1979 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy


1979 was the fifteenth occasion on which the BBC2 Floodlit Trophy competition had been held.

This year, for the last time, a new name appeared on the trophy when
Hull F.C. won the trophy by beating Hull Kingston Rovers by the score of 13-3

The match was played at Boulevard, in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire. The attendance was 18,500, and the receipts were £16,605

The attendance was a record for a BBC2 Floodlit Trophy, never to be beaten

Background

This season saw no changes in the entrants, no new members and no withdrawals, the number remaining at twenty-two.

The format remained as a knock-out competition from the preliminary round through to the final.

The preliminary round involved twelve clubs, to reduce the numbers taking part in the competition proper to just sixteen.

Competition and Results

Preliminary Round

Involved 6 matches and 12 Clubs
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueAttRecNotesRef
PTue 4 Sep 1979Bramley5-21HunsletMcLaren Field
PTue 4 Sep 1979Hull F.C.8-1HalifaxBoulevard1
PWed 5 Sep 1979Castleford22-12Wakefield TrinityWheldon Road
PTue 11 Sep 1979Whitehaven5-29BarrowRecreation Ground
PWed 19 Sep 1979Oldham9-20St. HelensWatersheddings1,355
PWed 26 Sep 1979Warrington4-12LeighWilderspool

Round 1 - First Round

Involved 8 matches and 16 Clubs
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueAttRecNotesRef
1Tue 25 Sep 1979Keighley9-2DewsburyLawkholme Lane
2Sun 30 Sep 1979Hull F.C.34-2HuddersfieldBoulevard2
3Tue 2 Oct 1979Widnes27-13SwintonNaughton Park3
4Tue 9 Oct 1979St. Helens45-17Rochdale HornetsKnowsley Road3,0003 4
5Tue 9 Oct 1979Salford24-6WiganThe Willows
6Tue 16 Oct 1979Hull Kingston Rovers25-12CastlefordCraven Park 3
7Tue 23 Oct 1979Hunslet10-12LeedsMount Pleasant3
8Tue 30 Oct 1979Leigh20-4BarrowHilton Park3

Round 2 -Quarter Finals

Involved 4 matches with 8 clubs
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueAttRecNotesRef
-
1Tue 6 Nov 1979Hull Kingston Rovers41-15KeighleyCraven Park 3
2Tue 13 Nov 1979Leigh14-5WidnesHilton Park3
3Tue 27 Nov 1979Hull F.C.16-9LeedsBoulevard3
4Tue 20 Nov 1979St. HelensPSalfordKnowsley Road5

Round 2 -Quarter Finals - Replay

Involved 1 matches and 2 Clubs
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueAttRecNotesRef
-
RFri 30 Nov 1979St. Helens15-10SalfordKnowsley Road4,500

Round 3 – Semi-Finals

Involved 2 matches and 4 Clubs
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueAttRecNotesRef
-
1Tue 4 Dec 1979Hull F.C.9-6LeighBoulevard3
2Tue 11 Dec 1979Hull Kingston Rovers10-7St. HelensKnowsley Road7,7663

Final

Teams and Scorers

Hull F.C.No.Hull Kingston Rovers
teams
Paul Woods1Ian Robinson
Graham Bray2Steve Hubbard
Graham Evans3Mike Smith
Phillip "Phil" Coupland4Watson
Steve Dennison5Clive Sullivan
John Newlove6Dave Hall
Keith Hepworth7Allan Agar
Keith Tindall8Roy Holdstock
Ron Wileman9G. Tyreman
Vince Farrar10Brian Lockwood
Richard 'Charlie' Stone11Geoffrey "Geoff" Clarkson
Keith Boxhall12Phil Lowe
Steve "Knocker" Norton13Phil Hogan
Arthur BuntingCoachRoger Millward
-
13score3
5HT0
Scorers
Tries
Graham Evans TSteve Hubbard
Steve Dennison T
Charlie Birdsall T
Goals
Steve Dennison G
RefereeMichael J. "Mick" Naughton

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

The road to success

This tree excludes any preliminary round fixtures

Postscript

To date, this was the last season for the BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Competition, which had taken place annually only since its inauguration in the 1965-66 season.

Despite several minor disagreements between the BBC and the RFL, including over shirt sponsorship in the early 1970s, overall the competition had been a great success.

However financial cutbacks at the BBC lead to its cancellation after the 1979–80 competition.

Therefore, this season was to be the last. It was greatly missed by many, including those living in a non-Rugby League area

Records from the BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Competition

RecordHolder
In Final
Team
Most appearances7St. Helens-
Most wins4Castleford-
Highest Score26-11Hull Kingston RoversSt. Helens 1977-
Widest margin22-2St. Helens 1977Dewsbury 1975-
Biggest Attendance18500Hull F.C. v Hull Kingston Rovers 1979-
Highest receipts16605Hull F.C. v Hull Kingston Rovers 1979-
Individual
Most tries2Roy MathiasSt. Helens v Dewsbury 1975-
2Peter GlynnSt. Helens v Hull Kingston Rovers 1977
2Gerald "Ged" DunnHull Kingston Rovers v St. Helens 1977
2Stuart WrightWidnes v St. Helens 1978
Most goals4Ron WillettCastleford v Leigh 1967-
4Kel CoslettSt. Helens v Rochdale Hornets 1971
4Dave HallHull Kingston Rovers v St. Helens 1977
Most points8The last 3 goal lickers-
In Competition
Highest Score51-0St. HelensDewsbury -
Greatest winning margin51-0St. HelensDewsbury -
Highest Aggregate score54-16LeedsHull F.C. -
Other high scores47-5St. HelensCastleford -
47-11LeedsBramley

Entrants and number of cup wins

This table list all the semi-professional clubs which have entered the competition and the number of their cup final wins, cup final runner-up spots, and losing semi-final appearances.
No.cup winnerNo,runner-upNolosing Semi-Final appearances
-
Barrow0021966 & 1975
Batley000
Bramley1197300
Castleford41965, 1966, 1967 & 1976021969 & 1977
Dewsbury0119750
Halifax000
Huddersfield0011976
Hull F.C.11979031971, 1976 & 1978
Hull Kingston Rovers119771197931980, 1973 & 1974
Keighley000
Leeds11970021971 & 1975
Leigh21969 & 197221967 & 197631968, 1974 & 1979
New Hunslet000
Oldham0011972
Rochdale Hornets01197111978
Salford11974011977
St. Helens21971 & 197551965, 1968, 1970, 1977 & 197831969, 1973 & 1979
Swinton01196611965
Wakefield Trinity0011972
Warrington01197421967 & 1968
Whitehaven000
Widnes1197821972 & 197321965 & 1966
Wigan119681196921967 & 1970

General information for those unfamiliar

The Rugby League BBC2 Floodlit Trophy was a knock-out competition sponsored by the BBC and between rugby league clubs, entrance to which was conditional upon the club having floodlights. Most matches were played on an evening, and those of which the second half was televised, were played on a Tuesday evening.

Despite the competition being named as 'Floodlit', many matches took place during the afternoons and not under floodlights, and several of the entrants, including Barrow and Bramley did not have adequate lighting. And, when in 1973, due to the world oil crisis, the government restricted the use of floodlights in sport, all the matches, including the Trophy final, had to be played in the afternoon rather than at night.

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 taking place in December