1986–87 League Cup (rugby league)


This was the sixteenth season of the rugby league League Cup, again known as the John Player Special Trophy for sponsorship purposes.
Wigan won the trophy, beating Warrington 18-4 in the final. The match was played at Burnden Park, Bolton, Greater Manchester. The attendance was 22,144 and receipts were £86041.

Background

This season saw no changes in the entrants, no new members and no withdrawals, the number remaining at thirty-six.
There were no drawn matches in this seasons tournament

Competition and Results

Preliminary Round

Involved 4 matches and 8 Clubs
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueAttRecNotesRef
1Wed 12 Nov 1986Halifax38-23YorkThrum Hall2962
2Sat 15 Nov 1986Millom4-18Wakefield TrinityCoronation Field, Millom20001
3Sun 16 Nov 1986Batley2-8Myson Mount Pleasant6872
4Sun 16 Nov 1986Workington Town16-6Huddersfield BarracudasDerwent Park420

Round 1 - First Round

Involved 16 matches and 32 Clubs
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueAttRecNotesRef
1Sat 29 Nov 1986Wigan32-10LeedsCentral Park9112
2Sun 30 Nov 1986Barrow36-10Runcorn HighfieldCraven Park17713
3Sun 30 Nov 1986Blackpool Borough42-12Mansfield MarksmanBorough Park376
4Sun 30 Nov 1986Doncaster18-14Hull Kingston RoversBentley Road Stadium/Tattersfield3084
5Sun 30 Nov 1986Featherstone Rovers22-18Workington TownPost Office Road1521
6Sun 30 Nov 1986Fulham24-34CastlefordChiswick Poly Sports Grd1374
7Sun 30 Nov 1986Halifax36-22Wakefield TrinityThrum Hall4076
8Sun 30 Nov 1986Leigh32-10Rochdale HornetsHilton Park2754
9Sun 30 Nov 1986Myson 11-18SwintonCraven Park 16482
10Sun 30 Nov 1986Oldham12-22Bradford NorthernWatersheddings5642
11Sun 30 Nov 1986Salford12-27Hull F.C.The Willows2100
12Sun 30 Nov 1986Sheffield Eagles14-6BramleyOwlerton Stadium415
13Sun 30 Nov 1986Warrington11-10HunsletWilderspool3680
14Sun 30 Nov 1986Whitehaven8-10St. HelensRecreation Ground3678
15Sun 30 Nov 1986Widnes82-0DewsburyNaughton Park21384
16Thu 04 Dec 1986Carlisle8-2KeighleyPenrith FC300

Round 2 - Second Round

Involved 8 matches and 16 Clubs
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueAttRecNotesRef
1Sat 6 Dec 1986Castleford22-26St. HelensWheldon Road4808
2Sun 7 Dec 1986Blackpool Borough22-48Hull F.C.Borough Park37235
3Sun 7 Dec 1986Featherstone Rovers12-19Bradford NorthernPost Office Road3907
4Sun 7 Dec 1986Leigh26-14DoncasterHilton Park3363
5Sun 7 Dec 1986Sheffield Eagles8-14BarrowOwlerton Stadium5136
6Sun 7 Dec 1986Warrington44-10HalifaxWilderspool5804
7Sun 7 Dec 1986Wigan20-14SwintonCentral Park9874
8Mon 8 Dec 1986Widnes36-6CarlisleNaughton Park2016

Round 3 -Quarter Finals

Involved 4 matches with 8 clubs
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueAttRecNotesRef
-
1Sat 13 Dec 1986Bradford Northern8-20Hull F.C.Odsal3545
2Sun 14 Dec 1986Barrow6-16WidnesCraven Park3199
3Sun 14 Dec 1986St. Helens20-22WarringtonKnowsley Road11571
4Sun 14 Dec 1986Wigan6-2LeighCentral Park11573

Round 4 – Semi-Finals

Involved 2 matches and 4 Clubs
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueAttRecNotesRef
-
1Sat 20 Dec 1986Wigan12-11Hull F.C.Headingley5245
2Sat 27 Dec 1986Warrington35-4WidnesCentral Park6409

Final

Teams and Scorers

Wigan№Warrington
teams
Steve Hampson1Brian Johnson
David Stephenson2Kevin Meadows
Joe Lydon3Paul Cullen
Dean Bell4Joe Ropati
Henderson Gill5Mark Forster
Ellery Hanley6Ken Kelly
Shaun Edwards7Steve Peters
Graeme West8Les Boyd
Martin Dermott9Kevin Tamati
Brian Case10Bob Jackson
Ian Roberts11Gary Sanderson
Ian Potter12Mark Roberts
Andy Goodway13Mike Gregory
? Not used14Ronnie Duane
? Not used15Alan Rathbone
Graham LoweCoachTony Barrow
-
18score4
4HT4
Scorers
Tries
Dean Bell TMark Forster
Henderson Gill T
Andy Goodway T
Goals
Henderson Gill G
RefereeJohn Holdsworth
Man of the matchAndy Goodway - Wigan -
Competition SponsorJohn Player Special

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

Prize Money

As part of the sponsorship deal and funds, the prize money awarded to the competing teams for this season is as follows :-
Finish PositionCash PrizeNo. receiving prizeTotal Cash
Winner?1?
Runner-up?1?
semi-finalist?2?
loser in Rd 3?4?
loser in Rd 2?8?
Loser in Rd 1?16?
Loser in Prelim Round???
Grand Total

Note - the author is unable to trace the award amounts for this season. Can anyone help ?

The road to success

This tree excludes any preliminary round fixtures

General information for those unfamiliar

The council of the Rugby Football League voted to introduce a new competition, to be similar to The Football Association and Scottish Football Association's "League Cup". It was to be a similar knock-out structure to, and to be secondary to, the Challenge Cup. As this was being formulated, sports sponsorship was becoming more prevalent and as a result John Player and Sons, a division of Imperial Tobacco Company, became sponsors, and the competition never became widely known as the "League Cup"

The competition ran from 1971-72 until 1995-96 and was initially intended for the professional clubs plus the two amateur BARLA National Cup finalists. In later seasons the entries were expanded to take in other amateur and French teams. The competition was dropped due to "fixture congestion" when Rugby League became a summer sport
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 usually taking place in late January

The competition was variably known, by its sponsorship name, as the Player's No.6 Trophy, the John Player Trophy, the John Player Special Trophy, and the Regal Trophy in 1989.