1990–91 League Cup (rugby league)


This was the twentieth season of the League Cup, known as the Regal Trophy for sponsorship reasons.
The final was won by Warrington, who beat Bradford Northern 12-2 in the match played at Headingley, Leeds. The attendance was 11,154 and receipts were £57662.

Background

This season saw no changes in the entrants, no new members and no withdrawals, the number remaining at thirty-eight.
The preliminary round involved twelve clubs, to reduce the numbers to entrants to the first round proper to thirty-two.

Competition and Results

Preliminary Round

Involved 2 matches and 4 Clubs
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueAttRecNotesRef
1Wed 14 Nov 1990Doncaster14-12Ryedale-YorkBentley Road Stadium/Tattersfield1165
2Sat 17 Nov 1990Bradford Dudley Hill18-24DewsburyNeil Hunt Ground, Bradford9701
3Sat 17 Nov 1990Saddleworth35-18Egremont Watersheddings9002,3
4Sun 18 Nov 1990Carlisle10-28Wakefield TrinityGifford Park1479
5Sun 18 Nov 1990Leeds58-6HalifaxHeadingley9761
6Sun 18 Nov 1990Sheffield Eagles8-12Bradford NorthernDon Valley Stadium2788

Round 1 - First Round

Involved 16 matches and 32 Clubs
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueAttRecNotesRef
1Fri 30 Nov 1990Rochdale Hornets30-10Saddleworth Spotland24342
2Sat 1 Dec 1990Widnes24-16Hull F.C.Naughton Park4940
3Sun 2 Dec 1990Barrow16-54Featherstone RoversCraven Park1200
4Sun 2 Dec 1990Bradford Northern12-11Workington TownOdsal2850
5Sun 2 Dec 1990Bramley30-16DewsburyMcLaren Field680
6Sun 2 Dec 1990Fulham8-14CastlefordChiswick Poly *8314
7Sun 2 Dec 1990Huddersfield13-15KeighleyFartown1256
8Sun 2 Dec 1990Leeds26-22Hull Kingston RoversHeadingley9753
9Sun 2 Dec 1990Leigh66-5Chorley Borough Hilton Park1313
10Sun 2 Dec 1990Nottingham City6-35BatleyHarvey Hadden Stadium3675
11Sun 2 Dec 1990Oldham26-6SalfordWatersheddings4932
12Sun 2 Dec 1990Swinton7-31St. HelensStation Road3385
13Sun 2 Dec 1990Trafford Borough10-10DoncasterMoss Lane Altrincham409
14Sun 2 Dec 1990Wakefield Trinity40-8HunsletBelle Vue3531
15Sun 2 Dec 1990Warrington33-7Runcorn HighfieldWilderspool2712
16Sun 2 Dec 1990Whitehaven6-24WiganRecreation Ground3459

Round 1 - First Round Replays

Involved xx matches and xx Clubs
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueAttRecNotesRef
1Thu 5 Dec 1990Doncaster19-7Trafford BoroughBentley Road Stadium/Tattersfield1195

Round 2 - Second Round

Involved 8 matches and 16 Clubs
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueAttRecNotesRef
1Sat 8 Dec 1990Widnes22-6LeedsNaughton Park3465
2Sun 9 Dec 1990Batley20-16OldhamMount Pleasant2054
3Sun 9 Dec 1990Wakefield Trinity4-20CastlefordBelle Vue7031
4Sun 9 Dec 1990Warrington11-6LeighWilderspool3588
5Sun 9 Dec 1990Wigan36-16KeighleyCentral Park5955
6Tue 11 Dec 1990Bradford Northern28-0BramleyOdsal1815
7Tue 11 Dec 1990Featherstone Rovers16-33St. HelensPost Office Road3343
8Wed 12 Dec 1990Doncaster10-14Rochdale HornetsBentley Road Stadium/Tattersfield1341

Round 3 -Quarter Finals

Involved 4 matches with 8 clubs
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueAttRecNotesRef
-
1Sat 15 Dec 1990Wigan6-12Bradford NorthernCentral Park5285
2Sun 16 Dec 1990Castleford14-19Rochdale HornetsWheldon Road4017
3Sun 16 Dec 1990Warrington18-12St. HelensWilderspool7390
4Sun 16 Dec 1990Widnes56-6BatleyNaughton Park6656

Round 4 – Semi-Finals

Involved 2 matches and 4 Clubs
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueAttRecNotesRef
-
1Sat 22 Dec 1990Bradford Northern13-2Rochdale HornetsHeadingley3788
2Sat 29 Dec 1990Warrington8-4WidnesCentral Park7874

Final

Teams and Scorers

Scoring - Try = four points - Goal = two points - Drop goal = one 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 PositionCash PrizeNo. receiving prizeTotal Cash
Winner30000130000
Runner-up16000116000
semi-finalist8500217000
loser in Rd 35000420000
loser in Rd 23250826000
Loser in Rd 120001632000
Loser in Prelim Round20001224000
Grand Total165000
plus to capital development fund110000
Grand Total275000

The road to success

This tree excludes any preliminary round fixtures

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 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, the John Player Trophy, the John Player Special Trophy, and the Regal Trophy in 1989.