1965–66 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy


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.

Table

PosClubPWDLPFPAPtsPD
1Widnes22003918421
2St. Helens22004628418
3Swinton2101292425
4Castleford2110131132
5Leigh210132342-2
6Leeds201116281-12
7Warrington200219330-14
8Oldham20029270-18

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

Final

Teams and scorers

Scoring - Try = three points - Goal = two points - Drop goal = two points