The 1993–94 Regal Trophy was a British rugby league knockout tournament. It was the 23rd season that the competition was held, and was the fifth staging of the competition since it was re-named the Regal Trophy.

1993–94 Regal Trophy
StructureNational knockout championship
Teams48
WinnersCastleford
Runners-upWigan

Castleford won the final, beating the pre-match favourites Wigan by the score of 33-2. The match was played at Headingley, Leeds in front of an attendance of 15,626.

Background

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This season saw virtually a complete re-vamping of the competition for instance; The Preliminary round was renamed "First Round", with every other succeeding round being renamed. The (newly named) First Round now consisted of 16 matches involving 32 clubs, with a further 16 clubs being given byes into the Second Round. The number of entrants was further increased by inviting eleven of the top junior clubs. The inclusion of two French clubs continued with the inclusion of AS Saint Estève. The sixteen First Round winners added to the sixteen clubs given byes, gave a total of entrants into the second round as thirty-two. There were no drawn matches in the competition this season.

Competition and results

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[1][2]

Round 1 - First Round

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[3] Involved 16 matches and 32 clubs, with 16 byes

Game No Fixture Date Home Team Score Away Team Venue Att Rec Notes Ref
1 Fri 29 Oct 1993 Dewsbury 56-10 West Bowling Mount Pleasant 616 1
2 Sun 31 Oct 1993 Barrow 54-12 Leigh Miners' Welfare Craven Park 1140 2
3 Sun 31 Oct 1993 Batley 64-1 Queens Mount Pleasant 608 3
4 Sun 31 Oct 1993 Bramley 17-8 Woolston Rovers McLaren Field 510 4
5 Sun 31 Oct 1993 Carlisle 36-24 Carcassonne Gifford Park 593 5
6 Sun 31 Oct 1993 Doncaster 62-4 Myson Bentley Road Stadium/Tattersfield 858 6
7 Sun 31 Oct 1993 Highfield 30-22 Ellenborough Hoghton Road Stadium 227 7
8 Sun 31 Oct 1993 Huddersfield 36-8 Irlam Hornets Leeds Road 1705 8 [4]
9 Sun 31 Oct 1993 Hunslet 30-19 Chorley Borough (2) Elland Road 299
10 Sun 31 Oct 1993 Keighley Cougars 72-12 Nottingham City Cougar Park 2283 9
11 Sun 31 Oct 1993 London Crusaders 48-16 AS Saint Estève Barnet Copthall 746 10
12 Sun 31 Oct 1993 Rochdale Hornets 80-10 Blackpool Gladiators Spotland 863
13 Sun 31 Oct 1993 Ryedale-York 66-14 Hemel Stags Ryedale Stadium 835 11
14 Sun 31 Oct 1993 Swinton 24-13 Saddleworth Rangers Gigg Lane 468 12
15 Sun 31 Oct 1993 Whitehaven 46-0 Egremont Recreation Ground 1480 13
16 Sun 31 Oct 1993 Workington Town 74-6 Wigan St Patricks Derwent Park 1464 14

Round 2 Second Round

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[3] Involved 16 matches and 32 clubs. The 16 winners of the first round were joined by the 16 First Division clubs in the second round.

Game No Fixture Date Home Team Score Away Team Venue Att Rec Notes Ref
1 Fri 12 Nov 1993 Dewsbury 6-20 St. Helens Mount Pleasant 2272 [5]
2 Sat 13 Nov 1993 Salford 21-12 Leeds The Willows 1799
3 Sun 14 Nov 1993 Barrow 8-28 Bradford Northern Craven Park 2796
4 Sun 14 Nov 1993 Batley 8-6 Sheffield Eagles Mount Pleasant 1278
5 Sun 14 Nov 1993 Carlisle 28-12 Wakefield Trinity Gifford Park 746 [6]
6 Sun 14 Nov 1993 Halifax 19-10 Keighley Cougars Thrum Hall 7321
7 Sun 14 Nov 1993 Highfield 8-26 Oldham Hoghton Road Stadium 880
8 Sun 14 Nov 1993 Leigh 20-12 Huddersfield Hilton Park 3407 [4]
9 Sun 14 Nov 1993 London Crusaders 26-12 Featherstone Rovers Barnet Copthall 981
10 Sun 14 Nov 1993 Rochdale Hornets 10-11 Bramley Spotland 730
11 Sun 14 Nov 1993 Ryedale-York 12-11 Workington Town Ryedale Stadium 1456
12 Sun 14 Nov 1993 Swinton 14-36 Hull F.C. Gigg Lane 851 15 [7]
13 Sun 14 Nov 1993 Warrington 58-16 Hunslet Wilderspool 3037 [8]
14 Sun 14 Nov 1993 Whitehaven 8-22 Wigan Recreation Ground 5185 16 [2]
15 Sun 14 Nov 1993 Widnes 24-4 Doncaster Naughton Park 3075 17 [9]
16 Mon 15 Nov 1993 Hull Kingston Rovers 12-16 Castleford Craven Park (2) 2724

Round 3 - Third Round

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[10] Involved 8 matches and 16 Clubs

Game No Fixture Date Home Team Score Away Team Venue Att Rec Notes Ref
1 Sat 11 Dec 1993 St. Helens 8-16 Warrington Knowsley Road 5366 [5][8]
2 Sun 12 Dec 1993 Carlisle 34-4 Bramley Gifford Park 516
3 Sun 12 Dec 1993 Hull F.C. 10-6 Widnes Boulevard 3412 18 [7][9]
4 Sun 12 Dec 1993 Oldham 8-16 Wigan Watersheddings 6342 19 [2]
5 Sun 12 Dec 1993 Ryedale-York 10-42 London Crusaders Ryedale Stadium 741
6 Mon 13 Dec 1993 Castleford 54-14 Leigh Wheldon Road 2116
7 Tue 14 Dec 1993 Batley 8-12 Salford Mount Pleasant 809
8 Thu 16 Dec 1993 Bradford Northern 16-8 Halifax Odsal 5057

Round 4 -Quarter Finals

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[11] Involved 4 matches with 8 clubs

Game No Fixture Date Home Team Score Away Team Venue Att Rec Notes Ref
Sat 18 Dec 1993 Warrington 10-27 Wigan Wilderspool 7321 20, 21 [2][8]
Sun 19 Dec 1993 Castleford 44-4 Carlisle Wheldon Road 2624 20
Sun 19 Dec 1993 London Crusaders 10-22 Bradford Northern Barnet Copthall 1878 20
Sun 19 Dec 1993 Salford 26-6 Hull F.C. The Willows 3207 20, 22 [7]

Round 5 – Semi-Finals

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[12] Involved 2 matches and 4 Clubs

Game No Fixture Date Home Team Score Away Team Venue Att Rec Notes Ref
Sat 1 Jan 1994 Bradford Northern 10-23 Castleford Odsal 8351
Sat 8 Jan 1994 Salford 12-18 Wigan The Willows 7483 [2]

Final

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22 January 1994
Castleford 33 – 2 Wigan
Tries: Ketteridge (2), Nikau, Anderson, Crooks
Goals: Crooks (6)
Drop goals: Kemp
[13]
Goals: Botica
Headingley, Leeds
Attendance: 15,626
Referee: David Campbell (Widnes)
Player of the Match: Martin Ketteridge

Teams and scorers

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[14]

Castleford Wigan
Teams
Graham Steadman 1 Joe Lydon
St. John Ellis 2 Jason Robinson
Richie Blackmore 3 Barrie-Jon Mather
Grant Anderson 4 Gary Connolly
Simon Middleton 5 Martin Offiah
Tony Kemp 6 Frano Botica
Mike Ford 7 Shaun Edwards
Lee Crooks 8 Kelvin Skerrett
Richard Russell 9 Martin Dermott
Martin Ketteridge 10 Andy Platt
Tony Morrison 11 Neil Cowie
Ian Smales 12 Andy Farrell
Tawera Nikau 13 Phil Clarke
Andy Hay (for Grant Anderson 63-mins) 14 Sam Panapa (for Neil Cowie 30-mins)
Dean Sampson (for Martin Ketteridge 74-mins) 15 Mick Cassidy
John Joyner Coach John Dorahy

Prize money

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As part of the sponsorship deal and funds, the prize money awarded to the competing teams for this season is as follows:[15]

Finish Position Cash Prize No. receiving prize Total Cash
Winner £35,000 1 £35,000
Runner-up £18,500 1 £18,500
semi-finalist £9,750 2 £19,500
quarter-finalist £6,225 4 £24,900
loser in Rd 3 £4,000 8 £32,000
loser in Rd 2 £2,650 16 £42,400
Professional Clubs in Rd 1 £2,650 18 £47,700
Amateur Clubs in Rd 1 £1,000 14 £14,000
Total prize money £234,000
Development fund £126,000
Grand Total £360,000

The road to success

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This tree excludes the First Round fixtures

Second round Third round Fourth round Semifinals Final
               
Ryedale-York 12
Workington Town 11
Ryedale-York 10
London Crusaders 42
London Crusaders 26
Featherstone Rovers 12
London Crusaders 10
Bradford Northern 22
Barrow 8
Bradford Northern 28
Bradford Northern 16
Halifax 8
Halifax 19
Keighley Cougars 10
Bradford Northern 10
Castleford 23
Hull Kingston Rovers 12
Castleford 16
Castleford 54
Leigh 14
Leigh 20
Huddersfield 12
Castleford 44
Carlisle 4
Carlisle 28
Wakefield Trinity 12
Carlisle 34
Bramley 4
Rochdale Hornets 10
Bramley 11
Castleford 33
Wigan 2
Batley 8
Sheffield Eagles 6
Batley 8
Salford 12
Salford 21
Leeds 12
Salford 26
Hull F.C. 6
Swinton 14
Hull F.C. 36
Hull F.C. 10
Widnes 6
Widnes 24
Doncaster 4
Salford 12
Wigan 18
Dewsbury 6
St. Helens 20
St. Helens 8
Warrington 16
Warrington 58
Hunslet 16
Warrington 10
Wigan 27
Highfield 8
Oldham 26
Oldham 8
Wigan 16
Whitehaven 8
Wigan 22

Notes and comments

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1 * West Bowling are a junior (or amateur) club from Bradford
2 * Leigh Miners' Welfare are a Junior (amateur) club from Leigh (formed by merger of Astley & Tyldesley and Hope Rangers - and now Leigh Miners Rangers)[16]
3 * Queens are a Junior (amateur) club from Leeds
4 * Woolston Rovers are a Junior (amateur) club from Warrington, becoming Warrington Woolston Rovers in 2003 and Warrington Wizards in 2002. the ground is the old Warrington Home Ground of Wilderspool [17][18]
5 * Carcassonne played in the French League at Stade Albert Domec
6 * Myson are a Junior (amateur) club from Hull
7 * Ellenborough Rangers are a Junior (amateur) club from the Ellenborough suburb of Maryport, Cumbria[19]
8 * Irlam Hornets ARLFC are a junior club from Irlam, Salford, playing at Cutnook Lane[20]
9 * Wigan official archives[2] gives the club name as Nottingham Borough. There appear to be no other references anywhere to this name and assume it is an misprint
10 * AS Saint Estève was a French rugby league team from Perpignan, which in 2000 it merged with nearby neighbours XIII Catalan to form Union Treiziste Catalaneto compete in the Super Leagueas the Catalans Dragons.
11 * Hemel Stags are a semi professional club based in Hemel Hempstead and playing at the Pennine Way stadium (capacity 2000)[21]
12 * Saddleworth Rangers are a Junior (amateur) club from Oldham
13 * Egremont are a Junior (amateur) club from Cumbria[22]
14 * Wigan St Patricks are a Junior (amateur) club from Wigan[23]
15 * RUGBYLEAGUEproject[1] gives the attendance as 851 but Hull official archives[7] gives it as 819
16 * RUGBYLEAGUEproject[1] gives the attendance as 5,185 but Wigan official archives[2] gives it as 5,128
17 * RUGBYLEAGUEproject[1] gives the attendance as 3,075 but Widnes official archives[9] gives it as 3,074
18 * RUGBYLEAGUEproject[1] and Widnes official archives[9] gives the attendance as 3,412 but Hull official archives[7] gives it as 3,421
19 * RUGBYLEAGUEproject[1] gives the attendance as 6,342 but Wigan official archives[2] gives it as 6,500
20 * Wigan official archives - special details[11] give this as the third round, obviously a mis-print
21 * RUGBYLEAGUEproject[1] gives the attendance as 7,321 but Wigan official archives[2] gives it as 7,231
22 * RUGBYLEAGUEproject[1] and Wigan official archives[2] gives the score as 26-6 but Hull official archives[7] gives it as 24-6
23 * Headingley, Leeds, is the home ground of Leeds RLFC with a capacity of 21,000. The record attendance was 40,175 for a league match between Leeds and Bradford Northern on 21 May 1947.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "Rugby League Project".
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Wigan "Cherry and White" archived results".
  3. ^ a b "Wigan "Cherry and White" J Player Rd 1 & 2 archived results".
  4. ^ a b "Huddersfield Rugby League Heritage" (PDF).
  5. ^ a b "Saints Heritage Society - History - Season 1896-97".
  6. ^ "Wakefield until I die".
  7. ^ a b c d e f "HULL&PROUD - Stats - Fixtures & Results 1896/1897".
  8. ^ a b c "Warrington Wolves - Results Archive - 1897". Archived from the original on 2010-07-06.
  9. ^ a b c d "Widnes Vikings - History - Season In Review - 1896-97".
  10. ^ "Wigan "Cherry and White" J Player Rd 3 archived results".
  11. ^ a b "Wigan "Cherry and White" J Player Rd 4 archived results".
  12. ^ "Wigan "Cherry and White" J Player S-F archived results".
  13. ^ Hadfield, Dave (24 January 1994). "Rugby League / Regal Trophy: Wigan unrest highlighted by Trophy defeat: Headingley witnesses extraordinary turn of events masterminded by Ketteridge". The Independent. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  14. ^ "Wigan "Cherry and White" archived results".
  15. ^ Fletcher & Howes (1994), p. 210.
  16. ^ "Leigh Miners Rangers". Archived from the original on 2014-01-01. Retrieved 2014-07-13.
  17. ^ "Woolston Rovers". Archived from the original on 2014-07-14. Retrieved 2014-07-13.
  18. ^ "Warrington Wizards". Archived from the original on 2013-12-31. Retrieved 2014-07-13.
  19. ^ "Ellenborough Rangers". Archived from the original on 2014-07-14. Retrieved 2014-07-13.
  20. ^ "Irlam Hornets". Archived from the original on 2014-07-14. Retrieved 2014-07-13.
  21. ^ "Hemel Hempstead Stags". Archived from the original on 2014-07-14. Retrieved 2014-07-13.
  22. ^ "Egremont Rangers ARLFC".
  23. ^ "Wigan St Patricks".

Sources

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  • Fletcher, Raymond; Howes, David, eds. (1994). Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1994-95. London: Headline Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-7472-7851-1.
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