1967 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy


1967 was the third occasion on which the BBC2 Floodlit Trophy competition had been held.
Castleford won the trophy by beating Leigh by the score of 8-5

The match was played at Headingley, Leeds, now in West Yorkshire. The attendance was 9,716 and receipts were £2,099

This was the third of Castleford's three victories in successive seasons in the first three Floodlit competitions

Background

This season the original eight invitees plus the three "newcomers" from last season are joined by a further seven clubs.

These are Halifax, Huddersfield, Hull FC, Hull Kingston Rovers, Keighley, Wakefield Trinity and Wigan and bring the total of entrants up to eighteen.

This involved the introduction of a preliminary knock-out round on a knock-out basis, to reduce the numbers to sixteen, followed by a straightforward knock out competition.

Competition and Results

Preliminary Round

Involved 2 matches and 4 Clubs
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueAttRecNotesRef
PMon 18 Sep 1967Hull Kingston Rovers12-8Hull F.C.Craven Park 1 2
PTue 19 Sep 1967Halifax16-0HuddersfieldThrum Hall2,6883 4

Round 1 - First Round

Involved 8 matches and 16 Clubs
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueAttRecNotesRef
1Mon 2 Oct 1967Wigan32-6WidnesCentral Park5
2Tue 3 Oct 1967Salford3-5LeighThe Willows
3Mon 9 Oct 1967Halifax5-5LeedsThrum Hall
4Tue 10 Oct 1967Rochdale Hornets2-10SwintonAthletic Grounds
5Tue 17 Oct 1967Castleford18-7KeighleyWheldon Road6
6Mon 23 Oct 1967Barrow4-8WarringtonCraven Park7
7Tue 24 Oct 1967Wakefield Trinity5-5Hull Kingston RoversBelle Vue8
8Tue 7 Nov 1967St. Helens14-0OldhamKnowsley Road6700

Round 1 -Replays

Involved 2 matches and 4 clubs
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueAttRecNotesRef
-
RMon 23 Oct 1967Leeds12-7HalifaxHeadingley9
RMon 6 Nov 1967Hull Kingston Rovers13-10Wakefield TrinityCraven Park

Round 2 -Quarter Finals

Involved 4 matches with 8 clubs
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueAttRecNotesRef
-
1Tue 31 Oct 1967Leigh10-2SwintonHilton Park
2Tue 14 Nov 1967Hull Kingston Rovers12-13WarringtonCraven Park
3Tue 21 Nov 1967St. HelensPWiganKnowsley Road10
4Tue 28 Nov 1967Castleford12-9LeedsWheldon Road

Round 2 -Quarter Finals - Replays

Involved 1 match and 2 Clubs
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueAttRecNotesRef
-
RWed 22 Nov 1967St. Helens11-22WiganKnowsley Road15341

Round 3 – Semi-Finals

Involved 2 matches and 4 Clubs
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueAttRecNotesRef
-
1Tue 6 Dec 1967Leigh10-2WiganHilton Park11
2Tue 12 Dec 1967Warrington2-14CastlefordWilderspool

Final

Teams and Scorers

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

The road to success

This tree excludes any preliminary round fixtures

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