The 1965–66 Rugby Football League season was the 71st season of rugby league football. A three-way county championship was also held, with comparative minnows Cumberland against Yorkshire and Lancashire.
| 1965–66 Rugby Football League season | |
|---|---|
| League | Northern Rugby Football League |
| Champions |  St. Helens |
| League Leaders | St. Helens |
| Top point-scorer(s) | Len Killeen 336 |
| Top try-scorer(s) | Len Killeen 32 Trevor Lake 32 |
Rule change edit
- The substitutes rule introduced in the previous season changed so that substitutions could be used for any reason, including tactical reasons, although they were still only allowed up to and including half-time.[1]
Season summary edit
The BBC2 Floodlit Trophy competition was launched in this season with the BBC televising matches on Tuesday nights. The competition was used to trial the four-tackle rule, an experiment in ending the unlimited tackles that had been a by-product from the introduction of the play-the-ball in 1906.[1][2]
St. Helens finished the regular season as league leaders before winning their fourth Championship when they beat Halifax 35–12 in the play-off final.
The Challenge Cup winners were St. Helens who beat Wigan 21–2 in the final.
St. Helens won the Lancashire League, and Leeds won the Yorkshire League.
At the end of the season, Eric Ashton became the first Rugby League player to receive an award from Her Majesty, the Queen. He was awarded the MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List.[3]
Championship edit
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | St. Helens | 34 | 28 | 1 | 5 | 57 |
| 2 | Swinton | 34 | 27 | 1 | 6 | 55 |
| 3 | Wigan | 34 | 27 | 0 | 7 | 54 |
| 4 | Wakefield Trinity | 34 | 25 | 2 | 7 | 52 |
| 5 | Castleford | 34 | 23 | 3 | 8 | 49 |
| 6 | Leeds | 34 | 24 | 0 | 10 | 48 |
| 7 | Bradford Northern | 34 | 21 | 1 | 12 | 43 |
| 8 | Workington Town | 34 | 21 | 1 | 12 | 43 |
| 9 | Oldham | 34 | 20 | 3 | 11 | 43 |
| 10 | Halifax | 34 | 21 | 0 | 13 | 42 |
| 11 | Huddersfield | 34 | 20 | 0 | 14 | 40 |
| 12 | Hull Kingston Rovers | 34 | 20 | 0 | 14 | 40 |
| 13 | Hull | 34 | 20 | 0 | 14 | 40 |
| 14 | Widnes | 34 | 17 | 0 | 17 | 34 |
| 15 | Featherstone Rovers | 34 | 17 | 0 | 17 | 34 |
| 16 | Warrington | 34 | 16 | 1 | 17 | 33 |
| 17 | Hunslet | 34 | 15 | 2 | 17 | 32 |
| 18 | Salford | 34 | 15 | 1 | 18 | 31 |
| 19 | Keighley | 34 | 15 | 0 | 19 | 30 |
| 20 | Leigh | 34 | 14 | 1 | 19 | 29 |
| 21 | Barrow | 34 | 13 | 1 | 20 | 27 |
| 22 | Bramley | 34 | 12 | 2 | 20 | 26 |
| 23 | York | 34 | 11 | 0 | 23 | 22 |
| 24 | Dewsbury | 34 | 10 | 1 | 23 | 21 |
| 25 | Rochdale Hornets | 34 | 10 | 0 | 24 | 20 |
| 26 | Liverpool City | 34 | 9 | 2 | 23 | 20 |
| 27 | Blackpool Borough | 34 | 9 | 1 | 24 | 19 |
| 28 | Batley | 34 | 6 | 2 | 26 | 14 |
| 29 | Doncaster | 34 | 6 | 0 | 28 | 12 |
| 30 | Whitehaven | 34 | 4 | 2 | 28 | 10 |
Play-offs edit
| Round of 16 | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | |||||||||||
| St Helens | 35 | |||||||||||||
| Warrington | 7 | |||||||||||||
| St Helens | 15 | |||||||||||||
| Oldham | 10 | |||||||||||||
| Workington Town | 6 | |||||||||||||
| Oldham | 7 | |||||||||||||
| St Helens | 14 | |||||||||||||
| Hull Kingston Rovers | 6 | |||||||||||||
| Castleford | 10 | |||||||||||||
| Hull Kingston Rovers | 13 | |||||||||||||
| Hull Kingston Rovers | 10 | |||||||||||||
| Wakefield Trinity | 9 | |||||||||||||
| Wakefield Trinity | 36 | |||||||||||||
| Hull | 6 | |||||||||||||
| St Helens | 35 | |||||||||||||
| Halifax | 12 | |||||||||||||
| Wigan | 27 | |||||||||||||
| Widnes | 10 | |||||||||||||
| Wigan | 22 | |||||||||||||
| Leeds | 5 | |||||||||||||
| Leeds | 19 | |||||||||||||
| Huddersfield | 7 | |||||||||||||
| Wigan | 12 | |||||||||||||
| Halifax | 25 | |||||||||||||
| Bradford Northern | 7 | |||||||||||||
| Halifax | 21 | |||||||||||||
| Halifax | 33 | |||||||||||||
| Swinton | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Swinton | 43 | |||||||||||||
| Featherstone Rovers | 2 | |||||||||||||
Final edit
The 1966 Championship Final was played between Halifax and St. Helens on Saturday, 28 May 1966 at Station Road Ground before a crowd of 30,634.[4] St Helens won 35–12 with their hat trick-scoring prop forward, Albert Halsall being awarded the Harry Sunderland Trophy as man-of-the-match.
28 May 1966
|
| St Helens | 35 – 12 | Halifax |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Killeen (3), Halsall (3), A. Barrow Goals: Killeen (6), Murphy |
Tries: Baker, Fogerty Goals: Cooper |
Station Road, Swinton
Attendance: 30,634 Referee: J. Manley (Warrington) Player of the Match: Albert Halsall |
Challenge Cup edit
St Helens had reached the final by beating Wakefield Trinity 10–0 away on 26 February in round one; Swinton 16–4 at home on 19 March in round two; Hull Kingston Rovers 12–10 at home on 2 April in round three and Dewsbury 12–5 on neutral ground on 16 April in the semi-final.[5]
Wigan had reached the final by beating Halifax 9–4 at home on 26 February in round one; Whitehaven 40–6 at home on 19 March in round two; Bradford Northern 15–6 away on 6 April in round three and Leeds 7–2 in the semi-final at Huddersfield on 23 April.
The Challenge Cup final was played at Wembley Stadium, London on 21 May 1966, in front of a crowd of 98,536. Prime Minister Harold Wilson was introduced to the players before kick-off.[6] St Helens led 9–2 at half time and went on to defeat Wigan 21–2. Saints' scorers were John Mantle (1 try), Tommy Bishop (1 try), Len Killeen (1 try, 5 goals), and Alex Murphy (1 goal). Wigan's scorer was Laurie Gilfedder (1 goal). This was St Helens' third Cup final win in seven final appearances.[7]
County cups edit
Warrington beat Rochdale Hornets 16–5 to win the Lancashire Cup, and Bradford Northern beat Hunslet 17–8 to win the Yorkshire Cup.
BBC2 Floodlit Trophy edit
The BBC2 Floodlit Trophy winners were Castleford who beat St. Helens 4–0 in the final.[8]
References edit
In-line edit
- ^ a b Top ten: Rugby league rules, Rugby League World, Aug 2009: 61
- ^ Bottom ten: Rugby league rules, Rugby League World, Aug 2009: 62
- ^ Fletcher, Raymond; David Howes (1995). Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1995-1996. London: Headline Book Publishing. p. 468. ISBN 0-7472-7817-2.
- ^ "St Helens 35 def. Halifax RLFC 12". rugbyleagueproject.org. Shawn Dollin, Andrew Ferguson and Bill Bates. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
- ^ "Saints Heritage Site Season records". Archived from the original on 2012-03-02. Retrieved 2009-08-07.
- ^ "Rugby League - Challenge Cup Final - Wigan v St. Helens - Wembley Stadium". friendsreunited.com. Friends Reunited Limited. Archived from the original on 2013-10-13. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
- ^ "RFL Challenge Cup Roll of Honour". Archived from the original on 2009-04-03. Retrieved 2009-08-07.
- ^ "1965-66 Season summary". Archived from the original on 2009-08-26. Retrieved 2009-08-08.
General edit
Sources edit
- Saxton, Irvin (ed.). History of Rugby League: No.71 1965–1966. League Publications.
- 1965-66 Rugby Football League season at wigan.rlfans.com
- The Challenge Cup at The Rugby Football League website