The 1968–69 Rugby League Lancashire Cup competition was the fifty-sixth edition of the Lancashire Cup. St. Helens won the trophy by defeating Oldham by the score of 30-2. The match was played at Central Park, Wigan, (historically in the county of Lancashire). The attendance was 17,008, and receipts totalled £4644. This was the second of two consecutive Lancashire Cup final victories for St. Helens, and notably, the seventh time the club would win the trophy in nine successive seasons.
Background
The total number of teams entering the competition remained unchanged at 14. The same fixture format was retained. Due to the number of participating clubs, this resulted in no byes but one “blank” or “dummy” fixture in the first round, and one bye in the second round.
Competition and results
Round 1 Involved 7 matches (with no bye but one “blank” fixture) and 14 clubs
Game NoFixture dateHome team Score Away teamVenueAttRecNotesRef 1Fri 06 Sep 1968Rochdale Hornets5-17OldhamAthletic Grounds2Fri 06 Sep 1968Salford14-3WarringtonThe Willows3Fri 06 Sep 1968Widnes16-15HuytonNaughton Park1 4Sat 07 Sep 1968Leigh15-15Blackpool BoroughHilton Park5Sat 07 Sep 1968St. Helens19-16WiganKnowsley Road135006Sat 07 Sep 1968Swinton11-14Workington TownStation Road7Sat 0704 Sep 1968Whitehaven19-9BarrowRecreation Ground8 blankblank
Round 1 - Replay Involved 1 match
Game NoFixture dateHome team Score Away teamVenueAttRecNotesRef 1Wed 11 Sep 1968Blackpool Borough15-32LeighBorough Park
Round 2 - Quarter-finals Involved 3 matches (with one bye) and 7 clubs
Game NoFixture dateHome team Score Away teamVenueAttRecNotesRef 1Mon 16 Sep 1968Oldham7-5Workington TownWatersheddings2Tue 18 Sep 1968Widnes17-20St. HelensNaughton Park103003Sat 22 Sep 1968Whitehaven4-17SalfordRecreation Ground4 Leighbye
Round 3 – Semi-finals Involved 2 matches and 4 clubs
Game NoFixture dateHome team Score Away teamVenueAttRecNotesRef 1Mon 07 Oct 1968Leigh6-17St. HelensHilton Park127502Wed 09 Oct 1968Salford9-12OldhamThe Willows
Final Game NoFixture dateHome team Score Away teamVenueAttRecNotesRef Friday 25 October 1968St. Helens30-2OldhamCentral Park17,008£4,6442
Teams and scorers
St. Helens№Oldham teams Austin Rhodes1Martin MurphyFrank Wilson2Mike ElliottBilly Benyon3Phil LarderFrank Myler4Jim McCormackCennyd Williams5Derek WhiteheadAlan Whittle6Wilf BriggsTommy Bishop7 /John Warlow8Ken WilsonBill Sayer9Kevin TaylorCliff Watson10Geoff FletcherGraham Rees11Robert IrvingEric Chisnall12Charlie McCourtKel Coslett13Arthur HughesJohn Houghton14Trevor BuckleyBrian Hogan15Dennis Maders (for Geoff Fletcher)Cliff EvansCoach 30score20HT2 Scorers Tries Frank Wilson (2)TCen Williams (1)TTommy Bishop (1)TGraham Rees (1)TEric Chisnall (1)T Goals Kel Coslett (6)GWilf Briggs (1)RefereeWilliam "Billy" H. Thompson (Huddersfield) Scoring - Try = three (3) points - Goal = two (2) points - Drop goal = two (2) points
The road to success
Notes and comments 1 * This was the first Lancashire Cup match played by new/newly renamed club Huyton (who were "homeless" for this their first season) 2 * Central Park was the home ground of Wigan with a final capacity of 18,000, although the record attendance was 47,747 for Wigan v St Helens 27 March 1959
See also 1968–69 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