1918–19 Lancashire Cup

The 1918–19 Lancashire Cup was the eleventh competition for this regional rugby league tournament and the first since 1914–15. This quickly arranged competition was won by the holders Rochdale Hornets who beat local rivals Oldham in the final at The Willows, Salford by a score of 22–0. The attendance at the final was 18,617 and receipts £1,365.

1918–19 Lancashire Cup
StructureRegional knockout competition
Teams12
WinnersRochdale Hornets
Runners-upOldham

Background

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The shortened 1918–19 (February–May) season began less than three months after the end of the First World War and the armistice of Compiègne.

A Wartime Emergency League had been operating since September 1918. This was cancelled, and the programme started tailing off in January 1919. A new shortened season was introduced with the traditional Lancashire and Yorkshire leagues, to cut travel costs and minimise the use of precious resources. The return of the Challenge Cup would have to wait until the following 1919–20 season, but the Northern Union did manager to re-introduce both the County Cups.

One pre-war club was lost – Runcorn, one of the founder members after the great schism of 1895, after taking part in the previous Wartime Emergency League, withdrew and folded. They were replaced by St Helens Recs (effectively the works team for Pilkington Glass) who had entered the 1915–16 Wartime Emergency League and took place in this, their first, Lancashire Cup.

The number of teams entering this year's competition was again 12 with four byes in the first round.

Competition and results

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[1]

Round 1

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Involved 4 matches (with four byes) and 12 clubs

Game No Fixture date Home team Score Away team Venue Att Rec Notes Ref
1 Sat 5 April 1919 Broughton Rangers 8–23 St Helens Recs The Cliff 1
2 Sat 5 April 1919 Leigh 5–12 Widnes Mather Lane [2]
3 Sat 5 April 1919 Rochdale Hornets 7–5 Salford Athletic Grounds
4 Sat 5 April 1919 St. Helens 11–5 Warrington Knowsley Road [3][4]
5 Barrow bye
6 Oldham bye
7 Wigan bye [5]
8 Swinton bye

Round 2 – quarterfinals

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Game No Fixture date Home team Score Away team Venue Att Rec Notes Ref
1 Sat 12 April 1919 Barrow 6–0 Widnes Little Park, Roose 2 [2]
2 Sat 12 April 1919 Oldham 16–8 St. Helens Watersheddings 3,000 [4]
3 Sat 12 April 1919 St Helens Recs 2–16 Rochdale Hornets City Road
4 Sat 12 April 1919 Wigan 18–0 Swinton Central Park [5]

Round 3 – semifinals

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Game No Fixture date Home team Score Away team Venue Att Rec Notes Ref
1 Sat 26 April 1919 Barrow 3–7 Oldham Little Park, Roose
2 Sat 26 April 1919 Rochdale Hornets 40–0 Wigan Athletic Grounds [5]

Final

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Game No Fixture date Home team Score Away team Venue Att Rec Notes Ref
Saturday 10 May 1919 Rochdale Hornets 22–0 Oldham The Willows 18,617 £1,365 3 -

Teams and scorers

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Rochdale Hornets Oldham
teams
team unknown 1 team unknown
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
22 score 0
8 HT 0
Scorers
Tries
unknown T
T
T
T
Goals
G
G
Drop Goals
DG
Referee

Scoring – Try = three (3) points – Goal = two (2) points – Drop goal = two (2) points

The road to success

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First round Second round Semifinals Final
            
Broughton Rangers 8
St Helens Recs 23
St Helens Recs 2
Rochdale Hornets 16
Rochdale Hornets 7
Salford 5
Rochdale Hornets 40
Wigan 0
Wigan
bye
Wigan 18
Swinton 0
Swinton
bye
Rochdale Hornets 22
Oldham 0
Barrow
bye
Barrow 6
Widnes 0
Leigh 5
Widnes 12
Barrow 3
Oldham 7
Oldham
bye
Oldham 16
St. Helens 8
St. Helens 11
Warrington 5

Notes and comments

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  • 1 The first game played in the Lancashire Cup by the "new" club.
  • 2 The first Lancashire Cup match played at Barrow's "new" ground.
  • 3 The Willows was the home ground of Salford.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Rugby League Project".
  2. ^ a b "Widnes Vikings – History – Season In Review – 1918–19".
  3. ^ "Warrington Wolves – Results Archive – 1897". Archived from the original on 6 July 2010.
  4. ^ a b "Saints Heritage Society – History – Season 1918–19".
  5. ^ a b c "Wigan "Cherry and White" archived results". Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
  6. ^ Raymond Fletcher and David Howes (1991). Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1991–1992. Queen Anne Press. ISBN 0 35617852 8.