1993–94 League Cup (rugby league)

The 1993–94 League Cup was the twenty-third season of the rugby league League Cup, known as the Regal Trophy due to sponsorship by Regal.

1993–94 League Cup
StructureNational knockout championship
Teams48
WinnersCastleford
Runners-upWigan

Castleford won the final, beating the pre-match favourites Wigan by the score of 33-2. The match was played at Headingley, Leeds in front of an attendance of 15,626.

Background

This season saw virtually a complete re-vamping of the competition for instance; The Preliminary round was renamed "First Round", with every other succeeding round being renamed. The (newly named) First Round now consisted of 16 matches involving 32 clubs, with a further 16 clubs being given byes into the Second Round. The number of entrants was further increased by inviting eleven of the top junior clubs. The inclusion of two French clubs continued with the inclusion of AS Saint Estève. The sixteen First Round winners added to the sixteen clubs given byes, gave a total of entrants into the second round as thirty-two. There were no drawn matches in the competition this season.

Competition and Results

[1][2]

Round 1 - First Round - (a Preliminary Round)

[3] Involved 16 matches and 32 clubs, with 16 byes

Game No Fixture Date Home Team Score Away Team Venue Att Rec Notes Ref
1Fri 29 Oct 1993Dewsbury56-10West BowlingMount Pleasant6161
2Sun 31 Oct 1993Barrow54-12Leigh Miners' WelfareCraven Park11402
3Sun 31 Oct 1993Batley64-1QueensMount Pleasant6083
4Sun 31 Oct 1993Bramley17-8Woolston RoversMcLaren Field5104
5Sun 31 Oct 1993Carlisle36-24CarcassonneGifford Park5935
6Sun 31 Oct 1993Doncaster62-4MysonBentley Road Stadium/Tattersfield8586
7Sun 31 Oct 1993Highfield30-22EllenboroughHoghton Road Stadium2277
8Sun 31 Oct 1993Huddersfield36-8Irlam HornetsLeeds Road17058[4]
9Sun 31 Oct 1993Hunslet30-19Chorley Borough (2)Elland Road299
10Sun 31 Oct 1993Keighley Cougars72-12Nottingham CityCougar Park22839
11Sun 31 Oct 1993London Crusaders48-16AS Saint EstèveBarnet Copthall74610
12Sun 31 Oct 1993Rochdale Hornets80-10Blackpool GladiatorsSpotland863
13Sun 31 Oct 1993Ryedale-York66-14Hemel StagsRyedale Stadium83511
14Sun 31 Oct 1993Swinton24-13Saddleworth RangersGigg Lane46812
15Sun 31 Oct 1993Whitehaven46-0EgremontRecreation Ground148013
16Sun 31 Oct 1993Workington Town74-6Wigan St PatricksDerwent Park146414
1Bradford Northernbye
2Castlefordbye
3Featherstone Roversbye
4Halifaxbye
5Hull F.C.bye
6Hull Kingston Roversbye
7Leedsbye
8Leighbye
9Oldhambye
10Salfordbye
11St. Helensbye
12Sheffield Eaglesbye
13Wakefield Trinitybye
14Warringtonbye
15Widnesbye
16Wiganbye

Round 2 Second Round

[3] Involved 16 matches and 32 Clubs

Game No Fixture Date Home Team Score Away Team Venue Att Rec Notes Ref
1Fri 12 Nov 1993Dewsbury6-20St. HelensMount Pleasant2272[5]
2Sat 13 Nov 1993Salford21-12LeedsThe Willows1799
3Sun 14 Nov 1993Barrow8-28Bradford NorthernCraven Park2796
4Sun 14 Nov 1993Batley8-6Sheffield EaglesMount Pleasant1278
5Sun 14 Nov 1993Carlisle28-12Wakefield TrinityGifford Park746[6]
6Sun 14 Nov 1993Halifax19-10Keighley CougarsThrum Hall7321
7Sun 14 Nov 1993Highfield8-26OldhamHoghton Road Stadium880
8Sun 14 Nov 1993Leigh20-12HuddersfieldHilton Park3407[4]
9Sun 14 Nov 1993London Crusaders26-12Featherstone RoversBarnet Copthall981
10Sun 14 Nov 1993Rochdale Hornets10-11BramleySpotland730
11Sun 14 Nov 1993Ryedale-York12-11Workington TownRyedale Stadium1456
12Sun 14 Nov 1993Swinton14-36Hull F.C.Gigg Lane85115[7]
13Sun 14 Nov 1993Warrington58-16HunsletWilderspool3037[8]
14Sun 14 Nov 1993Whitehaven8-22WiganRecreation Ground518516[2]
15Sun 14 Nov 1993Widnes24-4DoncasterNaughton Park307517[9]
16Mon 15 Nov 1993Hull Kingston Rovers12-16CastlefordCraven Park (2)2724

Round 3 - Third Round

[10] Involved 8 matches and 16 Clubs

Game No Fixture Date Home Team Score Away Team Venue Att Rec Notes Ref
1Sat 11 Dec 1993St. Helens8-16WarringtonKnowsley Road5366[5][8]
2Sun 12 Dec 1993Carlisle34-4BramleyGifford Park516
3Sun 12 Dec 1993Hull F.C.10-6WidnesBoulevard341218[7][9]
4Sun 12 Dec 1993Oldham8-16WiganWatersheddings634219[2]
5Sun 12 Dec 1993Ryedale-York10-42London CrusadersRyedale Stadium741
6Mon 13 Dec 1993Castleford54-14LeighWheldon Road2116
7Tue 14 Dec 1993Batley8-12SalfordMount Pleasant809
8Thu 16 Dec 1993Bradford Northern16-8HalifaxOdsal5057

Round 4 -Quarter Finals

[11] Involved 4 matches with 8 clubs

Game No Fixture Date Home Team Score Away Team Venue Att Rec Notes Ref
Sat 18 Dec 1993Warrington10-27WiganWilderspool732120, 21[2][8]
Sun 19 Dec 1993Castleford44-4CarlisleWheldon Road262420
Sun 19 Dec 1993London Crusaders10-22Bradford NorthernBarnet Copthall187820
Sun 19 Dec 1993Salford26-6Hull F.C.The Willows320720, 22[7]

Round 5 – Semi-Finals

[12] Involved 2 matches and 4 Clubs

Game No Fixture Date Home Team Score Away Team Venue Att Rec Notes Ref
Sat 1 Jan 1994Bradford Northern10-23CastlefordOdsal8351
Sat 8 Jan 1994Salford12-18WiganThe Willows7483[2]

Final
Game No Fixture Date Home Team Score Away Team Venue Att Rec Notes Ref
Saturday 22 January 1994Castleford Tigers33-2WiganHeadingley1562623[13]

Teams and Scorers

[14]

Castleford Tigers № Wigan
teams
Graham Steadman1Joe Lydon
St. John Ellis2Jason Robinson
Richie Blackmore3Barrie-Jon Mather
Grant Anderson4Gary Connolly
Simon Middleton5Martin Offiah
Tony Kemp6Frano Botica
Mike Ford7Shaun Edwards
Lee Crooks8Kelvin Skerrett
Richard Russell9Martin Dermott
Martin Ketteridge10Andy Platt
Tony Morrison11Neil Cowie
Ian Smales12Andy Farrell
Tawera Nikau13Phil Clarke
Andy Hay (for Grant Anderson 63-mins)14Sam Panapa (for Neil Cowie 30-mins)
Dean Sampson (for Martin Ketteridge 74-mins)15Mick Cassidy
John JoynerCoachJohn Dorahy
33score2
20HT2
Scorers
Tries
Martin Ketteridge (2)T
Tawera Nikau (1)T
Grant Anderson (1)T
Lee Crooks (1)T
Goals
Lee Crooks (6)GFrano Botica (1)
Drop Goals
Tony Kemp (1)DG
RefereeDave Campbell (Widnes)
Man of the matchMartin Ketteridge Rugby league positions
Competition SponsorRegal

Scoring - Try = four (4) points - Goal = two (2) points - Drop goal = one (1) 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:[15]-

Finish Position Cash Prize No. receiving prize Total Cash
Winner35000135000
Runner-up18500118500
semi-finalist9750219500
quarter-finalist6225424900
loser in Rd 34000832000
loser in Rd 226501642400
Professional Clubs in Rd 126501847700
Amateur Clubs in Rd 110001414000
Development Fund1260001126000
Total Prize Fund234000234000
Grand Total360000360000

The road to success

This tree excludes the First Round fixtures

Second Round Third Round Fourth Round Semi Finals Final
               
Ryedale-York 12
Workington Town 11
Ryedale-York 10
London Crusaders 42
London Crusaders 26
Featherstone Rovers 12
London Crusaders 10
Bradford Northern 22
Barrow 8
Bradford Northern 28
Bradford Northern 16
Halifax 8
Halifax 19
Keighley Cougars 10
Bradford Northern 10
Castleford 23
Hull Kingston Rovers 12
Castleford 16
Castleford 54
Leigh 14
Leigh 20
Huddersfield 12
Castleford 44
Carlisle 4
Carlisle 28
Wakefield Trinity 12
Carlisle 34
Bramley 4
Rochdale Hornets 10
Bramley 11
Castleford 33
Wigan 2
Batley 8
Sheffield Eagles 6
Batley 8
Salford 12
Salford 21
Leeds 12
Salford 26
Hull F.C. 6
Swinton 14
Hull F.C. 36
Hull F.C. 10
Widnes 6
Widnes 24
Doncaster 4
Salford 12
Wigan 18
Dewsbury 6
St. Helens 20
St. Helens 8
Warrington 16
Warrington 58
Hunslet 16
Warrington 10
Wigan 27
Highfield 8
Oldham 26
Oldham 8
Wigan 16
Whitehaven 8
Wigan 22

Notes and comments

1 * West Bowling are a junior (or amateur) club from Bradford
2 * Leigh Miners' Welfare are a Junior (amateur) club from Leigh (formed by merger of Astley & Tyldesley and Hope Rangers - and now Leigh Miners Rangers)[16]
3 * Queens are a Junior (amateur) club from Leeds
4 * Woolston Rovers are a Junior (amateur) club from Warrington, becoming Warrington Woolston Rovers in 2003 and Warrington Wizards in 2002. the ground is the old Warrington Home Ground of Wilderspool [17][18]
5 * Carcassonne played in the French League at Stade Albert Domec
6 * Myson are a Junior (amateur) club from Hull
7 * Ellenborough Rangers are a Junior (amateur) club from the Ellenborough suburb of Maryport, Cumbria[19]
8 * Irlam Hornets ARLFC are a junior club from Irlam, Salford, playing at Cutnook Lane[20]
9 * Wigan official archives[2] gives the club name as Nottingham Borough. There appear to be no other references anywhere to this name and assume it is an misprint
10 * AS Saint Estève was a French rugby league team from Perpignan, which in 2000 it merged with nearby neighbours XIII Catalan to form Union Treiziste Catalaneto compete in the Super Leagueas the Catalans Dragons.
11 * Hemel Stags are a semi professional club based in Hemel Hempstead and playing at the Pennine Way stadium (capacity 2000)[21]
12 * Saddleworth Rangers are a Junior (amateur) club from Oldham
13 * Egremont are a Junior (amateur) club from Cumbria[22]
14 * Wigan St Patricks are a Junior (amateur) club from Wigan[23]
15 * RUGBYLEAGUEproject[1] gives the attendance as 851 but Hull official archives[7] gives it as 819
16 * RUGBYLEAGUEproject[1] gives the attendance as 5,185 but Wigan official archives[2] gives it as 5,128
17 * RUGBYLEAGUEproject[1] gives the attendance as 3,075 but Widnes official archives[9] gives it as 3,074
18 * RUGBYLEAGUEproject[1] and Widnes official archives[9] gives the attendance as 3,412 but Hull official archives[7] gives it as 3,421
19 * RUGBYLEAGUEproject[1] gives the attendance as 6,342 but Wigan official archives[2] gives it as 6,500
20 * Wigan official archives - special details[11] give this as the third round, obviously a mis-print
21 * RUGBYLEAGUEproject[1] gives the attendance as 7,321 but Wigan official archives[2] gives it as 7,231
22 * RUGBYLEAGUEproject[1] and Wigan official archives[2] gives the score as 26-6 but Hull official archives[7] gives it as 24-6
23 * Headingley, Leeds, is the home ground of Leeds RLFC with a capacity of 21,000. The record attendance was 40,175 for a league match between Leeds and Bradford Northern on 21 May 1947.

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 (until the onset of "Summer Rugby" in 1996) 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 (1971–1977), the John Player Trophy (1977–1983), the John Player Special Trophy (1983–1989), and the Regal Trophy in 1989.

See also

References
  1. "Rugby League Project".
  2. "Wigan "Cherry and White" archived results".
  3. "Wigan "Cherry and White" J Player Rd 1 & 2 archived results".
  4. "Huddersfield Rugby League Heritage" (PDF).
  5. "Saints Heritage Society - History - Season 1896-97".
  6. "Wakefield until I die".
  7. "HULL&PROUD - Stats - Fixtures & Results 1896/1897".
  8. "Warrington Wolves - Results Archive - 1897". Archived from the original on 2010-07-06.
  9. "Widnes Vikings - History - Season In Review - 1896-97".
  10. "Wigan "Cherry and White" J Player Rd 3 archived results".
  11. "Wigan "Cherry and White" J Player Rd 4 archived results".
  12. "Wigan "Cherry and White" J Player S-F archived results".
  13. "Wigan "Cherry and White" J Player Final archived results".
  14. "Wigan "Cherry and White" archived results".
  15. Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1994-94 p.210
  16. "Leigh Miners Rangers".
  17. "Woolston Rovers". Archived from the original on 2014-07-14. Retrieved 2014-07-13.
  18. "Warrington Wizards". Archived from the original on 2013-12-31. Retrieved 2014-07-13.
  19. "Ellenborough Rangers". Archived from the original on 2014-07-14. Retrieved 2014-07-13.
  20. "Irlam Hornets". Archived from the original on 2014-07-14. Retrieved 2014-07-13.
  21. "Hemel Hempstead Stags".
  22. "Egremont Rangers ARLFC".
  23. "Wigan St Patricks".
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