1946–47 Lancashire Cup


1946–47 was the thirty-fourth occasion on which the Lancashire Cup completion had been held.
Wigan won the trophy by beating Belle Vue Rangers by the score of 9-3.
The match was played at Station Road, Pendlebury,. The attendance was 21,648 and receipts were £2,658.
Although it could not have been known at this time, this was to be the first of Wigan’s record breaking run of six consecutive Lancashire Cup victories.
It was also to be the first of two consecutive finals to be competed for by these two teams.

Background

The number of teams entering showed little change from before the war.
Leigh returned to the sport using a rented athletic stadium while their purpose built stadium was under construction.
Overall, the number of teams entering this year’s competition increased by one with the return of Leigh bringing the total up to 13.
The same pre-war fixture format was retained. This season saw one bye and one “blank” or “dummy” fixture in the first round. The second round also had one bye, but now no “blank” fixture”.
As last season, all the first round ties of the competition was played on the basis of two legged, home and away, ties. In addition, this season, the second round was also on a two leg, home and away basis.

Competition and results

Round 1

Involved 6 matches and 13 clubs
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueaggAttRecNotesRef
-
1Sat 07 Sep 1946Liverpool Stanley0-7Belle Vue RangersStanley Greyhound Stadium
2Sat 07 Sep 1946St. Helens5-14LeighKnowsley Road10,000
3Sat 07 Sep 1946Salford10-3WarringtonThe Willows
4Sat 07 Sep 1946Widnes26-5BarrowNaughton Park
5Sat 07 Sep 1946Wigan49-4Rochdale HornetsCentral Park
6Sat 07 Sep 1946Workington Town2-8OldhamBorough Park
7Swintonbye
8blankblank

Round 1 – Second Leg

Involved 6 matches and 12 clubs. These are the reverse fixture from the first leg
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueaggAttRecNotesRef
-
1Sat 14 Sep 1946Belle Vue Rangers11-5Liverpool StanleyBelle Vue Stadium18-5
2Sat 14 Sep 1946Leigh17-4St. HelensMadeley Park31-99,200
3Sat 14 Sep 1946Warrington10-5SalfordWilderspool13-15
4Sat 14 Sep 1946Barrow10-3WidnesCraven Park15-29
5Sat 14 Sep 1946Rochdale Hornets5-32WiganAthletic Grounds9-81
6Sat 14 Sep 1946Oldham19-10Workington TownWatersheddings27-12
7Swintonbye
8blankblank

Round 2 - Quarter Finals - First Leg

Involved 3 matches and 7 clubs
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueaggAttRecNotesRef
--
1Tue 24 Sep 1946Oldham20-8LeighWatersheddings
2Wed 25 Sep 1946Swinton6-8WidnesStation Road
3Wed 25 Sep 1946Wigan31-0SalfordCentral Park
4Belle Vue Rangersbye

Round 2 - Quarter Finals – Second Leg

Involved 3 matches and 7 clubs. These are the reverse fixture from the first leg
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueaggAttRecNotesRef
--
1Wed 02 Oct 1946Leigh6-11OldhamMadeley Park14-31
2Thu 03 Oct 1946Widnes9-2SwintonNaughton Park17-8
2Wed 02 Oct 1946Salford0-19WiganThe Willows0-50
3Belle Vue Rangersbye

Round 3 – Semi-Finals

Involved 2 matches and 4 clubs
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueaggAttRecNotesRef
--
1Tue 15 Oct 1946Oldham7-21WiganWatersheddings
2Wed 16 Oct 1946Belle Vue Rangers5-0WidnesBelle Vue Stadium

Final

Teams and scorers

Wigan№Belle Vue Rangers
teams
Martin Ryan1
Brian Nordgren2
Johnny Lawrenson3
Ernie Ashcroft4
Gordon Ratcliffe5
Ces Mountford6
Tommy Bradshaw7
Ken Gee8
Joe Egan9
George Banks10
Harry Atkinson 11
Billy Blan12
Jack Blan 13
-
9score3
7HT3
Scorers
Tries
Jack Blan T
Goals
Johnny Lawrenson G
Referee

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

The road to success

All the first and second round ties were played on a two leg basis.
The first club named in each of the first and second round ties played the first leg at home.
the scores shown in the first and second round are the aggregate score over the two legs.