1973–74 Yorkshire Cup

The 1973–74 Yorkshire Cup was the sixty-sixth occasion on which the Yorkshire Cup Rugby competition had been held.

1973–74 Yorkshire Cup
StructureRegional knockout championship
Teams16
WinnersLeeds
Runners-upWakefield Trinity

Leeds won the trophy by beating Wakefield Trinity by the score of 7-2. The match was played at Headingley, Leeds, now in West Yorkshire. The attendance was 7,621 and receipts were £3,728.[1][2][3]

This was Leeds' fourth victory (and the second of two consecutive victories) in what would be eight times in the space of thirteen seasons. It was also the first of two consecutive Yorkshire Cup final appearances by Wakefield Trinity, both of which would result in defeat

Background

The Rugby League Yorkshire Cup competition was a knock-out competition between (mainly professional) rugby league clubs from the county of Yorkshire. The actual area was at times increased to encompass other teams from outside the county such as Newcastle, Mansfield, Coventry, and even London (in the form of Acton & Willesden).

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 (or just before) December (The only exception to this was when disruption of the fixture list was caused during, and immediately after, the two World Wars)

This season there were no junior/amateur clubs taking part, no new entrants and no "leavers" and so the total of entries remained the same at sixteen. This in turn resulted in no byes in the first round.

Competition and results

[1][4]

Round 1

Involved 8 matches (with no byes) and 16 clubs

Game No Fixture date Home team Score Away team Venue Att Notes Ref
1Fri 31 Aug 1973Castleford32-8YorkWheldon Road1697
2Sat 01 Sep 1973Batley23-8Hull Kingston RoversMount Pleasant691
3Sat 01 Sep 1973Halifax15-17KeighleyThrum Hall1352
4Sat 01 Sep 1973Hull F.C.8-10HuddersfieldBoulevard1800[5]
5Sat 01 Sep 1973Leeds30-5DewsburyHeadingley5882
6Sun 02 Sep 1973Bradford Northern29-7New HunsletOdsal4418[lower-alpha 1]
7Sun 02 Sep 1973Bramley4-19Featherstone RoversMcLaren Field1950
8Sun 02 Sep 1973Wakefield Trinity39-7DoncasterBelle Vue2548

Round 2 - Quarter-finals

Involved 4 matches and 8 clubs

Game No Fixture date Home team Score Away team Venue Att Notes Ref
1Fri 07 Sep 1973Castleford29-8HuddersfieldWheldon Road1700
2Sat 08 Sep 1973Batley2-27LeedsMount Pleasant2542
3Sun 09 Sep 1973Bradford Northern27-14Featherstone RoversOdsal5369
4Sun 09 Sep 1973Keighley4-39Wakefield TrinityLawkholme Lane2620

Round 3 – Semi-finals

Involved 2 matches and 4 clubs

Game No Fixture date Home team Score Away team Venue Att Notes Ref
1Tue 25 Sep 1973Leeds10-5Bradford NorthernHeadingley6416
2Tue 26 Sep 1973Wakefield Trinity19-18CastlefordBelle Vue4642

Final
Fixture date Home team Score Away team Venue Att Rec Notes Ref
Saturday 20 October 1973Leeds7-2Wakefield TrinityHeadingley7,621£3,728[lower-alpha 2][2][3][6]

Teams and scorers

[3][4]

Leeds № Wakefield Trinity
teams
John Holmes1Geoff Wraith
John Langley2David Smith
Syd Hynes3Terry "TC" Crook
Les Dyl4John Hegarty
John Atkinson5Barry Parker
Alan Hardisty (c)6David Topliss
Keith Hepworth7Joseph "Joe" Bonnar
David Jeanes8Rob Valentine
David Ward9Mick Morgan (c)
Geoffrey Clarkson10Roy Bratt
Graham Eccles11David Knowles
Phil Cookson12Ken Endersby
Ray Batten13Ernest Holmes
David Marshall (for John Langley)14Les Sheard (for Geoff Wraith 33m)
Bill Ramsey (for David Jeanes)15George Ballantyne (for David Knowles 57m)
Eric AshtonCoachNeil Fox
7score2
5HT2
Scorers
Tries
John Langley (1)T
Goals
David Marshall (1)GTerry "TC" Crook (1)
Syd Hynes (1)G
RefereeMichael "Mick" J. Naughton (Widnes)
White Rose Trophy for Man of the matchKeith Hepworth - Leeds - scrum-half

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

The road to success
First round Second round Semi-finals Final
            
Batley 23
Hull Kingston Rovers 8
Batley 2
Leeds 27
Leeds 30
Dewsbury 5
Leeds 10
Bradford Northern 5
Bradford Northern 29
New Hunslet 7
Bradford Northern 27
Featherstone Rovers 14
Bramley 4
Featherstone Rovers 19
Leeds 7
Wakefield Trinity 2
Halifax 15
Keighley 17
Keighley 4
Wakefield Trinity 39
Wakefield Trinity 39
Doncaster 7
Wakefield Trinity 19
Castleford 18
Castleford 32
York 8
Castleford 29
Huddersfield 8
Hull F.C. 8
Huddersfield 10

See also

Notes and comments
  1. The first Yorkshire Cup match played by the newly re-formed New Hunslet club
  2. Headingley, Leeds, is the home ground of Leeds RLFC with a capacity of 21,000. The record attendance was 40,175 for a league match between Leeds and Bradford Northern on 21 May 1947.

References
  1. "Rugby League Project".
  2. Raymond Fletcher and David Howes (1991). Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1991-1992. Queen Anne Press. ISBN 0 35617852 8.
  3. Raymond Fletcher and David Howes (1990). Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1990-1991. Queen Anne Press. ISBN 0 35617851 X.
  4. Jack Winstanley & Malcolm Ryding (1975). John Player Yearbook 1974–75. Queen Anne Press.
  5. "HULL&PROUD - Stats - Fixtures & Results".
  6. Frank Butler and Patrick Collins (1974). News of the World Football Annual 1974–75 - 88th year. News of the World Ltd.
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