The 1971–72 Yorkshire Cup was the sixty-fourth occasion on which the Yorkshire Cup competition had been held.
Hull Kingston Rovers won the trophy by beating Castleford by the score of 11–7. The match was played at Belle Vue, in the City of Wakefield, now in West Yorkshire. The attendance was 5,536 and receipts were £1,589. The attendance was a Yorkshire Cup final record, the lowest ever, a record which would never be beaten. This is the second time in four seasons that Castleford, (who have never won the trophy, to date) finished as runner-up.
Background Due to the introduction of a new knock-out competition (the Player's No.6 Trophy), and the New Zealand national team's upcoming tour of Great Britain, the Yorkshire County Committee decided to stage the county cup much earlier than previous seasons, with the first round taking place at the end of July. Leeds objected to the decision, and withdrew from the competition due to Headingley Stadium being used for cricket during the summer.
Competition and results First Round The committee refused to accept Leeds' withdrawal from the competition, and included them in the draw for the first round. Leeds re-affirmed their decision not to take part in the competition, and Bramley were consequently awarded a walkover. Hull Kingston Rovers were also given a walkover after Dewsbury were forced to withdraw due a pay dispute with their players. Game NoFixture dateHome teamScoreAway teamVenueAttRef1Sat 31 Jul 1971Castleford24–5BatleyWheldon Road 2Sat 31 Jul 1971Hull F.C.9–2Featherstone RoversBoulevard3Sun 1 Aug 1971Doncaster12–4Bradford NorthernTattersfield4Sun 1 Aug 1971Halifax19–10YorkThrum Hall5Sun 1 Aug 1971Hunslet10–17KeighleyParkside6Sun 1 Aug 1971Wakefield Trinity11–4HuddersfieldBelle Vue7Bramleyw/oLeeds8Hull Kingston Roversw/oDewsbury
Second Round Involved 4 matches and 8 clubs
Game NoFixture dateHome teamScoreAway teamVenueAttRef1Fri 6 Aug 1971Castleford13–10Wakefield TrinityWheldon Road 2Fri 6 Aug 1971Keighley16–12Hull F.C.Lawkholme Lane3Sun 8 Aug 1971Bramley18–12HalifaxMcLaren Field4Sun 8 Aug 1971Doncaster14–24Hull Kingston RoversTattersfield
Semi-finals Involved 2 matches and 4 clubs Game NoFixture dateHome teamScoreAway teamVenueAttRef1Fri 13 Aug 1971Castleford12–7KeighleyWheldon Road 2Sun 15 Aug 1971Hull Kingston Rovers25–6BramleyCraven Park (1)
Final Game NoFixture dateHome teamScoreAway teamVenueAttRecRefSaturday 21 August 1971Hull Kingston Rovers11–7CastlefordBelle Vue5,536£1,589
Teams and scorers Hull Kingston RoversNo.Castleford Teams Ian Markham1Derek EdwardsMike Stephenson2Derek FosterPhil lip "Phil" Coupland3Steve 'Knocker' NortonGeorge Kirkpatrick4Keith WorsleyPaul Longstaff5Alan LowndesRoger Millward (c) 6Danny HargravePaul Daley7Gary StephensSteve Wiley8Dennis HartleyPeter Flanagan9Tony MillerJohn Millington10Ian Van BellenCliff Wallis11Brian LockwoodEric Palmer12Alan DickinsonJoe Brown13Graham BlakewaySubsJohn Moore14Glyn JonesColin Cooper (for Eric Palmer)15Alan Ackroyd (for Ian Van Bellen)Johnny WhiteleyCoachHarry Poole 11score77HT3 Scorers Tries Paul Longstaff (1)TDerek Foster (1) Goals Roger Millward (4)GAlan Ackroyd (2)RefereeAlexander Givvons, Jr. (Oldham)White Rose Trophy for Man of the matchIan Markham - Hull KR - Sponsored by
The road to success
See also 1971–72 Northern Rugby Football League season Rugby league county cups
References
External links