1970 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy


1970 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy
1970 was the sixth occasion on which the BBC2 Floodlit Trophy competition had been held.

This year was another new name on the trophy - and ALSO St. Helens' third time in six years as runner-up

Leeds won the trophy by beating St. Helens by the score of 9-5

The match was played at Headingley, Leeds, now in West Yorkshire. The attendance was 7,612 and receipts were £2,189

Background

This season saw no changes in the entrants, no new members and no withdrawals, the number remaining at eighteen.

The format was changed slightly removing the two-legged home and away ties from the preliminary round and playing the whole competition on a knock-out basis.

The preliminary round involved four clubs, to reduce the numbers to sixteen.

Competition and Results

Preliminary Round

Involved 2 matches and 4 Clubs
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueAttRecNotesRef
PTue 29 Sep 1970Huddersfield16-14Wakefield TrinityFartown
PThu 8 Oct 1970Leigh17-0SwintonHilton Park

Round 1 - First Round

Involved 8 matches and 16 Clubs
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueAttRecNotesRef
1Tue 15 Sep 1970Wigan28-0KeighleyCentral Park
2Fri 19 Sep 1970Hull Kingston Rovers25-13WarringtonCraven Park
3Tue 29 Sep 1970St. Helens14-7CastlefordKnowsley Road7000
4Tue 6 Oct 1970Barrow6-15LeedsCraven Park
5Tue 13 Oct 1970Halifax14-15Hull F.C.Thrum Hall
6Tue 20 Oct 1970Salford2-7WidnesThe Willows
7Fri 23 Oct 1970Huddersfield14-5OldhamFartown
8Tue 27 Oct 1970Leigh14-5Rochdale HornetsHilton Park

Round 2 -Quarter Finals

Involved 4 matches with 8 clubs
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueAttRecNotesRef
1Tue 3 Nov 1970Hull Kingston Rovers18-8Hull F.C.Craven Park
2Tue 10 Nov 1970Widnes6-16LeedsNaughton Park
3Tue 24 Nov 1970Wigan25-9HuddersfieldCentral Park1
4Mon 30 Nov 1970Leigh4-10St. HelensHilton Park10372

Round 3 – Semi-Finals

Involved 2 matches and 4 Clubs
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueAttRecNotesRef
1Tue 1 Dec 1970Leeds24-2Hull Kingston RoversHeadingley
2Tue 8 Dec 1970Wigan7-7St. HelensCentral Park103721

Round 3 – Semi-Finals - Replays

Involved 1 match and 2 Clubs
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueAttRecNotesRef
RSun 13 Dec 1970St. Helens16-15WiganKnowsley Road10285

Final

Teams and Scorers

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

The road to success

This tree excludes any preliminary round fixtures

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 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