The 1965–66 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy was the inaugural season of the BBC2 Floodlit Trophy competition. Castleford won the trophy by beating St. Helens with a score of 4–0. The match was played at Knowsley Road, Eccleston, St Helens, Merseyside. The attendance was 11,510 and receipts were £3,548. This was to be the first of Castleford's three victories in successive seasons in the first three Floodlit competitions.
Background This season there were only eight teams entering, all by invite, playing eleven matches for which the BBC paid the RFL a grand total of £9,000.00. The entrants included the seven clubs with permanent floodlights: Castleford, Leigh, Oldham, St Helens, Swinton, Warrington and Widnes together with Leeds, who installed floodlights in September 1966. The competition was played in the form of a mini-league with the semi-finals and final stages being on a knock out basis.
Competition and results Qualifying rounds Each team played two matches in the qualifying round. All teams played one home game each except Leeds, who played both games away from home as their floodlights still needed to be installed.
The four teams with the best points difference qualified for the semi-finals.
Round 1 Game NoFixture DateHome teamScoreAway teamVenueAttRecNotesRef1Tue 6 Oct 1965St. Helens25–19LeighKnowsley Road130002Tue 12 Oct 1965Warrington10–20WidnesWilderspool3Tue 19 Oct 1965Swinton21–5OldhamStation Road4Tue 26 Oct 1965Castleford7–7LeedsWheldon Road
Round 2 Game NoFixture DateHome teamScoreAway teamVenueAttRecNotesRef1Tue 2 Nov 1965Leigh13–9WarringtonHilton Park2Tue 9 Nov 1965Widnes19–8SwintonNaughton Park3Tue 16 Nov 1965St. Helens21–9LeedsKnowsley Road56004Tue 25 Nov 1965Oldham4–6CastlefordWatersheddings
Table
PosClubP WD LPFPAPtsPD1Widnes220039184212St. Helens220046284183Swinton21012924254Castleford21101311325Leigh210132342-26Leeds201116281-127Warrington200219330-148Oldham20029270-18 Pos = Finishing position P = Games played W = Wins D = Draw L = Lose PF = Points scored PA = Points against Pts = League points PD = Points scored difference
Semi-finals Game NoFixture DateHome teamScoreAway teamVenueAttRecNotesRef1Tue 30 Nov 1965Widnes9–12CastlefordNaughton Park2Tue 7 Dec 1965St. Helens9–5SwintonKnowsley Road9000
Final Game NoFixture DateHome teamScoreAway teamVenueAttRecNotesRefTuesday 14 December 1965St. Helens0–4CastlefordKnowsley Road11,510£3,5481
Teams and scorers Castleford№St. Helens teams Derek Edwards1Frank BarrowColin Battye2Tom van VollenhovenMalcolm Battye3David WoodRon Willett4Billy BenyonTrevor Briggs5Len KilleenAlan "Chuck" Hardisty6Alex MurphyRoger Millward7Bob ProsserAbe Terry8Ray FrenchJohn Ward9Robert "Bob" DagnallClive Dickinson10Cliff WatsonWiliam "Bill" Bryant11Merv HicksJohn Taylor12John MantlePeter Small13Doug LaughtonTrevor Bedford (unused?)14John Walker (unused?)15George ClintonCoachJoe Coen 4score02HT0 Scorers Goals Ron Willett (2)GRefereeLaurie Gant (Wakefield) Scoring - Try = three (3) points - Goal = two (2) points - Drop goal = two (2) points
The play-offs
See also 1965–66 Northern Rugby Football League season 1965 Lancashire Cup 1965 Yorkshire Cup BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Rugby league county cups
References
External links