsbury | 2-34 | Hull Kingston Rovers | Crown Flatt | 3861 | |||||
8 | Sun 18 Oct 1981 | Halifax | 7-26 | Hull F.C. | Thrum Hall | 9871 | [6] | ||||
9 | Sun 18 Oct 1981 | Huddersfield | 19-17 | Huyton | Fartown | 931 | 1 | [7][8] | |||
10 | Sun 18 Oct 1981 | Keighley | 27-22 | Wakefield Trinity | Lawkholme Lane | 2454 | [9] | ||||
11 | Sun 18 Oct 1981 | Leeds | 19-10 | Wigan | Headingley | 4976 | [2] | ||||
12 | Sun 18 Oct 1981 | Oldham | 21-7 | Doncaster | Watersheddings | 1894 | |||||
13 | Sun 18 Oct 1981 | Rochdale Hornets | 3-19 | Bradford Northern | Athletic Grounds | 2235 | |||||
14 | Sun 18 Oct 1981 | St. Helens | 16-16 | Barrow | Knowsley Road | 5349 | [10] | ||||
15 | Sun 18 Oct 1981 | Swinton | 32-5 | York | Station Road | 1862 | |||||
16 | Sun 18 Oct 1981 | Whitehaven | 11-19 | Salford | Recreation Ground | 3351 |
Round 1 - First Round Replays
Involved 1 match and 2 Clubs
Game No | Fixture Date | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Venue | Att | Rec | Notes | Ref | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Thu 22 Oct 1981 | Barrow | 17-0 | St. Helens | Craven Park | 5182 | [10] |
Round 2 - Second Round
[3] Involved 8 matches and 16 Clubs
Game No | Fixture Date | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Venue | Att | Rec | Notes | Ref | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Sat 31 Oct 1981 | Widnes | 16-10 | Carlisle | Naughton Park | 3818 | [4] | ||||
2 | Sun 1 Nov 1981 | Barrow | 8-0 | Bradford Northern | Craven Park | 5512 | |||||
3 | Sun 1 Nov 1981 | Castleford | 5-23 | Hull F.C. | Wheldon Road | 13464 | [6] | ||||
4 | Sun 1 Nov 1981 | Hull Kingston Rovers | 18-6 | Featherstone Rovers | Craven Park (1) | 10017 | |||||
5 | Sun 1 Nov 1981 | Keighley | 10-11 | Salford | Odsal | 2730 | |||||
6 | Sun 1 Nov 1981 | Leeds | 13-8 | Warrington | Headingley | 5540 | [5] | ||||
7 | Sun 1 Nov 1981 | Oldham | 13-0 | Huddersfield | Watersheddings | 2284 | [7][8] | ||||
8 | Sun 1 Nov 1981 | Swinton | 19-9 | Workington Town | Station Road | 2433 |
Round 3 -Quarter Finals
[3] Involved 4 matches with 8 clubs
Game No | Fixture Date | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Venue | Att | Rec | Notes | Ref | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Sat 14 Nov 1981 | Barrow | 12-14 | Hull F.C. | Craven Park | 9019 | 2 | [6] | |||
2 | Sun 15 Nov 1981 | Oldham | 14-5 | Leeds | Watersheddings | 3864 | |||||
3 | Sun 15 Nov 1981 | Salford | 0-6 | Swinton | The Willows | 6728 | 3 | ||||
4 | Sun 15 Nov 1981 | Widnes | 8-9 | Hull Kingston Rovers | Naughton Park | 11019 | [4] |
Round 4 – Semi-Finals
[3] Involved 2 matches and 4 Clubs
Game No | Fixture Date | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Venue | Att | Rec | Notes | Ref | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Sat 28 Nov 1981 | Hull F.C. | 22-6 | Oldham | Headingley | 11080 | [6] | ||||
2 | Sat 12 Dec 1981 | Hull Kingston Rovers | 23-14 | Swinton | Headingley | 8193 |
Final
Game No | Fixture Date | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Venue | Att | Rec | Notes | Ref | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Saturday 23 January 1982 | Hull F.C. | 12-4 | Hull Kingston Rovers | Headingley | 25245 | 42987 | [6][11][12] |
Teams and Scorers
Hull | № | Hull Kingston Rovers |
---|---|---|
teams | ||
Barry Banks | 1 | George Fairbairn |
Dane O'Hara | 2 | Steve Hubbard |
Mick Harrison | 3 | Mike Smith |
James Leuluai | 4 | Phil Hogan |
Paul Prendiville | 5 | Peter Muscroft |
Terry Day[1] | 6 | Steve Hartley |
Tony Dean | 7 | Paul Harkin |
Trevor Skerrett | 8 | Roy Holdstock |
Ron Wileman[2] | 9 | David Watkinson |
Richard 'Charlie' Stone | 10 | Steve Crooks |
Mick Crane | 11 | Phil Lowe |
Lee Crooks | 12 | Len Casey |
Steve 'Knocker' Norton | 13 | Dave Hall |
Kevin Harkin[3] (for Tony Dean) | 14 | Christopher Burton (for Paul Harkin) |
? Not used | 15 | John Millington (for Roy Holdstock) |
Arthur Bunting | Coach | |
12 | score | 4 |
? | HT | ? |
Scorers | ||
Tries | ||
Ron Wileman (1) | T | |
Goals | ||
Lee Crooks (4) | G | George Fairbairn (2) |
Drop Goals | ||
Tony Dean (1) | DG | |
Referee | G. Frederick "Fred" Lindop (Wakefield) | |
Man of the match | Trevor Skerrett - Hull - Prop | |
Competition Sponsor | John Player |
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 | ? | 1 | ? |
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 | ||||||||||||||||||||
St. Helens | 16 (17) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Barrow | 16 (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Barrow | 8 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Bradford Northern | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Rochdale Hornets | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Bradford Northern | 19 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Barrow | 12 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Hull F.C. | 14 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Castleford | 21 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Leigh | 7 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Castleford | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Hull F.C. | 23 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Halifax | 7 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Hull F.C. | 26 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Hull F.C. | 22 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Oldham | 6 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Oldham | 21 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Doncaster | 7 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Oldham | 13 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Huddersfield | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Huddersfield | 19 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Huyton | 17 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Oldham | 14 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Leeds | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Leeds | 19 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Wigan | 10 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Leeds | 13 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Warrington | 8 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Warrington | 24 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Fulham | 15 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Hull F.C. | 12 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Hull Kingston Rovers | 4 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Hunslet | 8 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Widnes | 44 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Widnes | 16 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Carlisle | 10 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Carlisle | 14 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Cardiff City | 7 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Widnes | 8 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Hull Kingston Rovers | 9 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Dewsbury | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Hull Kingston Rovers | 34 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Hull Kingston Rovers | 18 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Featherstone Rovers | 6 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Batley | 7 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Featherstone Rovers | 16 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Hull Kingston Rovers | 23 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Swinton | 14 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Keighley | 27 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Wakefield Trinity | 22 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Keighley | 10 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Salford | 11 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Whitehaven | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Salford | 19 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Salford | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Swinton | 6 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Swinton | 32 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
York | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Swinton | 19 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Workington Town | 9 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Workington Town | 22 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Bramley | 9 |
Notes and comments
1 * RUGBYLEAGUEproject[1] gives the attendance as 957, but the Huddersfield Yearbook 1981[8] gives the attendance for this match as 931
2 * Wigan official archives[3] give the score as 12-10 (obviously incorrect as Hull proceeded to the Semi-finals) but RUGBYLEAGUEproject[1] gives it as 12-14
3 * Wigan official archives[3] give the score as 0-8 but RUGBYLEAGUEproject[1] gives it as 0-6
4 * RUGBYLEAGUEproject[1] gives the attendance as 25,165 but Rothman's Yearbooks 1990-91 [11] and 1991-92[12] give it as 25,245
5 * The attendance was a new record for the final, easily beating last years previous record of 12,820
6 * 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
- 1981–82 Rugby Football League season
- 1981 Lancashire Cup
- 1981 Yorkshire Cup
- John Player Trophy
- Rugby league county cups
References
- ^ a b c d e "Rugby League Project".
- ^ a b "Wigan "Cherry and White" archived results".
- ^ a b c d e f "Wigan "Cherry and White" j Player Round 1 and onwards archived results".
- ^ a b c "Widnes Vikings - History - Season In Review - 1896-97".
- ^ a b "Warrington Wolves - Results Archive - 1897". Archived from the original on 2014-02-02.
- ^ a b c d e "HULL&PROUD - Stats - Fixtures & Results".
- ^ a b "Fartown Rugby League Yearbook 1981" (PDF).
- ^ a b c C & AC (1982). Huddersfield Yearbook 1981 price 60p. Huddersfield C & A C Supporters Club.
- ^ "Wakefield until I die".
- ^ a b "Saints Heritage Society - History - Season 1896-97".
- ^ a b Raymond Fletcher and David Howes (1990). Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1990-1991. Queen Anne Press. ISBN 0 35617851 X.
- ^ a b c Raymond Fletcher and David Howes (1991). Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1991-100. Queen Anne Press. ISBN 0 35617852 8.
- ^ "Hull RLFC official stats".