The 1970–71 Lancashire Cup was the fifty-eighth staging of the tournament. Leigh won the trophy by beating St. Helens by the score of 7–4 in the final. The match was played at Station Road, Pendlebury, (historically in the county of Lancashire). The attendance was 10,776 and receipts were £3,136.
Background
The total number of teams entering the competition remained the same at a total of 16. Once again two junior (or amateur) clubs were invited St Helens Amateurs and this year, Whitehaven Amateurs. The same fixture format was retained, and due to the number of participating clubs, resulted in a full fixture list with no byes or “blank” or “dummy” fixtures.
Competition and results
Round 1 Involved 8 matches (with no bye or “blank” fixture) and 16 clubs Game NoFixture dateHome team Score Away teamVenueAttRecNotesRef 1Fri 28-08-1970Rochdale Hornets14-11WhitehavenAthletic Grounds2Fri 28-08-1970Warrington9-21LeighWilderspool3Sat 29-08-1970Blackpool Borough10-10WidnesBorough Park4Sat 29-08-1970Huyton3-30St. HelensAlt Park, Huyton2,1215Sat 29-08-1970Oldham12-35SalfordWatersheddings6Sat 29-08-1970Swinton51-21St Helens AmateursStation Road1 7Sat 29-08-1970Wigan32-2BarrowCentral Park8Sun 30-08-1970Workington Town49-7Whitehaven AmateursDerwent Park2
Round 1 replays Involved 1 match and 2 clubs Game NoFixture dateHome team Score Away teamVenueAttRecNotesRef 1Thu 03-09-1970Widnes41-6Blackpool BoroughNaughton Park
Round 2 - Quarter-finals Involved 4 matches (with no bye) and 8 clubs
Game NoFixture dateHome team Score Away teamVenueAttRecNotesRef 1Mon 07-09-1970Widnes32-5Rochdale HornetsNaughton Park2Sun 13-09-1970Salford12-12WiganThe Willows3Wed 16-09-1970Leigh12-8Workington TownHilton Park4Thu 17-09-1970St. Helens20-7SwintonKnowsley Road7,500
Round 2 – replays Involved 1 match and 2 clubs
Game NoFixture dateHome team Score Away teamVenueAttRecNotesRef 1Sun 20-09-1970Wigan32-6SalfordCentral Park
Round 3 – Semi-finals Involved 2 matches and 4 clubs
Game NoFixture dateHome team Score Away teamVenueAttRecNotesRef 1Sun 04-10-1970Widnes10-13LeighNaughton Park 2Sat 10-10-1970Wigan0-23St. HelensCentral Park23,508
Final Game NoFixture dateHome team Score Away teamVenueAttRecNotesRef Saturday 28 November 1970Leigh7-4St. HelensStation Road10,776£3,136HT 0-0
Teams and scorers
LeighNo.St. Helens teams Stuart Ferguson1Frank BarrowRod Tickle2Les JonesLes Chisnall3Billy BenyonMick Collins4Johnny WalshJoseph Walsh5Frank WilsonDavid Eckersley6Frank MylerAlex Murphy7Alan WhittleDave Chisnall8Albert HalsallKevin Ashcroft9Tony KaraliusDerek Watts10Graham ReesPaul Grimes11John MantleGeoffrey Clarkson12Eric ChisnallMick Mooney13Kel Coslett / (for Rod Tickle)14Jeff Heaton (not used)15Eric Prescott (for Graham Rees) 7score40HT0 Scorers Tries David Eckersley (1)T Goals Stuart Ferguson (2)GKel Coslett (2)RefereeW H (Billy) Thompson (Huddersfield) - Scoring - Try = three (3) points - Goal = two (2) points - Drop goal = two (2) points
The road to success
Notes and comments 1 * St Helens Amateurs were a junior (or amateur) club from St Helens 2 * Whitehaven Amateurs are a junior (or amateur) club from Whitehaven 3 * Station Road was the home ground of Swinton from 1929 to 1932 and at its peak was one of the finest rugby league grounds in the country and it boasted a capacity of 60,000. The actual record attendance was for the Challenge Cup semi-final on 7 April 1951 when 44,621 watched Wigan beat Warrington 3-2
See also British rugby league system 1970–71 Northern Rugby Football League season Rugby league county cups List of defunct rugby league clubs
References
External links Saints Heritage Society 1896–97 Northern Rugby Football Union season at wigan.rlfans.com Hull&Proud Fixtures & Results 1896/1897 Widnes Vikings - One team, one passion Season In Review - 1896-97 The Northern Union at warringtonwolves.org