The 1946–47 Lancashire Cup was the thirty-fourth occasion on which the Lancashire Cup competition had been held.
Wigan won the trophy by beating Belle Vue Rangers by the score of 9–3.
The match was played at Station Road, Pendlebury, (historically in the county of Lancashire). The attendance was 21,648 and receipts were £2,658.
Although it could not have been known at this time, this was to be the first of Wigan's record breaking run of six consecutive Lancashire Cup victories.
It was also to be the first of two consecutive finals to be competed for by these two teams.
Background
The number of teams entering showed little change from before the war.
Leigh returned to the sport using a rented athletic stadium while their purpose built stadium was under construction.
Overall, the number of teams entering this year's competition increased by one with the return of Leigh bringing the total up to 13.
The same pre-war fixture format was retained. This season saw one bye and one "blank" or "dummy" fixture in the first round. The second round also had one bye, but now no "blank" fixture".
As last season, all the first round ties of the competition was played on the basis of two legged, home and away, ties. In addition, this season, the second round was also on a two leg, home and away basis.
Competition and results
Round 1 Involved 6 matches (with one bye and one "blank" fixture) and 13 clubs
Game NoFixture dateHome team Score Away teamVenueaggAttRecNotesRef 1Sat 07 Sep 1946Liverpool Stanley0–7Belle Vue RangersStanley Greyhound Stadium2Sat 07 Sep 1946St. Helens5–14LeighKnowsley Road10,0003Sat 07 Sep 1946Salford10–3WarringtonThe Willows4Sat 07 Sep 1946Widnes26–5BarrowNaughton Park5Sat 07 Sep 1946Wigan49–4Rochdale HornetsCentral Park6Sat 07 Sep 1946Workington Town2–8OldhamBorough Park7 Swintonbye8 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 14 Sep 1946Belle Vue Rangers11–5Liverpool StanleyBelle Vue Stadium18–52Sat 14 Sep 1946Leigh17–4St. HelensMadeley Park31–99,2003Sat 14 Sep 1946Warrington10–5SalfordWilderspool13–154Sat 14 Sep 1946Barrow10–3WidnesCraven Park15–295Sat 14 Sep 1946Rochdale Hornets5–32WiganAthletic Grounds9–816Sat 14 Sep 1946Oldham19–10Workington TownWatersheddings27–127 Swintonbye8 blankblank
Round 2 – quarterfinals – first leg Involved 3 matches (with one bye) and 7 clubs
Game NoFixture dateHome team Score Away teamVenueaggAttRecNotesRef 1Tue 24 Sep 1946Oldham20–8LeighWatersheddings2Wed 25 Sep 1946Swinton6–8WidnesStation Road3Wed 25 Sep 1946Wigan31–0SalfordCentral Park4Belle Vue Rangersbye
Round 2 – quarterfinals – second leg Involved 3 matches (with one bye) and 7 clubs. These are the reverse fixture from the first leg
Game NoFixture dateHome team Score Away teamVenueaggAttRecNotesRef 1Wed 02 Oct 1946Leigh6–11OldhamMadeley Park14–312Thu 03 Oct 1946Widnes9–2SwintonNaughton Park17–82Wed 02 Oct 1946Salford0–19WiganThe Willows0–503 Belle Vue Rangersbye
Round 3 – semifinals Involved 2 matches and 4 clubs
Game NoFixture dateHome team Score Away teamVenueaggAttRecNotesRef 1Tue 15 Oct 1946Oldham7–21WiganWatersheddings2Wed 16 Oct 1946Belle Vue Rangers5–0WidnesBelle Vue Stadium
Final Game NoFixture dateHome team Score Away teamVenueaggAttRecNotesRef Saturday 26 October 1946Wigan9–3Belle Vue RangersStation Road21,648£2,6584
Teams and scorers
Wigan№Belle Vue Rangers teams Martin Ryan1A. HarrisBrian Nordgren2T. TolanJohnny Lawrenson3J. WaringErnie Ashcroft4Stanley PowellGordon Ratcliffe5T. BarrCed Mountford6T. KennyTommy Bradshaw7Billy WatkinsKen Gee8D. ThomasJoe Egan9Glyn JonesGeorge Banks10A. GlendenningHarry Atkinson 11Elwyn GwytherBilly Blan12W. BrownJack Blan 13Dick Manning 9score37HT3 Scorers Tries Jack Blan (1)TDick Manning (1) GoalsJohnny Lawrenson (3)GRefereeAlbert Dobson (Pontefract) Scoring – Try = three (3) points – Goal = two (2) points – Drop goal = two (2) points
The road to success All the first and second round ties were played on a two leg (home and away) basis.
The first club named in each of the first and second round ties played the first leg at home.
the scores shown in the first and second round are the aggregate score over the two legs.
Notes and comments
The first Lancashire Cup match played by the newly name club Leigh's belated return to the sport after the war years The first Lancashire Cup match to be played at Leigh's temporary home 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 1946–47 Northern Rugby Football League season Rugby league county cups
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