# 1986–87 John Player Special Trophy

This was the sixteenth season of the rugby league League Cup, again known as the John Player Special Trophy for sponsorship purposes.
Wigan won the trophy, beating Warrington 18–4 in the final. The match was played at Burnden Park, Bolton, Greater Manchester. The attendance was 22,144 and receipts were £86041.

## Background

This season saw no changes in the entrants, no new members and no withdrawals, the number remaining at thirty-six.
There were no drawn matches in this seasons tournament

## Competition and results
### Preliminary round

Involved 4 matches and 8 clubs
| Game No | Fixture Date | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Venue | Att | Notes |
| 1 | Wed 12 Nov 1986 | Halifax | 38-23 | York | Thrum Hall | 2962 | |
| 2 | Sat 15 Nov 1986 | Millom | 4-18 | Wakefield Trinity | Coronation Field, Millom | 2000 | 1 |
| 3 | Sun 16 Nov 1986 | Batley | 2-8 | Myson (Hull) | Mount Pleasant | 687 | 2 |
| 4 | Sun 16 Nov 1986 | Workington Town | 16-6 | Huddersfield Barracudas | Derwent Park | 420 | |

### Round 1 - First Round

Involved 16 matches and 32 clubs
| Game No | Fixture Date | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Venue | Att | Notes |
| 1 | Sat 29 Nov 1986 | Wigan | 32-10 | Leeds | Central Park | 9112 | |
| 2 | Sun 30 Nov 1986 | Barrow | 36-10 | Runcorn Highfield | Craven Park | 1771 | 3 |
| 3 | Sun 30 Nov 1986 | Blackpool Borough | 42-12 | Mansfield Marksman | Borough Park | 376 | |
| 4 | Sun 30 Nov 1986 | Doncaster | 18-14 | Hull Kingston Rovers | Bentley Road Stadium/Tattersfield | 3084 | |
| 5 | Sun 30 Nov 1986 | Featherstone Rovers | 22-18 | Workington Town | Post Office Road | 1521 | |
| 6 | Sun 30 Nov 1986 | Fulham | 24-34 | Castleford | Chiswick Poly Sports Grd | 1374 | |
| 7 | Sun 30 Nov 1986 | Halifax | 36-22 | Wakefield Trinity | Thrum Hall | 4076 | |
| 8 | Sun 30 Nov 1986 | Leigh | 32-10 | Rochdale Hornets | Hilton Park | 2754 | |
| 9 | Sun 30 Nov 1986 | Myson (Hull) | 11-18 | Swinton | Craven Park (1) | 1648 | 2 |
| 10 | Sun 30 Nov 1986 | Oldham | 12-22 | Bradford Northern | Watersheddings | 5642 | |
| 11 | Sun 30 Nov 1986 | Salford | 12-27 | Hull F.C. | The Willows | 2100 | |
| 12 | Sun 30 Nov 1986 | Sheffield Eagles | 14-6 | Bramley | Owlerton Stadium | 415 | |
| 13 | Sun 30 Nov 1986 | Warrington | 11-10 | Hunslet | Wilderspool | 3680 | |
| 14 | Sun 30 Nov 1986 | Whitehaven | 8-10 | St. Helens | Recreation Ground | 3678 | |
| 15 | Sun 30 Nov 1986 | Widnes | 82-0 | Dewsbury | Naughton Park | 2138 | 4 |
| 16 | Thu 04 Dec 1986 | Carlisle | 8-2 | Keighley | Penrith FC | 300 | |

### Round 2 - Second Round

Involved 8 matches and 16 clubs
| Game No | Fixture Date | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Venue | Att | Notes |
| 1 | Sat 6 Dec 1986 | Castleford | 22-26 | St. Helens | Wheldon Road | 4808 | |
| 2 | Sun 7 Dec 1986 | Blackpool Borough | 22-48 | Hull F.C. | Borough Park | 3723 | 5 |
| 3 | Sun 7 Dec 1986 | Featherstone Rovers | 12-19 | Bradford Northern | Post Office Road | 3907 | |
| 4 | Sun 7 Dec 1986 | Leigh | 26-14 | Doncaster | Hilton Park | 3363 | |
| 5 | Sun 7 Dec 1986 | Sheffield Eagles | 8-14 | Barrow | Owlerton Stadium | 513 | 6 |
| 6 | Sun 7 Dec 1986 | Warrington | 44-10 | Halifax | Wilderspool | 5804 | |
| 7 | Sun 7 Dec 1986 | Wigan | 20-14 | Swinton | Central Park | 9874 | |
| 8 | Mon 8 Dec 1986 | Widnes | 36-6 | Carlisle | Naughton Park | 2016 | |

### Round 3 -Quarter-finals

Involved 4 matches with 8 clubs
| Game No | Fixture Date | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Venue | Att |
| 1 | Sat 13 Dec 1986 | Bradford Northern | 8-20 | Hull F.C. | Odsal | 3545 |
| 2 | Sun 14 Dec 1986 | Barrow | 6-16 | Widnes | Craven Park | 3199 |
| 3 | Sun 14 Dec 1986 | St. Helens | 20-22 | Warrington | Knowsley Road | 11571 |
| 4 | Sun 14 Dec 1986 | Wigan | 6-2 | Leigh | Central Park | 11573 |

### Round 4 – Semi-finals

Involved 2 matches and 4 clubs
| Game No | Fixture Date | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Venue | Att | Rec | Notes | Ref |
| 1 | Sat 20 Dec 1986 | Wigan | 12-11 | Hull F.C. | Headingley | 5245 | | | |
| 2 | Sat 27 Dec 1986 | Warrington | 35-4 | Widnes | Central Park | 6409 | | | |

### Final

| Game No | Fixture Date | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Venue | Att | Rec | Notes | Ref |
| | Saturday 10 January 1987 | Wigan | 18-4 | Warrington | Burnden Park Bolton | 22144 | 86041 | 7, 8 | |

#### Teams and scorers

| Wigan | No. | Warrington |
| | teams | |
| Steve Hampson | 1 | Brian Johnson |
| David Stephenson | 2 | Kevin Meadows |
| Joe Lydon | 3 | Paul Cullen |
| Dean Bell | 4 | Joe Ropati |
| Henderson Gill | 5 | Mark Forster |
| Ellery Hanley | 6 | Ken Kelly |
| Shaun Edwards | 7 | Steve Peters |
| Graeme West | 8 | Les Boyd |
| Martin Dermott | 9 | Kevin Tamati |
| Brian Case | 10 | Bob Jackson |
| Ian Roberts | 11 | Gary Sanderson |
| Ian Potter | 12 | Mark Roberts |
| Andy Goodway | 13 | Mike Gregory |
| ? Not used | 14 | Ronnie Duane (for Steve Peters 63-minutes) |
| ? Not used | 15 | Alan Rathbone (for Kevin Tamati half-time) |
| Graham Lowe | Coach | Tony Barrow |
| 18 | score | 4 |
| 4 | HT | 4 |
| | Scorers | |
| | Tries | |
| Dean Bell (1) | T | Mark Forster (1) |
| Henderson Gill (2) | T | |
| Andy Goodway (1) | T | |
| | Goals | |
| Henderson Gill (1) | G | |
| Referee | | John Holdsworth (Kippax) |
| Man of the match | | Andy Goodway - Wigan - loose forward |
| Competition Sponsor | | John Player Special |
Scoring - Try = four points - Goal = two points - Drop goal = one point

### 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 | ? | ? | ? |
| Grand Total | | | |
Note - the author is unable to trace the award amounts for this season. Can anyone help ?

### The road to success

This tree excludes any preliminary round fixtures
| First round | First round | First round | Second round | Second round | Second round | Third round | Third round | Third round | | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | | Final | Final | Final |
| Wigan | Wigan | 32 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Leeds | Leeds | 10 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Leeds | Leeds | 10 | Wigan | Wigan | 20 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Swinton | Swinton | 14 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Myson (Hull) | Myson (Hull) | 11 | Swinton | Swinton | 14 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Swinton | Swinton | 18 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Swinton | Swinton | 18 | | | | Wigan | Wigan | 6 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Leigh | Leigh | 2 | | | | | | | | |
| Leigh | Leigh | 32 | | | | | | | Leigh | Leigh | 2 | | | | | | | | |
| Rochdale Hornets | Rochdale Hornets | 10 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Rochdale Hornets | Rochdale Hornets | 10 | Leigh | Leigh | 26 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Doncaster | Doncaster | 14 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Doncaster | Doncaster | 18 | Doncaster | Doncaster | 14 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Hull Kingston Rovers | Hull Kingston Rovers | 14 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Hull Kingston Rovers | Hull Kingston Rovers | 14 | | | | | | | | Wigan | Wigan | 12 | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | Hull F.C. | Hull F.C. | 11 | | | | |
| Featherstone Rovers | Featherstone Rovers | 22 | | | | | | | | | | | Hull F.C. | Hull F.C. | 11 | | | | |
| Workington Town | Workington Town | 18 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Workington Town | Workington Town | 18 | Featherstone Rovers | Featherstone Rovers | 12 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Bradford Northern | Bradford Northern | 19 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Oldham | Oldham | 12 | Bradford Northern | Bradford Northern | 19 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Bradford Northern | Bradford Northern | 22 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Bradford Northern | Bradford Northern | 22 | | | | Bradford Northern | Bradford Northern | 8 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Hull F.C. | Hull F.C. | 20 | | | | | | | | |
| Blackpool Borough | Blackpool Borough | 42 | | | | | | | Hull F.C. | Hull F.C. | 20 | | | | | | | | |
| Mansfield Marksman | Mansfield Marksman | 12 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Mansfield Marksman | Mansfield Marksman | 12 | Blackpool Borough | Blackpool Borough | 22 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Hull F.C. | Hull F.C. | 48 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Salford | Salford | 12 | Hull F.C. | Hull F.C. | 48 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Hull F.C. | Hull F.C. | 27 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Hull F.C. | Hull F.C. | 27 | | | | | | | | | | | | Wigan | Wigan | 18 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Warrington | Warrington | 4 |
| Fulham | Fulham | 24 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Warrington | Warrington | 4 |
| Castleford | Castleford | 34 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Castleford | Castleford | 34 | Castleford | Castleford | 22 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | St. Helens | St. Helens | 26 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Whitehaven | Whitehaven | 8 | St. Helens | St. Helens | 26 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| St. Helens | St. Helens | 10 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| St. Helens | St. Helens | 10 | | | | St. Helens | St. Helens | 20 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Warrington | Warrington | 22 | | | | | | | | |
| Warrington | Warrington | 11 | | | | | | | Warrington | Warrington | 22 | | | | | | | | |
| Hunslet | Hunslet | 11 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Hunslet | Hunslet | 11 | Warrington | Warrington | 44 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Halifax | Halifax | 10 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Halifax | Halifax | 36 | Halifax | Halifax | 10 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Wakefield Trinity | Wakefield Trinity | 22 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Wakefield Trinity | Wakefield Trinity | 22 | | | | | | | | Warrington | Warrington | 35 | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | Widnes | Widnes | 4 | | | | |
| Sheffield Eagles | Sheffield Eagles | 14 | | | | | | | | | | | Widnes | Widnes | 4 | | | | |
| Bramley | Bramley | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Bramley | Bramley | 6 | Sheffield Eagles | Sheffield Eagles | 8 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Barrow | Barrow | 14 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Barrow | Barrow | 36 | Barrow | Barrow | 14 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Runcorn Highfield | Runcorn Highfield | 10 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Runcorn Highfield | Runcorn Highfield | 10 | | | | Barrow | Barrow | 6 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Widnes | Widnes | 16 | | | | | | | | |
| Widnes | Widnes | 62 | | | | | | | Widnes | Widnes | 16 | | | | | | | | |
| Dewsbury | Dewsbury | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Dewsbury | Dewsbury | 0 | Widnes | Widnes | 36 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Carlisle | Carlisle | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Carlisle | Carlisle | 8 | Carlisle | Carlisle | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Keighley | Keighley | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

## Notes and comments

1 * Millom are a Junior (amateur) club from Cumbria, current home ground is the Coronation Field ground. 2 * Myson are a Junior (amateur) club from Hull 3 * RUGBYLEAGUEproject gives score as 36-10 but Wigan official archives gives it as 3-10 (which must be incorrect as Barrow progressed to Round 1)
4 * The highest score, highest score by home team, and highest winning margin between professional clubs, to date 5 * RUGBYLEAGUEproject and Wigan official archives gives the venue as Borough Park, the home of Blackpool Borough but Hull F.C. official archives give the venue as Boulevard, home of Hull F.C. 6 * RUGBYLEAGUEproject gives the score as 8-14 but Wigan official archives gives it as 6-14 7 * The Rugby League Authorities were very unhappy with the television coverage of this final offered by the BBC. The broadcaster missed the first six minutes of the second half televising a horse race from Ireland. They also ignored the trophy presentation entirely and disrupted the pre match entertainment to interview Great Britain coach Malcolm Reilly, yet didn't show that interview anyway!
8 * Burnden Park was the home of English football club Bolton Wanderers from 1895 to 1997. It hosted the 1900-01 FA Cup final replay in which Tottenham Hotspur beat Sheffield United 3.1. The record attendance was for a 6th round F A Cup match with Stoke City (Stanley Matthews played for Stoke at the time) at which, although the ground capacity was set at 70,000, an estimated 85,000 fans crowded in, and when two crush barriers broke, the result was 33 fans killed and another 400 injured. The capacity at closure was a mere 25,000