The 1972–73 Yorkshire Cup was the sixty-fifth occasion on which the Yorkshire Cup competition had been held.
Leeds winning the trophy by beating Dewsbury by the score of 36–9 in what would be Dewsbury's last appearance in a Yorkshire Cup final
The match was played at Odsal in the City of Bradford, now in West Yorkshire. The attendance was 7,806 and receipts were £2,659
This was Leeds third victory (and the first of two consecutive victories) in what would be eight times in the space of thirteen seasons
Background The staging of the previous season's Yorkshire Cup during July and August was deemed a financial failure, and the competition reverted to its usual place in the calendar between August and October.
For the first time in its history, the competition was sponsored after agreeing a deal with Esso.
Competition and results
First Round Involved 8 matches (with no byes) and 16 clubs Game NoFixture dateHome teamScoreAway teamVenueAttRecNotesRef1Fri 25 Aug 1972Huddersfield26–5DoncasterFartown2Fri 25 Aug 1972Hull F.C.8–19LeedsBoulevard3Sat 26 Aug 1972Bramley16–9YorkMcLaren Field4Sun 27 Aug 1972Wakefield Trinity38–17KeighleyBelle Vue5Sun 27 Aug 1972Dewsbury19–5CastlefordCrown Flatt6Sun 27 Aug 1972Featherstone Rovers38–8BatleyPost Office Road7Sun 27 Aug 1972Hull Kingston Rovers36–27Bradford NorthernCraven Park (1)8Sun 27 Aug 1972Hunslet8–76HalifaxParkside
Second Round Involved 4 matches and 8 clubs
Game NoFixture dateHome teamScoreAway teamVenueAttRecNotesRef1Wed 5 Sep 1972Leeds36–5Featherstone RoversHeadingley2Wed 6 Sep 1972Bramley8–20DewsburyMcLaren Field3Wed 6 Sep 1972Huddersfield12–8Hull Kingston RoversFartown4Thu 7 Sep 1972Wakefield Trinity9–11HalifaxBelle Vue
Semi-finals Involved 2 matches and 4 clubs Game NoFixture dateHome teamScoreAway teamVenueAttRecNotesRef1Wed 20 Sep 1972Dewsbury19–10HalifaxCrown Flatt2Wed 20 Sep 1972Leeds26–13HuddersfieldHeadingley
Final Game NoFixture dateHome teamScoreAway teamVenueAttRecNotesRefSaturday 7 October 1972Leeds36–9DewsburyOdsal7,806£2,659
Teams and scorers LeedsNo.Dewsbury Teams John Holmes1Adrian RushtonAlan Smith2Greg AshcroftSyd Hynes3Alan ChildeLes Dyl4Terry DayJohn Atkinson5Jeff YowardAlan Hardisty (c) 6Allan AgarKeith Hepworth7Alan BatesTerry Clawson8Graham BellDavid Ward9Mike StephensonBill Ramsey10Trevor LowePhil Cookson11Jeff GrayshonGraham Eccles12John BatesRay Batten13Steve HankinsJohn Langley (for Hepworth)14Steve Lee (for Bates)Tony Fisher (for Clawson)15Harry Beverley (for Bell) Derek TurnerCoachTommy Smales 36score915HT2 Scorers Tries John Holmes (3)TGreg Ashcroft (1)Les Dyl (2)TJohn AtkinsonTAlan Hardisty (1)TGraham Eccles (1)T Goals Syd Hynes (1)GAlan Bates (3)Terry Clawson (5)GRefereeMichael "Mick" J. Naughton (Widnes)White Rose Trophy for Man of the matchJohn Holmes - Leeds - sponsored byCompetition SponsorEsso Scoring - Try = three points - Goal = two points - Drop goal = one point
The road to success
See also 1972–73 Northern Rugby Football League season Rugby league county cups
Notes
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