# 1995–96 Regal Trophy

The 1995–96 Regal Trophy was a British rugby league knockout tournament. It was the 25th and final season that the competition was held, and was the seventh staging of the competition since it was renamed the Regal Trophy.
The last final was won by Wigan, who beat local rivals St. Helens 25-16 at the McAlpine Stadium in Huddersfield. The attendance was 17,590.

## Background

This season saw a reduction in the number of entrants, the number decreasing to forty-two.
The inclusion of two French clubs continued, but the number of invitations to the top junior clubs was reduced by six from eleven last season, to just five this season.
The ten first round winners added to the twenty-two clubs given byes, gave a total of entrants into the second round of thirty-two. There were no drawn matches during this season's competition

## Competition and results
### Round 1

Involved 10 matches and 20 clubs with 22 byes
| Game No | Fixture Date | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Venue | Att | Notes |
| 1 | Sat 30 Sep 1995 | Leigh | 16-19 | AS Saint Estève | Hilton Park | 1543 | 1 |
| 2 | Sat 30 Sep 1995 | York | 24-22 | SM Pia XIII | Ryedale Stadium | 531 | 2 |
| 3 | Sun 1 Oct 1995 | Barrow | 29-11 | Park Amateurs | Craven Park | 520 | 3 |
| 4 | Sun 1 Oct 1995 | Bramley | 20-17 | Woolston Rovers | Clarence Field, Kirkstall | 350 | 4, 5 |
| 5 | Sun 1 Oct 1995 | Carlisle | 38-10 | Doncaster Dragons | Gifford Park | 435 | 6 |
| 6 | Sun 1 Oct 1995 | Chorley Chieftains | 92-0 | Nottingham City | Victory Park | 425 | |
| 7 | Sun 1 Oct 1995 | Highfield | 48-18 | Hemel Hempstead | Valerie Park, Prescott | 220 | 7 |
| 8 | Sun 1 Oct 1995 | Hull Kingston Rovers | 72-6 | Blackpool Gladiators | Craven Park (2) | 1087 | |
| 9 | Sun 1 Oct 1995 | Hunslet Hawks | 34-24 | Ellenborough Rangers | Elland Road | 247 | 8 |
| 10 | Sun 1 Oct 1995 | Swinton | 44-20 | West Hull | Gigg Lane | 500 | 9 |

### Round 2

Involved 16 matches and 32 clubs. The 10 winners of the first round were joined by the 11 Championship clubs and 11 First Division clubs in the second round.
| Game No | Fixture Date | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Venue | Att | Notes |
| 1 | Sat 11 Nov 1995 | Keighley Cougars | 14–42 | St. Helens | Cougar Park | 3,737 | |
| 2 | Sat 11 Nov 1995 | Workington Town | 30–14 | AS Saint Estève | Derwent Park | 1,376 | 1 |
| 3 | Sun 12 Nov 1995 | Batley | 21–14 | Wakefield Trinity | Mount Pleasant | 1,522 | |
| 4 | Sun 12 Nov 1995 | Bradford Bulls | 22–0 | Sheffield Eagles | Odsal | 3,353 | |
| 5 | Sun 12 Nov 1995 | Bramley | 4–22 | Hunslet Hawks | Clarence Field | 650 | 5 |
| 6 | Sun 12 Nov 1995 | Carlisle | 19–18 | Castleford | Gifford Park | 850 | |
| 7 | Sun 12 Nov 1995 | Chorley Chieftains | 10–68 | Warrington | Victory Park | 1,236 | |
| 8 | Sun 12 Nov 1995 | Dewsbury | 17–6 | Barrow | Crown Flatt | 662 | |
| 9 | Sun 12 Nov 1995 | Halifax | 20–18 | Swinton | Thrum Hall | 2,994 | |
| 10 | Sun 12 Nov 1995 | Huddersfield | 22–21 | Featherstone Rovers | Alfred McAlpine Stadium | 2,337 | |
| 11 | Sun 12 Nov 1995 | Hull F.C. | 56–18 | York | Boulevard | 2,411 | |
| 12 | Sun 12 Nov 1995 | Hull Kingston Rovers | 10–14 | Rochdale Hornets | Craven Park | 1,548 | |
| 13 | Sun 12 Nov 1995 | Leeds | 46–22 | Salford | Headingley | 7,589 | |
| 14 | Sun 12 Nov 1995 | London Broncos | 82–0 | Highfield | Barnet Copthall | 512 | |
| 15 | Sun 12 Nov 1995 | Widnes | 32–8 | Oldham Bears | Naughton Park | 3,472 | |
| 16 | Sun 12 Nov 1995 | Wigan | 68–26 | Whitehaven | Central Park | 6,133 | |

### Round 3

Involved 8 matches and 16 clubs
| Game No | Fixture Date | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Venue | Att | Notes |
| 1 | Sat 25 Nov 1995 | London Broncos | 18-22 | Halifax | Barnet Copthall | 800 | |
| 2 | Sun 26 Nov 1995 | Batley | 22-35 | Warrington | Mount Pleasant | 1,754 | |
| 3 | Sun 26 Nov 1995 | Dewsbury | 14-26 | Rochdale Hornets | Crown Flatt | 927 | |
| 4 | Sun 26 Nov 1995 | Huddersfield | 0-32 | Wigan | Alfred McAlpine Stadium | 6,026 | |
| 5 | Sun 26 Nov 1995 | Hull F.C. | 26-38 | St. Helens | Boulevard | 4,180 | 10 |
| 6 | Sun 26 Nov 1995 | Hunslet Hawks | 17-22 | Carlisle | South Leeds Stadium | 1,355 | |
| 7 | Sun 26 Nov 1995 | Leeds | 42-28 | Bradford Bulls | Headingley | 10,093 | |
| 8 | Sun 26 Nov 1995 | Workington Town | 8-32 | Widnes | Derwent Park | 2,500 | |

### Quarter-finals

Wigan won their tie against Widnes after extra time.
| Game No | Fixture Date | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Venue | Att |
| 1 | Sat 9 Dec 1995 | Widnes | 23–28 | Wigan | Naughton Park | 3,771 |
| 2 | Sun 10 Dec 1995 | Leeds | 44–22 | Carlisle | Headingley | 5,130 |
| 3 | Sun 10 Dec 1995 | St. Helens | 46–18 | Halifax | Knowsley Road | 7,419 |
| 4 | Sun 10 Dec 1995 | Warrington | 38–20 | Rochdale Hornets | Wilderspool | 2,731 |

### Semi-finals

The semi-final between St Helens and Warrington was originally scheduled to take place on 30 December 1995, but was postponed due to a frozen pitch. The result in the rescheduled fixture was a record defeat for Warrington.
* 4 January 1996
| St Helens | 80 – 0 | Warrington |
* Knowsley Road, St Helens Attendance: 10,647
* 6 January 1996
| Wigan | 38 – 18 | Leeds |
* Central Park, Wigan Attendance: 10,075

### Final

* 13 January 1996
| Wigan | 25 – 16 | St Helens |
| Tries: Paul (2), Tuigamala, Radlinski Goals: Paul (4) Drop goals: Edwards | | Tries: Hayes, Newlove, Cunningham Goals: Goulding (2) |
* Alfred McAlpine Stadium, Huddersfield Attendance: 17,590 Referee: Russell Smith (Castleford) Player of the Match: Keiron Cunningham

#### Teams and scorers

| Wigan | No. | St. Helens |
| Gary Connolly | 1 | Steve Prescott |
| Jason Robinson | 2 | Joey Hayes |
| Va'aiga Tuigamala | 3 | Scott Gibbs |
| Kris Radlinski | 4 | Paul Newlove |
| Martin Offiah | 5 | Anthony Sullivan |
| Henry Paul | 6 | Karle Hammond |
| Shaun Edwards (c) | 7 | Bobbie Goulding (c) |
| Neil Cowie | 8 | Apollo Perelini |
| Martin Hall | 9 | Keiron Cunningham |
| Terry O'Connor | 10 | Ian Pickavance |
| Scott Quinnell | 11 | Chris Joynt |
| Mick Cassidy | 12 | Simon Booth |
| Simon Haughton | 13 | Dean Busby |
| Rob Smyth | 14 | Andy Northey (for Anthony Sullivan 47-mins) |
| Martin Dermott (for Scott Quinnell 59-mins) | 15 | Vila Matautia (for Ian Pickavance 25-mins) - Ian Pickavance (returned to replace Dean Busby 58-mins) |
| Graeme West | Coach | Eric Hughes |

### Prize money

As part of the sponsorship deal and funds, the prize money awarded to the competing teams for this season is as follows :-
| Finish Position | Cash Prize | No. receiving prize | Total Cash |
| Winner | ? | 1 | ? |
| Runner-up | ? | 1 | ? |
| semi-finalist | ? | 2 | ? |
| loser in Rd 3 | ? | 4 | ? |
| loser in Rd 2 | ? | 8 | ? |
| Loser in Rd 1 | ? | 16 | ? |
| Loser in Prelim Round | ? | 10 | ? |
| Grand Total | | | |

### The road to success

This tree excludes any First round fixtures
| Second round | Second round | Second round | Third round | Third round | Third round | Fourth round | Fourth round | Fourth round | | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | | Final | Final | Final |
| Workington Town | Workington Town | 30 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| AS Saint Estève | AS Saint Estève | 14 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| AS Saint Estève | AS Saint Estève | 14 | Workington Town | Workington Town | 8 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Widnes | Widnes | 32 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Widnes | Widnes | 32 | Widnes | Widnes | 32 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Oldham Bears | Oldham Bears | 8 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Oldham Bears | Oldham Bears | 8 | | | | Widnes | Widnes | 23 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Wigan | Wigan | 28 | | | | | | | | |
| Huddersfield | Huddersfield | 22 | | | | | | | Wigan | Wigan | 28 | | | | | | | | |
| Featherstone Rovers | Featherstone Rovers | 21 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Featherstone Rovers | Featherstone Rovers | 21 | Huddersfield | Huddersfield | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Wigan | Wigan | 32 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Wigan | Wigan | 68 | Wigan | Wigan | 32 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Whitehaven | Whitehaven | 26 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Whitehaven | Whitehaven | 26 | | | | | | | | Wigan | Wigan | 38 | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | Leeds | Leeds | 18 | | | | |
| Leeds | Leeds | 46 | | | | | | | | | | | Leeds | Leeds | 18 | | | | |
| Salford | Salford | 22 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Salford | Salford | 22 | Leeds | Leeds | 42 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Bradford Northern | Bradford Northern | 28 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Bradford Northern | Bradford Northern | 22 | Bradford Northern | Bradford Northern | 28 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Sheffield Eagles | Sheffield Eagles | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Sheffield Eagles | Sheffield Eagles | 0 | | | | Leeds | Leeds | 44 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Carlisle | Carlisle | 22 | | | | | | | | |
| Bramley | Bramley | 4 | | | | | | | Carlisle | Carlisle | 22 | | | | | | | | |
| Hunslet Hawks | Hunslet Hawks | 22 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Hunslet Hawks | Hunslet Hawks | 22 | Hunslet Hawks | Hunslet Hawks | 17 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Carlisle | Carlisle | 22 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Carlisle | Carlisle | 19 | Carlisle | Carlisle | 22 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Castleford | Castleford | 18 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Castleford | Castleford | 18 | | | | | | | | | | | | Wigan | Wigan | 25 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | St. Helens | St. Helens | 16 |
| Hull F.C. | Hull F.C. | 56 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | St. Helens | St. Helens | 16 |
| Ryedale-York | Ryedale-York | 18 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Ryedale-York | Ryedale-York | 18 | Hull F.C. | Hull F.C. | 26 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | St. Helens | St. Helens | 38 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Keighley Cougars | Keighley Cougars | 14 | St. Helens | St. Helens | 38 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| St. Helens | St. Helens | 42 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| St. Helens | St. Helens | 42 | | | | St. Helens | St. Helens | 46 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Halifax | Halifax | 18 | | | | | | | | |
| London Crusaders | London Crusaders | 82 | | | | | | | Halifax | Halifax | 18 | | | | | | | | |
| Highfield | Highfield | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Highfield | Highfield | 0 | London Crusaders | London Crusaders | 18 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Halifax | Halifax | 22 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Halifax | Halifax | 20 | Halifax | Halifax | 22 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Swinton | Swinton | 18 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Swinton | Swinton | 18 | | | | | | | | St. Helens | St. Helens | 80 | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | Warrington | Warrington | 0 | | | | |
| Batley | Batley | 21 | | | | | | | | | | | Warrington | Warrington | 0 | | | | |
| Wakefield Trinity | Wakefield Trinity | 14 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Wakefield Trinity | Wakefield Trinity | 14 | Batley | Batley | 22 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Warrington | Warrington | 35 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Chorley Borough (2) | Chorley Borough (2) | 10 | Warrington | Warrington | 35 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Warrington | Warrington | 68 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Warrington | Warrington | 68 | | | | Warrington | Warrington | 38 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Rochdale Hornets | Rochdale Hornets | 20 | | | | | | | | |
| Dewsbury | Dewsbury | 17 | | | | | | | Rochdale Hornets | Rochdale Hornets | 20 | | | | | | | | |
| Barrow | Barrow | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Barrow | Barrow | 6 | Dewsbury | Dewsbury | 14 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Rochdale Hornets | Rochdale Hornets | 26 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Hull Kingston Rovers | Hull Kingston Rovers | 10 | Rochdale Hornets | Rochdale Hornets | 26 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Rochdale Hornets | Rochdale Hornets | 14 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

## Notes and comments

1 * 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. 2 * Pia are a French League Club playing at Stade Daniel-Ambert
3 * Park Amateurs were a Junior (amateur) club from Halifax 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 5 * At the time Bramley were playing their home matches at Clarence Field, Kirkstall, Leeds 6 * Doncaster Dragons were now playing at Belle Vue 7 * Hemel Stags are a semi professional club based in Hemel Hempstead and playing at the Pennine Way stadium (capacity 2000) 8 * Ellenborough Rangers are a Junior (amateur) club from the Ellenborough suburb of Maryport, Cumbria 9 * West Hull are a Junior (amateur) club from Hull 10 * RUGBYLEAGUEproject gives the attendance as 4,180, but Hull official archives gives 4,180 and St Helens official archives give 5,102

## Postscript

To date, this was the last season for the John Player sponsored trophy competitions, which had taken place annually since its inauguration in the 1971-72 for a period of 25 seasons. It was unfortunately such a short period for what was intended to be the "League Cup" and that very few of the professional clubs managed to have their name inscribed on the trophy, or even reach the semi-final stage The reasons given by the ruling body, the Rugby Football League for the competition's demise, were that it was deemed the trophy was adding to fixture congestion for more successful sides and a clean sweep was needed to herald the "Summer Rugby" image of the game.

### Records from the John Player trophy competition

| Record | No. | No. | cup winner | runner-up |
| In Final | Record | | | |
| | Most appearances | 9 | Wigan | |
| | | 8 | Widnes | |
| | | 7 | Warrington | |
| | Most wins | 8 | Wigan | |
| | | 4 | Warrington | |
| | Most consecutive wins | 2 | Wigan (3 times) | 85-86, 86-87, 88-89, 89-90, 94-95, 95-96 |
| | Most consecutive appearances | 4 | Wigan | 92-93, 93-94, 94-95, 95-96 |
| | Highest Score | 40-10 | Wigan | v Warrington 1994-95 |
| | Highest Agg score | 40-10 | as last | |
| | Lowest Agg score | 3-2 | Bradford Northern | v Widnes 1974-75 |
| | Widest margin | 33-2 | Castleford | v Wigan 1993-94 |
| | Biggest Attendance | | 25,326 - Boothferry Park | Hull Kingston Rovers v Hull F.C. 1981-82 |
| | Smallest Attendance | | 4,512 - The Willows | Castleford v Blackpool Borough 1976-77 |
| | Highest Receipts | | unknown - but possibly | £94,874 - Widnes v Wigan 1988-89 |
| Individual in a final | | | | |
| | Most tries | 3 | Ellery Hanley | Wigan v Halifax 1989-90 |
| | Most goals | 8 | Frano Botica | Wigan v Warrington 1994-95 |
| | | 6 | Derek Whitehead | Warrington v Rochdale Hornets 1973-74 |
| | Most points | 16 (8g) | Frano Botica | Wigan v Warrington 1994-95 |
| | | 15 (6g+1t) | Derek Whitehead | Warrington v Rochdale Hornets 1973-74 |
| In competition | | | | |
| | Highest Score | 142-4 | Huddersfield | v Blackpool Gladiators (Sat '26-11-1994) |
| | Other record scores at the time | 138-0 | Barrow | v Nottingham City (Thu '24-11-1994) |
| | | 2-92 | Runcorn Highfield | v Wigan (Sun '13-11-1988) |
| | | 90-12 | Wakefield Trinity | v Highfield (Tue '27-10-1992) |
| | | 82-0 | Widnes | v Dewsbury (Sun '30-11-1986) |
| | | 2-70 | Batley | v Leigh (Sun '24-11-1985) |
| | | 64-0 | Whitehaven | v Doncaster (Sun '18-11-1984) |
| | | 17-68 | Carlisle | v Leigh (Sun '20-11-1983) |
| | | 67-11 | Hull Kingston Rovers | v Oldham (Sun '24-'09-1978) |
| | | 9-51 | Blackpool Borough | v Leeds (Sun '24-'09-1972) |
| | Highest score v junior club | 88-5 | Castleford | v Millom (Sun '16-'09-1973) |
| | Highest winning margin | 138 | see above | |
| | Highest aggregate score | 146 | see above | |
| Players Records | | | | |
| | Most tries | 9 | Greg Austin | Huddersfield v Blackpool Gladiators 1994-95 |
| | | 6 | Steve Rowan | Barrow v Nottingham City 1994-95 |
| | | 6 | Vincent Gribbin | Whitehaven v Doncaster 1984-85 |
| | Most goals | 17 | Darren Carter | Barrow v Nottingham City 1994-95 |
| | | 17 | Geoffrey "Sammy" Lloyd | Castleford v Millom 1973-74 |
| | Most points | 43 (17g+3t) | Geoffrey "Sammy" Lloyd | Castleford v Millom 1973-74 |
| | | 42 (17g+2t) | Darren Carter | Barrow v Nottingham City 1994-95 |