1969–70 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy
StructureFloodlit knockout championship
Teams18
WinnersLeigh
Runners-upWigan

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, (historically in the county of Lancashire). The attendance was 12,312 and receipts were £2,854
This was to be Wigan's last appearance in the final of the competition.

Background

This season saw no changes in the entrants, no new members and no withdrawals, the number remaining at eighteen.
The format remained the same as last season with the games in the preliminary round being on a two-legged home and away basis.
This preliminary round involved four clubs, to reduce the numbers to sixteen, followed by a straightforward knock out competition.

Competition and results

[1]

Preliminary round – first leg

Involved 2 matches and 4 clubs

Game No Fixture date Home team Score Away team Venue agg Att Rec Notes Ref
P1Tue 26 Aug 1969Wigan22-6WarringtonCentral Park[2][3]
P1Mon 29 Sep 1969Huddersfield10-18CastlefordFartown17501[4][5]

Preliminary round – second leg

Involved 2 matches with the same 4 clubs with reverse fixtures

Game No Fixture date Home team Score Away team Venue agg Att Rec Notes Ref
P2Mon 29 Sep 1969Warrington15-10WiganWilderspool21-32[2][3]
P2Wed 8 Oct 1969Castleford19-2HuddersfieldWheldon Road37-124000[4][5]

Round 1 – first round

Involved 8 matches and 16 clubs

Game No Fixture date Home team Score Away team Venue Att Rec Notes Ref
1Tue 30 Sep 1969Halifax9-27LeedsThrum Hall
2Tue 7 Oct 1969Leigh25-8Wakefield TrinityHilton Park[6]
3Mon 13 Oct 1969Oldham24-13Rochdale HornetsWatersheddings
4Mon 13 Oct 1969Swinton9-17St. HelensStation Road4900[7]
5Tue 14 Oct 1969Wigan24-5Hull F.C.Central Park2[2][8]
6Mon 20 Oct 1969Barrow13-10WidnesCraven Park[9]
7Tue 21 Oct 1969Salford12-16CastlefordThe Willows
8Tue 28 Oct 1969Keighley6-15Hull Kingston RoversLawkholme Lane

Round 2 - quarterfinals

Involved 4 matches with 8 clubs

Game No Fixture date Home team Score Away team Venue Att Rec Notes Ref
1Tue 4 Nov 1969Barrow6-11St. HelensCraven Park4500[7]
2Tue 11 Nov 1969Wigan12-0OldhamCentral Park2[2]
3Tue 18 Nov 1969Hull Kingston Rovers6-12LeighCraven Park (1)
4Tue 25 Nov 1969Castleford9-7LeedsWheldon Road

Round 3 – semifinals

Involved 2 matches and 4 clubs

Game No Fixture date Home team Score Away team Venue Att Rec Notes Ref
1Tue 2 Dec 1969Castleford11-12LeighWheldon Road
2Tue 9 Dec 1969Wigan13-13St. HelensCentral Park88502[2][7]

Round 3 – semifinals – replays

Involved 1 match and 2 clubs

Game No Fixture date Home team Score Away team Venue Att Rec Notes Ref
RThu 11 Dec 1969St. Helens9-15WiganKnowsley Road11500[2][7]

Final

Game No Fixture date Home team Score Away team Venue Att Rec Notes Ref
Tuesday 16 December 1969Wigan6-11LeighCentral Park12,3122,8542 3[2][10][11]

Teams and scorers

Leigh № Wigan
teams
Stuart Ferguson1Cliff Hill
Rod Tickle2Stuart Wright
Stan Dorrington3Bill Francis
Mick Collins4Peter Rowe
Joseph Walsh5Kevin O'Loughlin
David Eckersley6David Hill
Alex Murphy7Johnny Jackson
David Chisnall8John Stephens
Kevin Ashcroft9Colin Clarke
Derek Watts10Keith Ashcroft
Bob Welding11Bill Ashurst
Paul Grimes12Keith Mills
Geoff Lyon13Doug Laughton
Alex MurphyCoachEric Ashton
11score6
11HT2
Scorers
Tries
Rod Tickle (1)T
Goals
Stuart Ferguson (3)GBill Francis (2)
Alex Murphy (1)GDavid Hill (1)
RefereeWilliam "Billy" H. Thompson (Huddersfield)

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

[2][11]

The road to success

This tree excludes any preliminary round fixtures

First round Second round Semi-finals Final
            
Wigan 24
Hull F.C. 5
Wigan 12
Oldham 0
Oldham 24
Rochdale Hornets 13
Wigan 13 (15)
St. Helens 13 (9)
Barrow 13
Widnes 10
Barrow 6
St. Helens 11
Swinton 9
St. Helens 17
Wigan 6
Leigh 11
Salford 12
Castleford 16
Castleford 9
Leeds 7
Halifax 9
Leeds 27
Castleford 11
Leigh 12
Keighley 6
Hull Kingston Rovers 15
Hull Kingston Rovers 6
Leigh 12
Leigh 25
Wakefield Trinity 8

Notes and comments

1 * Huddersfield (who joined the competition in season 1967–68) play their first game at home in the competition
2 * This match was televised
3 * Central Park was the home ground of Wigan with a final capacity of 18,000, although the record attendance was 47,747 for Wigan v St Helens 27 March 1959

General information for those unfamiliar

The Rugby League BBC2 Floodlit Trophy was a knock-out competition sponsored by the BBC and between rugby league clubs, entrance to which was conditional upon the club having floodlights. Most matches were played on an evening, and those of which the second half was televised, were played on a Tuesday evening.
Despite the competition being named as 'Floodlit', many matches took place during the afternoons and not under floodlights, and several of the entrants, including Barrow and Bramley did not have adequate lighting. And, when in 1973, due to the world oil crisis, the government restricted the use of floodlights in sport, all the matches, including the Trophy final, had to be played in the afternoon rather than at night.
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 taking place in December (The only exception to this was when disruption of the fixture list was caused by inclement weather)

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Rugby League Project".
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Wigan "Cherry and White" archived results". Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 6 April 2014.
  3. 1 2 "Warrington Wolves - Results Archive - 1897". Archived from the original on 6 July 2010.
  4. 1 2 HC&AC Committee (1970). Fartown Rugby League Year Book 1970 (price 2/-). HC&AC Supporters' Club.
  5. 1 2 "Fartown Rugby League Yearbook 1970" (PDF).
  6. ↑ "I'm Wakefield 'til I die..."
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Saints Heritage Society - History - Season 1896-97".
  8. ↑ "HULL&PROUD - Stats - Fixtures & Results".
  9. ↑ "Widnes Vikings - History - Season In Review - 1896-97".
  10. ↑ Raymond Fletcher and David Howes (1991). Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1991-1992. Queen Anne Press. ISBN 0 35617852 8.
  11. 1 2 Raymond Fletcher and David Howes (1990). Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1990-1991. Queen Anne Press. ISBN 0 35617851 X.
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