1980–81 League Cup (rugby league)


This was the tenth season for rugby league's League Cup competition. It was again known as the John Player Trophy for sponsorship purposes.
Warrington won the final, beating Barrow by the score of 12-5 at Central Park, Wigan in front of a crowd of 12,802. The gate receipts were £21020.

Background

This season saw only one change in the entrants, with the admittance of Fulham to the league and to this competition, resulted in only one junior club being invited, the total number remaining at thirty-two.

Competition and Results

Round 1 - First Round

Involved 16 matches and 32 Clubs
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueAttRecNotesRef
1Sat 22 Nov 1980Hull F.C.12-0Bradford NorthernBoulevard10854
2Sat 22 Nov 1980Hunslet15-5Workington TownMount Pleasant700
3Sun 23 Nov 1980Batley4-20HuddersfieldMount Pleasant1781
4Sun 23 Nov 1980Blackpool Borough21-7HuytonBorough Park450
5Sun 23 Nov 1980Bramley10-11HalifaxMcLaren Field2338
6Sun 23 Nov 1980Castleford30-17St Helens RecsWheldon Road28231
7Sun 23 Nov 1980Dewsbury12-37Featherstone RoversCrown Flatt2700
8Sun 23 Nov 1980Doncaster10-18WhitehavenBentley Road Stadium/Tattersfield432
9Sun 23 Nov 1980Fulham9-3LeedsCraven Cottage12583
10Sun 23 Nov 1980Keighley16-34Hull Kingston RoversLawkholme Lane38952
11Sun 23 Nov 1980Leigh38-5Rochdale HornetsHilton Park3167
12Sun 23 Nov 1980St. Helens12-14WarringtonKnowsley Road7946
13Sun 23 Nov 1980Salford17-9WiganThe Willows3715
14Sun 23 Nov 1980Swinton10-12BarrowStation Road2470
15Sun 23 Nov 1980Widnes20-17Wakefield TrinityNaughton Park5956
16Sun 23 Nov 1980York11-9OldhamClarence Street5154

Round 2 - Second Round

Involved 8 matches and 16 Clubs
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueAttRecNotesRef
1Sat 6 Dec 1980Warrington11-7Hull Kingston RoversWilderspool4325
2Sun 7 Dec 1980Barrow26-13HunsletCraven Park4185
3Sun 7 Dec 1980Blackpool Borough5-11HalifaxBorough Park1724
4Sun 7 Dec 1980Hull F.C.11-10YorkBoulevard11129
5Sun 7 Dec 1980Leigh17-9FulhamHilton Park7606
6Sun 7 Dec 1980Salford8-15CastlefordThe Willows3452
7Sun 7 Dec 1980Whitehaven22-3Featherstone RoversRecreation Ground3922
8Tue 9 Dec 1980Widnes25-9HuddersfieldNaughton Park3571

Round 3 -Quarter Finals

Involved 4 matches with 8 clubs
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueAttRecNotesRef
-
1Sat 13 Dec 1980Castleford18-10WidnesWheldon Road35713
2Sun 14 Dec 1980Hull F.C.13-0WhitehavenBoulevard11228
3Sun 14 Dec 1980Leigh13-15BarrowHilton Park55214
4Sun 14 Dec 1980Warrington16-10HalifaxWilderspool5532

Round 4 – Semi-Finals

Involved 2 matches and 4 Clubs
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueAttRecNotesRef
-
1Sat 20 Dec 1980Warrington5-5CastlefordCentral Park3877
2Sat 10 Jan 1981Barrow13-10Hull F.C.Headingley11202

Round 3 – Semi-Finals - Replays

Involved 1 match and 2 Clubs
Game NoFixture DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueAttRecNotesRef
-
1Sun 28 Dec 1980Warrington22-10CastlefordHeadingley9279

Final

Teams and Scorers

Warrington№Barrow
teams
Steve Hesford1Dave Elliott
Rick Thackray2Ralph McConnell
Ronnie Duane3Nigel French
John Bevan4Ian Ball
Michael "Mike"/"Mick" Kelly5Tony Wainwright
Ken Kelly6Mel Mason
Alan Gwilliam7David Cairns
Neil Courtney8David Chisnall
Anthony Waller "Tony" Waller9Howard Allen
Brian Case10Malcolm Flynn
Tommy Martyn11Kevin James
Ian Potter12Steve Kirkby
Edwin "Eddie" Hunter13Derek Hadley
? not used14? not used
Bob Eccles 15Eddie Szymala
CoachFrank Foster-
-
12score5
11HT0
Scorers
Tries
John Bevan TMel Mason
Goals
Steve Hesford GIan Ball
Drop Goals
Steve Hesford DG
RefereeWilliam "Billy" H. Thompson
Man of the matchTommy Martyn - Warrington -
Competition SponsorJohn Player

Scoring - Try = three points - Goal = two points - Drop goal = one 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 :-
Finish PositionCash PrizeNo. receiving prizeTotal Cash
Winner?1?
Runner-up?1?
semi-finalist?2?
loser in Rd 3?4?
loser in Rd 2?8?
Loser in Rd 1?16?
Grand Total

Note - the author is unable to trace the award amounts for this season. Can anyone help ?

The road to success

This tree excludes any preliminary round fixtures

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 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, the John Player Trophy, the John Player Special Trophy, and the Regal Trophy in 1989.