1994–95 League Cup (rugby league)
The 1994–95 League Cup was the twenty-fourth season of the League Cup, rugby league's secondary cup competition known as the Regal Trophy due to sponsorship.
Wigan won the final, beating Warrington 40-10 at the McAlpine Stadium in Huddersfield. The attendance was 19,636.
Background
This season saw no changes from last season's re-vamping, with no new members and no withdrawals, the number remaining at forty-eight.The entrants still included two French clubs and eleven junior clubs
The sixteen First Round winners added to the sixteen clubs given byes, gave a total of entrants into the second round as thirty-two.
Competition and Results
Round 1 - First Round - (a Preliminary Round)
Involved 16 matches and 32 clubs, with 16 byes| Game No | Fixture Date | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Venue | Att | Rec | Notes | Ref | ||
| 1 | Sat 19 Nov 1994 | Hunslet | 14-18 | AS Saint Estève | Elland Road | 521 | 1 | ||||
| 2 | Sun 20 Nov 1994 | Dewsbury | 22-4 | XIII Catalan | Crown Flatt | 1196 | 2 | ||||
| 3 | Thu 24 Nov 1994 | Barrow | 138-0 | Nottingham City | Craven Park | 500 | 3 | ||||
| 4 | Sat 26 Nov 1994 | Huddersfield | 142-4 | Blackpool Gladiators | Alfred McAlpine Stadium | 1111 | 4 | ||||
| 5 | Sun 27 Nov 1994 | Batley | 38-8 | Queens | Mount Pleasant | 607 | 5 | ||||
| 6 | Sun 27 Nov 1994 | Bramley | 40-14 | Myson | McLaren Field | 302 | 6 | ||||
| 7 | Sun 27 Nov 1994 | Carlisle | 25-12 | Bradford Dudley Hill | Gifford Park | 206 | 7 | ||||
| 8 | Sun 27 Nov 1994 | Highfield | 12-6 | Ovenden | Hoghton Road Stadium | 285 | 8 | ||||
| 9 | Sun 27 Nov 1994 | Hull Kingston Rovers | 48-8 | Hensingham | Craven Park | 1158 | 9 | ||||
| 10 | Sun 27 Nov 1994 | Keighley Cougars | 56-0 | Chorley Borough | Cougar Park | 2370 | |||||
| 11 | Sun 27 Nov 1994 | Leigh | 18-12 | Leigh Miners' Welfare | Hilton Park | 2561 | 10 | ||||
| 12 | Sun 27 Nov 1994 | London Crusaders | 34-16 | Hemel Stags | Barnet Copthall | 668 | 11 | ||||
| 13 | Sun 27 Nov 1994 | Rochdale Hornets | 34-10 | Woolston Rovers | Spotland | 576 | 12 | ||||
| 14 | Sun 27 Nov 1994 | Ryedale-York | 26-9 | West Hull | Ryedale Stadium | 668 | 13 | ||||
| 15 | Sun 27 Nov 1994 | Swinton | 32-26 | Saddleworth Rangers | Gigg Lane | 380 | 14 | ||||
| 16 | Sun 27 Nov 1994 | Whitehaven | 66-0 | Thatto Heath | Recreation Ground | 686 | 15 | ||||
| 1 | Bradford Northern | bye | |||||||||
| 2 | Castleford | bye | |||||||||
| 3 | Doncaster | bye | |||||||||
| 4 | Featherstone Rovers | bye | |||||||||
| 5 | Halifax | bye | |||||||||
| 6 | Hull F.C. | bye | |||||||||
| 7 | Leeds | bye | |||||||||
| 8 | Oldham | bye | |||||||||
| 9 | St. Helens | bye | |||||||||
| 10 | Salford | bye | |||||||||
| 11 | Sheffield Eagles | bye | |||||||||
| 12 | Wakefield Trinity | bye | |||||||||
| 13 | Warrington | bye | |||||||||
| 14 | Widnes | bye | |||||||||
| 15 | Wigan | bye | |||||||||
| 16 | Workington Town | bye |
Round 2 Second Round
Involved 16 matches and 32 Clubs| Game No | Fixture Date | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Venue | Att | Rec | Notes | Ref | ||
| 1 | Sat 3 Dec 1994 | Carlisle | 16-30 | Dewsbury | Gifford Park | 287 | |||||
| 2 | Sat 3 Dec 1994 | Castleford | 32-26 | Halifax | The Jungle | 4740 | |||||
| 3 | Sun 4 Dec 1994 | Highfield | 2-50 | Widnes | Hoghton Road Stadium | 1199 | |||||
| 4 | Sun 4 Dec 1994 | Huddersfield | 11-52 | St. Helens | Alfred McAlpine Stadium | 5534 | |||||
| 5 | Sun 4 Dec 1994 | Hull F.C. | 26-16 | Barrow | Boulevard | 2325 | |||||
| 6 | Sun 4 Dec 1994 | Keighley Cougars | 28-4 | Bramley | Cougar Park | 2515 | |||||
| 7 | Sun 4 Dec 1994 | Leeds | 54-24 | Swinton | Headingley | 4867 | |||||
| 8 | Sun 4 Dec 1994 | Oldham | 28-0 | Hull Kingston Rovers | Watersheddings | 2277 | |||||
| 9 | Sun 4 Dec 1994 | Salford | 16-14 | London Crusaders | The Willows | 2088 | |||||
| 10 | Sun 4 Dec 1994 | Sheffield Eagles | 46-10 | Leigh | Don Valley Stadium | 870 | |||||
| 11 | Sun 4 Dec 1994 | Warrington | 44-14 | Doncaster | Wilderspool | 3581 | |||||
| 12 | Sun 4 Dec 1994 | Whitehaven | 18-12 | Featherstone Rovers | Recreation Ground | 1248 | |||||
| 13 | Sun 4 Dec 1994 | Wigan | 34-12 | Rochdale Hornets | Central Park | 7493 | |||||
| 14 | Sun 4 Dec 1994 | Workington Town | 24-8 | Wakefield Trinity | Derwent Park | 2349 | |||||
| 15 | Wed 7 Dec 1994 | Batley | 36-8 | Ryedale-York | Mount Pleasant | 719 | |||||
| 16 | Wed 7 Dec 1994 | Bradford Northern | 32-6 | Saint Estève | Odsal | 2250 |
Round 3 - Third Round
Involved 8 matches and 16 Clubs| Game No | Fixture Date | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Venue | Att | Rec | Notes | Ref | ||
| 1 | Sat 17 Dec 1994 | Salford | 24-31 | Warrington | The Willows | 2189 | |||||
| 2 | Sun 18 Dec 1994 | Batley | 22-22 | St. Helens | Mount Pleasant | 3017 | |||||
| 3 | Sun 18 Dec 1994 | Hull F.C. | 14-38 | Wigan | Boulevard | 6203 | |||||
| 4 | Sun 18 Dec 1994 | Keighley Cougars | 26-10 | Sheffield Eagles | Cougar Park | 3914 | |||||
| 5 | Sun 18 Dec 1994 | Whitehaven | 14-34 | Bradford Northern | Recreation Ground | 1962 | |||||
| 6 | Sun 18 Dec 1994 | Widnes | 20-6 | Oldham | Naughton Park | 3517 | |||||
| 7 | Sun 18 Dec 1994 | Workington Town | 14-18 | Leeds | Derwent Park | 3648 | |||||
| 8 | Tue 20 Dec 1994 | Dewsbury | 2-30 | Castleford | Crown Flatt | 3325 |
Round 3 - Third Round Replays
Involved 1 match and 2 clubs| Game No | Fixture Date | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Venue | Att | Rec | Notes | Ref | ||
| 1 | Tue 20 Dec 1994 | St. Helens | 50-22 | Batley | Knowsley Road | 4940 |
Round 4 -Quarter Finals
Involved 4 matches with 8 clubs| Game No | Fixture Date | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Venue | Att | Rec | Notes | Ref | ||
| - | |||||||||||
| 1 | Sat 7 Jan 1995 | Leeds | 14-34 | Castleford | Headingley | 10650 | |||||
| 2 | Sun 8 Jan 1995 | Keighley Cougars | 18-20 | Warrington | Cougar Park | 5685 | |||||
| 3 | Sun 8 Jan 1995 | Widnes | 23-10 | Bradford Northern | Naughton Park | 4807 | 16 | ||||
| 4 | Sun 8 Jan 1995 | Wigan | 24-22 | St. Helens | Central Park | 23278 |
Round 5 – Semi-Finals
Involved 2 matches and 4 Clubs| Game No | Fixture Date | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Venue | Att | Rec | Notes | Ref | ||
| - | |||||||||||
| 1 | Sat 14 Jan 1995 | Widnes | 4-30 | Warrington | Naughton Park | 6181 | |||||
| 2 | Sun 15 Jan 1995 | Wigan | 34-6 | Castleford | Central Park | 13006 |
Final
Teams and Scorers
| Wigan | № | Warrington |
| teams | ||
| Henry Paul | 1 | Jonathan Davies |
| Jason Robinson | 2 | Mark Forster |
| Va'aiga Tuigamala | 3 | Allan Bateman |
| Gary Connolly | 4 | Iestyn Harris |
| Martin Offiah | 5 | Robert "Rob" Myler |
| Frano Botica | 6 | Francis Maloney |
| Shaun Edwards | 7 | Greg Mackey |
| Kelvin Skerrett | 8 | Gary Tees |
| Martin Hall | 9 | Tukere Barlow |
| Neil Cowie | 10 | Bruce McGuire |
| Denis Betts | 11 | Paul Cullen |
| Mick Cassidy | 12 | Paul Darbyshire |
| Phil Clarke | 13 | Kelly Shelford |
| Paul Atcheson | 14 | Andrew "Andy" Bennett |
| Barrie McDermott | 15 | Gary Sanderson |
| Graeme West | Coach | Reg Bowden |
| - | ||
| 40 | score | 10 |
| 28 | HT | 4 |
| Scorers | ||
| Tries | ||
| Va'aiga Tuigamala | T | Mark Forster |
| Frano Botica | T | |
| Gary Connolly | T | |
| Barrie McDermott | T | |
| Martin Offiah | T | |
| Goals | ||
| Frano Botica | G | Jonathan Davies |
| Referee | Stuart Cummings | |
| Man of the match | Phil Clarke - Wigan - | |
| Competition Sponsor | Regal |
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 Position | Cash Prize | No. receiving prize | Total 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 | ? | 16 | ? |
| 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 the First Round fixturesGeneral information
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.