1945–46 Lancashire Cup

Rugby tournament April 2022 1945–46 Lancashire Cup Regional knockout championship Widnes Winners Wigan 1939–40 Lancashire Cup 1939–40 1946–47 Lancashire Cup 1946–47 12 The 1945–46 Lancashire Cup was the thirty-third occasion on which the Lancashire Cup competition had been held in rugby league, and the first since the end of the Second World War in Europe. For the first time for several seasons there is a new name on the trophy; that of one of the founder members of the Northern Union, Widnes, who won the trophy by beating Wigan by the score of 7–3. The match was played at Wilderspool, Warrington, (historically in the county of Lancashire). The attendance was 28,184 and receipts were £2,600. Background The number of teams entering showed little change from before the war. St Helens Recs had already withdrawn from the league immediately after the end on the 1938–39 season. The club had been struggling to survive for a few years with falling attendances and the economic depression and it was obviously not possible for the town to sustain two top teams. Leigh lost its ground to in August 1940 when Callender's Cable and Construction Company bought the Mather Lane site to store drums etc as part of the war effort. The club did not resume playing until the 1946–47 season when they found a temporary ground. Workington Town from Cumberland had joined the league. Overall, the number of teams entering this year's competition had decreased from the pre-war total by just one and was now 12. The same pre-war fixture format was retained. This season saw no byes but two "blank" or "dummy" fixture in the first round. The second round now had two byes. The first round of the competition was played on the basis of two legged, home and away, ties. Competition and results Rugby League Project http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/competitions/lancashire-cup/results.html?page=6 Round 1 Involved 6 matches (with two "blank" fixture) and 12 clubs Game NoFixture dateHome team Score Away teamVenueaggAttRecNotesRef 1Sat 22 Sep 1945Barrow18–8WarringtonCraven ParkWarrington Wolves – Results Archive – 1897 http://www.warringtonwolves.org/results-archive?y=1897 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20100706043029/http://www.warringtonwolves.org/results-archive?y=1897 2010-07-06 2Sat 22 Sep 1945Oldham7–5WiganWatersheddingsWigan "Cherry and White" archived results http://wigan.rlfans.com/news.php?readmore=3199 15 February 2014 21 February 2014 https://web.archive.org/web/20140221234707/http://wigan.rlfans.com/news.php?readmore=3199 dead3Sat 22 Sep 1945Liverpool Stanley5–5Broughton RangersStanley Greyhound Stadium4Sat 22 Sep 1945Rochdale Hornets7–2SwintonAthletic Grounds5Sat 22 Sep 1945Widnes37–0SalfordNaughton ParkWidnes Vikings – History – Season In Review – 1896–97 http://www.rugby.widnes.tv/seasonreview.php?mid=1896&smid=1896-97&mids=18966Sat 22 Sep 1945Workington Town9–8St. HelensBorough Park1Saints Heritage Society – History – Season 1896–97 http://www.saints.org.uk/saints.org.uk/home/viewpage.php?page_id=9 15 February 2014 2 March 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20120302024842/http://www.saints.org.uk/saints.org.uk/home/viewpage.php?page_id=9 dead7blankblank8 blankblank Round 1 – second leg Involved 6 matches (with two "blank" fixture) and 12 clubs. These are the reverse fixture from the first leg Game NoFixture dateHome team Score Away teamVenueaggAttRecNotesRef 1Sat 29 Sep 1945Warrington13–8BarrowWilderspool21–262Sat 29 Sep 1945Wigan19–0OldhamCentral Park24–73Sat 29 Sep 1945Broughton Rangers22–0Liverpool StanleyBelle Vue Stadium27–54Sat 29 Sep 1945Swinton9–2Rochdale HornetsStation Road11–95Sat 29 Sep 1945Salford2–15WidnesThe Willows2–526Sat 29 Sep 1945St. Helens21–11Workington TownKnowsley Road29–207 blankblank8blankblank Round 2 – quarterfinals Involved 2 matches (with two byes) and 6 clubs Game NoFixture dateHome team Score Away teamVenueaggAttRecNotesRef 1Wed 10 Oct 1945Swinton2–8WiganStation Road2Wed 10 Oct 1945Widnes6–0BarrowNaughton Park3 St. Helensbye4 Broughton Rangersbye Round 3 – semifinals Involved 2 matches and 4 clubs Game NoFixture dateHome team Score Away teamVenueaggAttRecNotesRef 1Wed 17 Oct 1945Wigan18–5St. HelensCentral Park2Wed 18 Oct 1945Widnes10–3Broughton RangersNaughton Park Final Game NoFixture dateHome team Score Away teamVenueaggAttRecNotesRef Saturday 27 October 1945Widnes7–3WiganWilderspool28184£2600-0-02Raymond Fletcher and David Howes Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1991-100 1991 Queen Anne Press 0 35617852 8 Teams and scorers Widnes№Wigan teams Joe Bourke 1Martin RyanMick Roberts 2Gordon RatcliffeColin Hutton3Ernie AshcroftArthur Dagnall 4Ted TooheyAustin Malone 5Ted WardCharlie Reynolds 6Jack FlemingTommy McCue (c)7Tommy BradshawAlec Higgins8Ken GeeJack Hayes 9Joe EganHugh McDowell10George BanksRobert Roberts11Harry Atkinson Fred Higgins12Frank BartonHarry Millington13Jack Blan https://web.archive.org/web/20150220175723/http://wigan.rlfans.com/readarticle.php?article_id=182 20 February 2015 7score30HT0 Scorers TriesCharlie Reynolds (1)TTed Toohey (1) GoalsColin Hutton (2)GReferee Scoring – Try = three (3) points – Goal = two (2) points – Drop goal = two (2) points The road to success All the first round ties were played on a two leg (home and away) basis The first club named in each of the first round ties played the first leg at home the scores shown in the first round are the aggregate score over the two legs First round Second round Semifinals Final Widnes 52 Salford 2 Barrow 26 Warrington 21 Liverpool Stanley 5 Broughton Rangers 27 blank blank Rochdale Hornets 9 Swinton 11 Oldham 7 Wigan 24 Workington Town 20 St. Helens 29 blank blank Widnes 6 Barrow 0 Broughton Rangers bye Swinton 2 Wigan 8 St. Helens bye Widnes 10 Broughton Rangers 3 Wigan 18 St. Helens 5 Widnes 7 Wigan 3 1 * The first match in the Lancashire Cup competition to be played by the new club and at this ground (of Workington AFC) 2 * Wilderspool was the home ground of Warrington from 1883 to the end of the 2003 Summer season when they moved into the new purpose built Halliwell Jones Stadium. Wilderspool remained as a sports/Ruugby League ground and is/was used by Woolston Rovers/Warrington Wizards junior club. The ground had a final capacity of 9,000 although the record attendance was set in a Challenge cup third round match on 13 March 1948 when 34,304 spectators saw Warrington lose to Wigan 10–13. See also 1945–46 Northern Rugby Football League season Rugby league county cups References External links Saints Heritage Society https://web.archive.org/web/20120302024842/http://www.saints.org.uk/saints.org.uk/home/viewpage.php?page_id=9 2 March 2012 1896–97 Northern Rugby Football Union season at wigan.rlfans.com https://web.archive.org/web/20140202123900/http://wigan.rlfans.com/fusion_pages/index.php?page_id=319 2 February 2014 Hull&Proud Fixtures & Results 1896/1897 Widnes Vikings – One team, one passion Season In Review – 1896–97 The Northern Union at warringtonwolves.org Category:1945 in English rugby league Category:RFL Lancashire Cup