1965 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy


1965 was the inaugural season of the BBC2 Floodlit Trophy competition. Castleford won the trophy by beating St. Helens with the score of 4-0. The match was played at Knowsley Road, Eccleston, St Helens, Merseyside. The attendance was 11,510 and receipts were £3,548. This was to be the first of Castleford's three victories in successive seasons in the first three Floodlit competitions.

Background

This season there were a total of only eight teams entering, all by invite, playing a total of eleven matches for which the BBC paid the RFL a grand total of £9,000.00. The entrants included the seven clubs with permanent floodlights: Castleford, Leigh, Oldham, St Helens, Swinton, Warrington and Widnes together with Leeds, who installed floodlights in September 1966. The competition was played in the form of a mini-league with the semi-finals and final stages being on a knock out basis.

Competition and Results

Round 1 - First Qualifying Round

Involved 4 matches and 8 Clubs
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueAttRecNotesRef
1Tue 6 Oct 1965St. Helens25-19LeighKnowsley Road13000
2Tue 12 Oct 1965Warrington10-20WidnesWilderspool
3Tue 19 Oct 1965Swinton21-5OldhamStation Road
4Tue 26 Oct 1965Castleford7-7LeedsWheldon Road

Round 2 - Second Qualifying Round

Involved 4 matches with the same 8 clubs - but NOT reverse fixtures
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueAttRecNotesRef
-
1Tue 2 Nov 1965Leigh13-9WarringtonHilton Park
2Tue 9 Nov 1965Widnes19-8SwintonNaughton Park
3Tue 16 Nov 1965St. Helens21-9LeedsKnowsley Road5600
4Tue 25 Nov 1965Oldham4-6CastlefordWatersheddings

Qualifying League Table

PosClubPWDLPFPAPtsPDNotesRef
1Widnes223918421
2St. Helens224628418
3Swinton211292425
4Castleford211131132
5Leigh21132342-2
6Leeds21116281-12
7Warrington2219330-14
8Oldham229270-18

Pos = Finishing position P = Games played W = Wins D = Draw L = Lose

PF = Points scored PA = Points against Pts = League points PD = Points scored difference

Round 3 – Semi-Finals

To Progress to the next stage

The rules stated that the four clubs with the greatest total winning margins were to qualify, and proceed, to the semi-final. The four clubs in this case were Widnes, St. Helens, Swinton and Castleford
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueAttRecNotesRef
-
1Tue 30 Nov 1965Widnes9-12CastlefordNaughton Park
2Tue 7 Dec 1965St. Helens9-5SwintonKnowsley Road9000

Final

Teams and Scorers

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

The Play-offs

General Information

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. When in 1973, due to the world oil crisis, the government restricted the use of floodlights in sport, all of 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.