1947–48 Lancashire Cup

1947–48 was the thirty-fifth occasion on which the Lancashire Cup completion had been held.

1947–48 Lancashire Cup
StructureRegional knockout championship
Teams14
WinnersWigan
Runners-upBelle Vue Rangers

Wigan won the trophy by beating Belle Vue Rangers by the score of 10-7

The match was played at Wilderspool, Warrington, (historically in the county of Lancashire). The attendance was 23,310 and receipts were £3,043.

This was the second of Wigan’s record breaking run of six consecutive Lancashire Cup victories.

It was also to be the second of two consecutive finals to be competed for by these two teams.

Background

Overall, the number of teams entering this year’s competition increased by one with the invitation to Lancashire Amateurs (a junior/amateur club) bringing the total up to 14.

The same pre-war fixture format was retained. This season saw no bye but one "blank" or "dummy" fixture in the first round. There was also one bye but no "blank" fixture" in the second round.

As last season, all the first round matches of the competition will be played on the basis of two legged, home and away ties. However this year, the second round becomes a straightforward knock-out basis.

Competition and results

[1]

Round 1

Involved 7 matches (with no bye and one "blank" fixture) and 14 clubs

Game No Fixture Date Home Team Score Away Team Venue agg Att Rec Notes Ref
1Sat 30 Aug 1947Barrow14-12Belle Vue RangersCraven Park
2Sat 30 Aug 1947Lancashire Amateurs5-16Rochdale HornetsWatersheddings1
3Sat 30 Aug 1947Leigh0-15St. HelensKirkhall Lane16,0002 3[2]
4Sat 30 Aug 1947Liverpool Stanley3-26OldhamStanley Greyhound Stadium
5Sat 30 Aug 1947Swinton2-19Workington TownStation Road
6Sat 30 Aug 1947Widnes4-8SalfordNaughton Park[3]
7Sat 30 Aug 1947Wigan16-13WarringtonCentral Park[4][5]
8blankblank

Round 1 – Second Leg

Involved 7 matches (with no bye and one "blank" fixture) and 14 clubs. These are the reverse fixture from the first leg

Game No Fixture Date Home Team Score Away Team Venue agg Att Rec Notes Ref
1Wed 10 Sep 1947Belle Vue Rangers37-2BarrowBelle Vue Stadium49-16
2Tue 2 Sep 1947Rochdale Hornets7-2Lancashire AmateursAthletic Grounds23-71
3Thu 4 Sep 1947St. Helens31-5LeighKnowsley Road46-517,000[2]
4Tue 2 Sep 1947Oldham16-3Liverpool StanleyWatersheddings42-6
5Wed 3 Sep 1947Workington Town15-12SwintonBorough Park34-14
6Wed 3 Sep 1947Salford9-4WidnesThe Willows17-8[3]
7Wed 3 Sep 1947Warrington10-15WiganWilderspool23-31[4][5]
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Round 2 - Quarter Finals - First Leg

Involved 3 matches (with one bye) and 7 clubs

Game No Fixture Date Home Team Score Away Team Venue agg Att Rec Notes Ref
1Tue 23 Sep 1947Oldham3-13Workington TownWatersheddings
2Mon 29 Sep 1947St. Helens7-8WiganKnowsley Road[4][2]
3Wed 1 Oct 1947Belle Vue Rangers10-5SalfordBelle Vue Stadium
4Rochdale Hornetsbye

Round 3 – Semi-Finals

Involved 2 matches and 4 clubs

Game No Fixture Date Home Team Score Away Team Venue agg Att Rec Notes Ref
1Wed 8 Oct 1947Belle Vue Rangers15-8Workington TownBelle Vue Stadium
2Wed 8 Oct 1947Wigan27-3Rochdale HornetsCentral Park[4]

Final
Game No Fixture Date Home Team Score Away Team Venue agg Att Rec Notes Ref
Saturday 1 November 1947Wigan10-7Belle Vue RangersWilderspool23,110£3,0434[4][6]

Teams and scorers
Wigan № Belle Vue Rangers
teams
Martin Ryan1Ratchford
Gordon Ratcliffe2Pimblett
Ted Ward3Melbourne Tierney
George Roughley 4Stan McCormick
Brian Nordgren5Jolley
Ernie Ashcroft6Ray Price
Tommy Bradshaw7Watkins
Ken Gee8Thomas
Joe Egan9Flanagan
George Banks10Elwyn Gwyther
Les White11Doug Phillips
Billy Blan12Albert Fearnley???
Jack Blan 13Manning
10score7
5HT2
Scorers
Tries
Gordon Ratcliffe (1)TFlanagan (1)
Brian Nordgren (1)T
Goals
Ted Ward (2)G
RefereeS. Manley (Hull)

Scoring - Try = three (3) points - Goal = two (2) points - Drop goal = two (2) points

[4]

The road to success

All the first round ties were played on a two leg (home and away) basis.

The first club named in each of the first round ties played the first leg at home.

the scores shown in the first round are the aggregate score over the two legs.

First Round Second Round Semi Finals Final
            
Leigh 5
St. Helens 46
St. Helens 7
Wigan 8
Wigan 31
Warrington 23
Wigan 27
Rochdale Hornets 3
Lancashire Amateurs 7
Rochdale Hornets 23
Rochdale Hornets
bye
blank
blank
Wigan 10
Belle Vue Rangers 7
Barrow 16
Belle Vue Rangers 49
Belle Vue Rangers 10
Salford 5
Widnes 8
Salford 17
Belle Vue Rangers 15
Workington Town 8
Liverpool Stanley 6
Oldham 42
Oldham 3
Workington Town 13
Swinton 14
Workington Town 34

Notes and comments

1 * Lancashire Amateurs were a junior (or amateur) club from Lancashire. The match was played at Watersheddings, Oldham

2 * The official St. Helens archive show as attendance of 16,000 (with 17,000 for the second leg at home) RUGBY LEAGUE projects[1] show it as 17,000

3 * Leigh's first Lancashire Cup match at the newly completed purpose build stadium

4 * Wilderspool was the home ground of Warrington from 1883 to the end of the 2003 Summer season when they moved into the new purpose built Halliwell Jones Stadium. Wilderspool remained as a sports/Ruugby League ground and is/was used by Woolston Rovers/Warrington Wizards junior club.

The ground had a final capacity of 9,000 although the record attendance was set in a Challenge cup third round match on 13 March 1948 when 34,304 spectators saw Warrington lose to Wigan 10-13.

See also

References
  1. "Rugby League Project".
  2. "Saints Heritage Society - History - Season 1896-97".
  3. "Widnes Vikings - History - Season In Review - 1896-97".
  4. "Wigan "Cherry and White" archived results".
  5. "Warrington Wolves - Results Archive - 1897". Archived from the original on 6 July 2010.
  6. Raymond Fletcher and David Howes (1991). Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1991-100. Queen Anne Press. ISBN 0 35617852 8.
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