1977–78 Yorkshire Cup


The 1977–78 Yorkshire Cup was the seventieth occasion on which the Yorkshire Cup competition had been held. This year, for the first time for eighteen years, a new name appeared on the trophy, with Castleford winning it by beating Featherstone Rovers in the final by the score of 17-7. The match was played at Headingley, Leeds, now in West Yorkshire. The attendance was 6,318 and receipts were £4,528. It as also Featherstone Rovers's second consecutive Yorkshire Cup Final appearances, both of which resulted in a defeat.

Background

The Rugby Football League's Yorkshire Cup competition was a knock-out competition between 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.
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

Competition and Results

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.

Round 1

Involved 8 matches and 16 Clubs
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueAttRecNotesRef
1Sat 20 Aug 1977Batley6-33LeedsMount Pleasant
2Sat 20 Aug 1977Bradford Northern9-20Featherstone RoversOdsal
3Sun 21 Aug 1977Dewsbury5-12CastlefordCrown Flatt
4Sun 21 Aug 1977Huddersfield17-20YorkFartown
5Sun 21 Aug 1977Hull F.C.33-19BramleyBoulevard
6Sun 21 Aug 1977Keighley16-0HalifaxLawkholme Lane
7Sun 21 Aug 1977New Hunslet14-8Hull Kingston RoversElland Road Greyhound Stadium
8Sun 21 Aug 1977Wakefield Trinity23-10DoncasterBelle Vue

Round 2 - Quarter Finals

Involved 4 matches and 8 Clubs
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueAttRecNotesRef
-
1Sat 27 Aug 1977Leeds18-18Hull F.C.Headingley
2Sun 28 Aug 1977Castleford23-17YorkWheldon Road
3Sun 28 Aug 1977Keighley17-8New HunsletLawkholme Lane
4Sun 28 Aug 1977Wakefield Trinity2-12Featherstone RoversBelle Vue

Round 2 - Replays

Involved 1 match and 2 Clubs
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueAttRecNotesRef
rWed 31 Aug 1977Hull F.C.19-11LeedsBoulevard

Round 3 – Semi-Finals

Involved 2 matches and 4 Clubs
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueAttRecNotesRef
-
1Tue 13 Sep 1977Hull F.C.5-19Featherstone RoversBoulevard
2Fri 17 Sep 1977Keighley4-14CastlefordLawkholme Lane

Final

Teams and Scorers

CastlefordFeatherstone Rovers
teams
Geoff Wraith1John Marsden
Terrence "Terry" Richardson2Steve Evans
John Joyner3John Gilbert
Philip Johnson4Steve Quinn
Steve Fenton5Ken Kellett
Bruce Burton6John Newlove
Clive Pickerill7Peter Butler
Tony Fisher8Jeff Townend
Robert Spurr9John "Keith" Bridges
Alf Weston10Vince Farrar
James Huddlestone11Michael "Mick" Gibbins
Mal Reilly 12Richard 'Charlie' Stone
Geoffrey "Sammy" Lloyd13Keith Bell
Gary Stephens 14Neil Tuffs
Derek Woodall 15Peter Smith
Malcolm "Mal" ReillyCoachKeith Cotton
-
17score7
4HT2
Scorers
Tries
Bruce Burton TPeter Smith
Goals
Geoffrey "Sammy" Lloyd GSteve Quinn
GTownsend -
Drop Goals
Bruce Burton DG
RefereeMichael "Mick" J. Naughton
White Rose Trophy for Man of the matchBruce Burton - Castleford -
sponsored by
Competition SponsorEsso

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

The road to success