1966 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy


1966 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy
1966 was the second occasion on which the BBC2 Floodlit Trophy competition had been held.
Castleford won the trophy by beating Swinton by the score of 7-2

The match was played at Wheldon Road, Castleford, now in West Yorkshire. The attendance was 8,986 and receipts were £1,692

This was to be the second of Castleford's three victories in successive seasons in the first three Floodlit competitions

Background

This season the original eight invitees were joined by Barrow, Rochdale Hornets and Salford bringing the total of entrants up to eleven, an increase of three.

This involved the introduction of a preliminary knock-out round on a two legged home and away basis, to reduce the numbers to eight, followed by a mini-league and with the semi-finals and final stages again being on a knock out basis.

Competition and Results

Preliminary Round - First Leg

Involved 3 matches and 6 Clubs
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueAggAttRecNotesRef
1Mon 15 Aug 1966Leigh11-16CastlefordHilton Park
2Tue 6 Sep 1966Swinton21-5Rochdale HornetsStation Road1
3Wed 7 Sep 1966Salford10-19St. HelensThe Willows50002

Preliminary Round - Second Leg

Involved 3 matches and 6 Clubs
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueAggAttRecNotesRef
1Wed 7 Sep 1966Castleford39-18LeighWheldon Road55-293
2Wed 5 Oct 1966Rochdale Hornets14-14SwintonAthletic Grounds19-354
3Mon 26 Sep 1966St. Helens40-5SalfordKnowsley Road59-1585005

Round 1 - First Qualifying Round

Involved 4 matches and 8 Clubs
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueAttRecNotesRef
1Tue 4 Oct 1966Oldham7-10BarrowWatersheddings6
2Tue 11 Oct 1966Leeds11-11CastlefordHeadingley
3Tue 18 Oct 1966St. Helens11-9SwintonKnowsley Road8500
4Tue 25 Oct 1966Warrington4-14WidnesWilderspool

Round 2 - Second Qualifying Round

Involved 4 matches with the same 8 clubs - but NOT reverse fixtures
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueAttRecNotesRef
1Tue 1 Nov 1966Barrow11-11St. HelensCraven Park66577
2Tue 8 Nov 1966Castleford31-10WarringtonWheldon Road
3Tue 22 Nov 1966Widnes11-14OldhamNaughton Park
4Tue 29 Nov 1966Swinton10-4LeedsStation Road

Qualifying League Table

PosClubPWDLPFPAPtsPDNotesRef
1Castleford2114221213
2Widnes211251872
3Swinton211191542
4Barrow211211833
5St. Helens211222023
6Oldham211212102
7Leeds2111521-61
8Warrington221445-310

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

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

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 Castleford, Widnes, Swinton and Barrow

Round 3 – Semi-Finals

Involved 2 matches and 4 Clubs
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueAttRecNotesRef
1Tue 6 Dec 1966Castleford21-5BarrowWheldon Road
2Tue 13 Dec 1966Widnes6-19SwintonNaughton Park

Final

Teams and Scorers

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

The Play-offs

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