The 1966–67 Northern Rugby Football League season was the 72nd season of rugby league football in Britain. After Leeds had ended the regular season as league leaders, Wakefield Trinity won their first Championship when they beat St. Helens 21-9 in the Final replay, after a 7-7 draw. The Challenge Cup-winners were Featherstone Rovers who beat Barrow 17-12 in the Wembley final.
Rule changes Limited tackles: The Rugby Football League ended unlimited tackles, introducing a four-tackle rule. The introduction of the "tackle count" in December 1966 meant a team now had a limited number of tackles in which to score before they must surrender possession to their opponents. The limit would remain four until an increase to six tackles in 1972.
Championship
League table TeamPldWDLPts1Leeds342905582Hull Kingston Rovers342626543Wakefield Trinity342707544St. Helens342239475Bradford Northern3422210466Workington Town3422111457Swinton3420311438Castleford3421013429Hull34183133910Oldham34182143811Halifax34182143812Warrington34181153713Leigh34173143714Salford34181153715Barrow34172153616Widnes34155143517Wigan34170173418Rochdale Hornets34154153419Dewsbury34151183120Featherstone Rovers34123192721Huddersfield34130212622York34130212623Bramley34120222424Keighley34111222325Hunslet3492232026Blackpool Borough3492232027Whitehaven34100242028Liverpool City3490251829Doncaster3481251730Batley34702714
Play-offs
Final The 1966/67 Championship Final replay was played between Wakefield Trinity and St. Helens on Wednesday, 10 May 1967 at Station Road Ground before a crowd of 33,537. Wakefield Trinity won 21-9 with their try-scoring scrum half back, Ray Owen being awarded the Harry Sunderland Trophy as man-of-the-match.
Final
Wakefield TrinityNumberSt Helens Teams Gary Cooper1Frank BarrowKenneth Hirst2Tom van VollenhovenIan Brooke3Tony BarrowNeil Fox4Wilf SmithGert Coetzer5Len KilleenHarold Poynton6Peter DouglasRay Owen7Tommy BishopJohn Bath8John WarlowBernard Prior9Bill SayerEdward Campbell10Cliff WatsonGeoff Clarkson11Ray FrenchBob Haigh12Brian HoganDon Fox13John MantleSubsKenneth Batty14John HoughtonDavid Hawley15Joe Robinson (for Hogan)Ken TraillCoachJoe Coan
Replay
Wakefield TrinityNumberSt Helens Teams Gary Cooper1Frank BarrowKenneth Hirst2Tom van VollenhovenIan Brooke3Tony BarrowNeil Fox4Wilf SmithGert Coetzer5Len KilleenHarold Poynton6Peter DouglasRay Owen7Tommy BishopJohn Bath8John WarlowBernard Prior9Bill SayerEdward Campbell10Cliff WatsonGeoff Clarkson11Ray FrenchBob Haigh12Brian HoganDon Fox13John MantleSubs 14John Houghton 15Joe RobinsonKen TraillCoachJoe Coan
Challenge Cup
In the Challenge Cup Final Featherstone Rovers faced Barrow, who were captain-coached by Jim Challinor at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 13 May 1967 in front of a crowd of 76,290.
Featherstone Rovers won 17-12 and it was their first Cup Final win in two Final appearances.
County cups
St. Helens won the Lancashire League, and Leeds won the Yorkshire League. Wigan beat Oldham 16–13 to win the Lancashire County Cup, and Hull Kingston Rovers beat Featherstone Rovers 25–12 to win the Yorkshire County Cup.
BBC2 Floodlit Trophy
The BBC2 Floodlit Trophy winners were Castleford who beat Swinton 7-2 in the final.
References
Sources
1966-67 Rugby Football League season at wigan.rlfans.com The Challenge Cup at The Rugby Football League website