Lancashire Cup (rugby union)


The Lancashire Cup was an English Rugby Football Union competition founded in 1971. It was organized by the Lancashire Rugby Football Union and was open to all eligible clubs in the Lancashire region including a number of clubs in Cheshire and Merseyside. The men's competition was discontinued at the end of 2013 as there were not enough teams willing to participate in the cup.

History

Despite the Lancashire RFU being established in 1881 and having the most successful county team in the country, club rugby union took a long time to catch on in Lancashire. While bitter rivals Yorkshire had an established county club competition which had been running since 1878, Lancashire did not have a similar competition until 1971. This lack of competitive rugby meant that Lancashire had a smaller membership of clubs when compared to its counterpart. Some of the current clubs competing seem to be based outside of Lancashire, such as Liverpool St Helens and Waterloo, but when the Lancashire RFU was founded, places like Merseyside and Liverpool were part of the county, and these teams have retained their membership.

Final results

YearWinnerScoreRunner UpVenue
1971-72Orrell16 – 0LiverpoolSt. Anthony’s Road, Blundellsands
1972-73Orrell32 – 7West Park St Helens
1973-74Waterloo12 – 9Broughton Park
1974-75Orrell9 – 3Manchester
1975-76Widnes21 – 9West Park St Helens
1976-77Liverpool10 – 9Orrell
1977-78Orrell12 - 3Liverpool
1978-79Liverpool10 - 6Orrell
1979-80Waterloo12 – 0Broughton Park
1980-81Orrell12 – 6Liverpool
1981-82Orrell17 – 12Liverpool
1982-83Orrell26 – 3Liverpool
1983-84Liverpool20 – 3Preston GrasshoppersSt. Anthony's Road, Blundellsands
1984-85Waterloo11 - 6Vale of LuneWoodlands Memorial Ground, Fylde
1985-86Vale of Lune19 – 10Preston GrasshoppersWoodlands Memorial Ground, Fylde
1986-87Waterloo25 – 12Orrell
1987-88Orrell23 - 6Liverpool St Helens
1988-89Orrell48 - 6Broughton ParkMoss Lane, St. Helens
1989-90Liverpool St Helens24 - 9Waterloo
1990-91Widnes23 – 7Orrell
1991-92Vale of Lune12 – 6Widnes
1992-93Waterloo13 - 11Liverpool St Helens
1993-94Waterloo19 - 6Orrell
1994-95Fylde15 - 11Manchester
1995-96Liverpool St Helens22 – 13Widnes
1996-97Orrell27 – 17Preston Grasshoppers
1997-98Manchester42 – 19Fylde
1998-99Manchester29 - 27Orrell
1999-00West Park St Helens33 – 23Manchester
2000-01Manchester27 - 20Sedgley ParkLightfoot Green, Preston
2001-02Sedgley Park31 – 3FyldeLightfoot Green, Preston
2002-03Preston Grasshoppers34 – 31West Park St HelensPark Lane, Whitefield
2003-04Sedgley Park51 – 25Vale of LunePark Lane, Whitefield
2004-05West Park St Helens22 – 13Preston GrasshoppersPark Lane, Whitefield
2005-06Preston Grasshoppers43 - 14WaterlooPark Lane, Whitefield
2006-07Sedgley Park24 – 14ManchesterWoodlands Memorial Ground, Fylde
2007-08Waterloo30 – 19Sedgley ParkPark Lane, Whitefield
2008-09Fylde37 – 17Preston GrasshoppersLightfoot Green, Preston
2009-10Fylde15 – 7Preston GrasshoppersLightfoot Green, Preston
2010-11FyldeW/ORossendaleN/A
2011-12Preston Grasshoppers30 - 10Sedgley ParkWoodlands Memorial Ground, Fylde
2012-13Sedgley Park28 - 24Preston GrasshoppersPark Lane, Whitefield

Number of wins