The 1970–71 Rugby Football League season was the 76th season of rugby league football.
| 1970–71 Rugby Football League season | |
|---|---|
| League | Northern Rugby Football League |
| Champions |  St. Helens |
| League Leaders |  Wigan |
| Top point-scorer(s) | Kel Coslett 395 |
| Top try-scorer(s) |  Bob Haigh 40 Les Jones 40 |
Season summary
editSunday afternoon rugby was allowed for the first time by the RFL on 17 December 1967. Initially most clubs chose not to switch away from Saturday's despite competition from football. The first ever Sunday fixtures were Bradford Northern v York, and Leigh v Dewsbury.[1]
St. Helens won their sixth Championship when they beat Wigan 16–12 in the Championship Final. Wigan had ended the regular season as the league leaders.
The Challenge Cup Winners were Leigh when they beat Leeds 24–7 in the final.[2]
There was no county league competition this season, other than a break between the 1902–03 and 1906–07 seasons, and breaks for World War I and World War II, this was the first season in which the Lancashire League and Yorkshire League titles were no longer awarded.
Championship
edit| Team | Pld | W | D | L | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wigan | 34 | 30 | 0 | 4 | 60 |
| 2 | St. Helens | 34 | 29 | 0 | 5 | 58 |
| 3 | Leeds | 34 | 28 | 0 | 6 | 56 |
| 4 | Leigh | 34 | 26 | 0 | 8 | 52 |
| 5 | Wakefield Trinity | 34 | 24 | 1 | 9 | 49 |
| 6 | Keighley | 34 | 21 | 0 | 13 | 42 |
| 7 | Salford | 34 | 20 | 1 | 13 | 41 |
| 8 | Hull | 34 | 20 | 1 | 13 | 41 |
| 9 | Workington Town | 34 | 20 | 1 | 13 | 41 |
| 10 | Halifax | 34 | 20 | 0 | 14 | 40 |
| 11 | Dewsbury | 34 | 17 | 3 | 14 | 37 |
| 12 | Castleford | 34 | 18 | 0 | 16 | 36 |
| 13 | Hull Kingston Rovers | 34 | 18 | 0 | 16 | 36 |
| 14 | Batley | 34 | 16 | 2 | 16 | 34 |
| 15 | Huddersfield | 34 | 16 | 2 | 16 | 34 |
| 16 | Oldham | 34 | 12 | 7 | 15 | 31 |
| 17 | Bramley | 34 | 15 | 1 | 18 | 31 |
| 18 | Widnes | 34 | 14 | 2 | 18 | 30 |
| 19 | York | 34 | 14 | 1 | 19 | 29 |
| 20 | Featherstone Rovers | 34 | 14 | 1 | 19 | 29 |
| 21 | Barrow | 34 | 14 | 0 | 20 | 28 |
| 22 | Warrington | 34 | 13 | 2 | 19 | 28 |
| 23 | Swinton | 34 | 13 | 0 | 21 | 26 |
| 24 | Huyton | 34 | 11 | 2 | 21 | 24 |
| 25 | Rochdale Hornets | 34 | 9 | 3 | 22 | 21 |
| 26 | Blackpool Borough | 34 | 10 | 1 | 23 | 21 |
| 27 | Bradford Northern | 34 | 8 | 2 | 24 | 18 |
| 28 | Doncaster | 34 | 7 | 3 | 24 | 17 |
| 29 | Whitehaven | 34 | 8 | 1 | 25 | 17 |
| 30 | Hunslet | 34 | 6 | 1 | 27 | 13 |
| Champions | Play-offs |
Play-offs
editRound 1:
Hull 14 beat Workington Town 3.
Leigh 10 beat Hull Kingston Rovers 5.
St Helens 28 beat Huddersfield 5.
Wakefield Trinity 10 beat Castleford 4.
Round 2:
Wakefield Trinity 8 beat Leigh 5.
St Helens 30 beat Hull 5.
Semi-finals:
St Helens 22 beat Leeds 7.
Wigan 49 beat Wakefield Trinity 15.
Final
edit22 May 1971
|
| St Helens | 16 – 12 | Wigan |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Benyon, Blackwood Goals: Coslett (5) |
Tries: Ashurst, Robinson Goals: Ashurst (2), Tyrer |
Station Road, Swinton
Attendance: 21,745 Referee: E. Lawrinson (Warrington) Player of the Match: Bill Ashurst |
Challenge Cup
editLeigh beat Leeds 24–7 in the Challenge Cup Final at Wembley Stadium, London on Saturday 15 May 1971, in front of a crowd of 85,514.
This was Leigh's second Cup final win in two final appearances. To date it was also their last appearance in a Challenge Cup final.[3]
In the final, Lance Todd Trophy winner, Leigh's captain-coach, Alex Murphy,[4] was stretchered off after a clash with Leeds player, Syd Hynes. For his part in the "clash", Hynes was sent off.[5]
County cups
editLeigh beat St. Helens 7–4 to win the Lancashire County Cup, and Leeds beat Featherstone Rovers 23–7 to win the Yorkshire County Cup.
References
edit- ^ John Hesman - NAK Corporate World. "Sunday Rugby". Archived from the original on 2009-04-25. Retrieved 2009-08-08.
- ^ "1970-71 Season summary". Archived from the original on 2009-08-26. Retrieved 2009-08-08.
- ^ "RFL Challenge Cup Roll of Honour". Archived from the original on 2009-04-03. Retrieved 2009-08-07.
- ^ news.bbc.co.uk (27 February 2004). "Cup heroes: Alex Murphy". BBC Sport. UK: BBC. Retrieved 2010-02-10.
- ^ "Cup Final Sending Off". Archived from the original on 2009-10-04. Retrieved 2009-08-07.
Sources
edit- Saxton, Irvin (ed.). History of Rugby League: No.76 1970–1971. League Publications.
- 1970-71 Rugby Football League season at wigan.rlfans.com
- The Challenge Cup at The Rugby Football League website