1947–48 Lancashire Cup


1947–48 was the thirty-fifth occasion on which the Lancashire Cup completion had been held.
Wigan won the trophy by beating Belle Vue Rangers by the score of 10-7
The match was played at Wilderspool, Warrington,. The attendance was 23,310 and receipts were £3,043.
This was the second of Wigan’s record breaking run of six consecutive Lancashire Cup victories.
It was also to be the second of two consecutive finals to be competed for by these two teams.

Background

Overall, the number of teams entering this year’s competition increased by one with the invitation to Lancashire Amateurs bringing the total up to 14.
The same pre-war fixture format was retained. This season saw no bye but one "blank" or "dummy" fixture in the first round. There was also one bye but no "blank" fixture" in the second round.
As last season, all the first round matches of the competition will be played on the basis of two legged, home and away ties. However this year, the second round becomes a straightforward knock-out basis.

Competition and results

Round 1

Involved 7 matches and 14 clubs
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueaggAttRecNotesRef
-
1Sat 30 Aug 1947Barrow14-12Belle Vue RangersCraven Park
2Sat 30 Aug 1947Lancashire Amateurs5-16Rochdale HornetsWatersheddings1
3Sat 30 Aug 1947Leigh0-15St. HelensKirkhall Lane16,0002 3
4Sat 30 Aug 1947Liverpool Stanley3-26OldhamStanley Greyhound Stadium
5Sat 30 Aug 1947Swinton2-19Workington TownStation Road
6Sat 30 Aug 1947Widnes4-8SalfordNaughton Park
7Sat 30 Aug 1947Wigan16-13WarringtonCentral Park
8blankblank

Round 1 – Second Leg

Involved 7 matches and 14 clubs. These are the reverse fixture from the first leg
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueaggAttRecNotesRef
-
1Wed 10 Sep 1947Belle Vue Rangers37-2BarrowBelle Vue Stadium49-16
2Tue 2 Sep 1947Rochdale Hornets7-2Lancashire AmateursAthletic Grounds23-71
3Thu 4 Sep 1947St. Helens31-5LeighKnowsley Road46-517,000
4Tue 2 Sep 1947Oldham16-3Liverpool StanleyWatersheddings42-6
5Wed 3 Sep 1947Workington Town15-12SwintonBorough Park34-14
6Wed 3 Sep 1947Salford9-4WidnesThe Willows17-8
7Wed 3 Sep 1947Warrington10-15WiganWilderspool23-31
8blankblank

Round 2 - Quarter Finals - First Leg

Involved 3 matches and 7 clubs
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueaggAttRecNotesRef
--
1Tue 23 Sep 1947Oldham3-13Workington TownWatersheddings
2Mon 29 Sep 1947St. Helens7-8WiganKnowsley Road
3Wed 1 Oct 1947Belle Vue Rangers10-5SalfordBelle Vue Stadium
4Rochdale Hornetsbye

Round 3 – Semi-Finals

Involved 2 matches and 4 clubs
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueaggAttRecNotesRef
--
1Wed 8 Oct 1947Belle Vue Rangers15-8Workington TownBelle Vue Stadium
2Wed 8 Oct 1947Wigan27-3Rochdale HornetsCentral Park

Final

Teams and scorers

Wigan№Belle Vue Rangers
teams
Martin Ryan1Ratchford
Gordon Ratcliffe2Pimblett
Ted Ward3Melbourne Tierney
George Roughley 4Stan McCormick
Brian Nordgren5Jolley
Ernie Ashcroft6Ray Price
Tommy Bradshaw7Watkins
Ken Gee8Thomas
Joe Egan9Flanagan
George Banks10Elwyn Gwyther
Les White11Doug Phillips
Billy Blan12Albert Fearnley???
Jack Blan 13Manning
-
10score7
5HT2
Scorers
Tries
Gordon Ratcliffe TFlanagan
Brian Nordgren T
Goals
Ted Ward G
RefereeS. Manley

Scoring - Try = three points - Goal = two points - Drop goal = two points

The road to success

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