1978 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy


1978 was the fourteenth occasion on which the BBC2 Floodlit Trophy competition had been held.
This year, previous two times runner-up Widnes, won the trophy by beating last year's winners and cup holders St. Helens by the score of 13-7

The match was played at Knowsley Road, Eccleston, St Helens, Merseyside. The attendance was 10,250, and the receipts were £7,017

Background

This season Batley dropped out after only one season, but Bramley returned; thus the number of entrants remaining the same at twenty-two.

The format remained as a knock-out competition from the preliminary round through to the final.

The preliminary round involved twelve clubs, to reduce the numbers taking part in the competition proper to just sixteen.

Competition and Results

Preliminary Round

Involved 6 matches and 12 Clubs
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueAttRecNotesRef
PSat 26 Aug 1978Leeds47-11BramleyHeadingley100991 2
PSun 27 Aug 1978Barrow17-11OldhamCraven Park
PSun 27 Aug 1978Wigan27-10SwintonCentral Park
PTue 5 Sep 1978Hull Kingston Rovers39-2New HunsletCraven Park
PTue 5 Sep 1978Keighley10-0DewsburyLawkholme Lane
PTue 12 Sep 1978St. Helens13-9WarringtonKnowsley Road5,000

Round 1 - First Round

Involved 8 matches and 16 Clubs
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueAttRecNotesRef
1Tue 26 Sep 1978Castleford20-11Wakefield TrinityWheldon Road3
2Thu 28 Sep 1978Barrow17-5LeighCraven Park
3Tue 3 Oct 1978Halifax12-21Hull Kingston RoversThrum Hall3
4Tue 3 Oct 1978Keighley15-25HuddersfieldLawkholme Lane
5Tue 3 Oct 1978Widnes17-13WhitehavenNaughton Park
6Tue 10 Oct 1978Leeds8-14Hull F.C.Headingley
7Tue 17 Oct 1978Salford15-17St. HelensThe Willows4,6323
8Tue 24 Oct 1978Wigan13-2Rochdale HornetsCentral Park3 4

Round 2 -Quarter Finals

Involved 4 matches with 8 clubs
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueAttRecNotesRef
-
1Tue 31 Oct 1978Barrow0-6Hull F.C.Craven Park
2Tue 7 Nov 1978St. Helens47-5CastlefordKnowsley Road4,2475
3Wed 15 Nov 1978Rochdale Hornets10-9HuddersfieldAthletic Grounds
4Tue 21 Nov 1978Hull Kingston RoversPWidnesCraven Park 6

Round 2 -Quarter Finals - Replay

Involved 1 matches and 2 Clubs
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueAttRecNotesRef
-
RTue 21 Nov 1978Hull Kingston Rovers10-13WidnesCraven Park

Round 3 – Semi-Finals

Involved 2 matches and 4 Clubs
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueAttRecNotesRef
-
1Tue 28 Nov 1978Hull F.C.5-13St. HelensBoulevard8,4283
2Tue 05 Dec 1978Rochdale HornetsPWidnesAthletic Grounds7

Round 3 – Semi-Finals - Replay

Involved 2 matches and 4 Clubs
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueAttRecNotesRef
-
RFri 08 Dec 1978Rochdale Hornets9-26WidnesAthletic Grounds

Final

Teams and Scorers

Widnes№St. Helens
teams
David Eckersley1Geoff Pimblett
Stuart Wright2Les Jones
Eric Hughes3Peter Glynn
Mal Aspey4Eddie Cunningham
Peter Shaw5Roy Mathias
Mick Burke6Bill Francis
Reg Bowden 7Neil Holding
Brian Hogan8David "Dave" Chisnall
Keith Elwell9Graham Liptrot
Jim Mills10Mel James
Mick Adams11George Nicholls
Alan Dearden12John Knighton
Doug Laughton13Harry Pinner
Doug LaughtonCoachEric Ashton
-
13score7
8HT5
Scorers
Tries
Stuart Wright TDavid "Dave" Chisnall
Mick Burke T
Goals
Mick Burke GGeoff Pimblett
RefereeJ McDonald

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

The road to success

This tree excludes any preliminary round fixtures

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