1976–77 Challenge Cup

{{Infobox Rugby football league challenge cup

|title = 1976–77 Challenge Cup

|league =

|logo =

|pixels =

|duration = 6 Rounds

|no_of_teams = 34

|highest_attendance = 80,871

|lowest_attendance =

|avg_attendance =

|TV = BBC

|biggest_home_win =

|biggest_away_win =

|season = 1976–77

|season_champs = {{leagueicon|Leeds|16px}} Leeds

|season_champ_name = Winners

|second_place = {{leagueicon|Widnes|16px}} Widnes

|MVP = {{leagueicon|Leeds|16px}} Steve Pitchford

|MVP_link = Lance Todd Trophy

|top_scorer =

|prevseason_link = 1975–76 Challenge Cup

|prevseason_year = 1975–76

|nextseason_link = 1977–78 Challenge Cup

|nextseason_year = 1977–78

}}

The 1976–77 Challenge Cup was the 76th staging of rugby league's oldest knockout competition, the Challenge Cup.

The final was contested by Leeds and Widnes at Wembley.

Leeds beat Widnes 16-7 at Wembley in front of a crowd of 80,871.{{cite web|url=http://www.therfl.co.uk/challengecup/page.php?areaid=65 |title=RFL Challenge Cup Roll of Honour |access-date=2009-08-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090403144113/http://www.therfl.co.uk/challengecup/page.php?areaid=65 |archive-date=2009-04-03 |url-status=dead |df= }}

The winner of the Lance Todd Trophy was the Leeds prop, Steve Pitchford.{{cite book |title=Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1995-1996 |author1=Raymond Fletcher |author2=David Howes|year=1995|publisher=Headline Book Publishing |location=London |isbn=0-7472-7817-2|page=199 }}

This was Leeds’ tenth Cup final win in fourteen Final appearances.{{cite web|url=http://www.therfl.co.uk/challengecup/page.php?areaid=65 |title=RFL Challenge Cup Roll of Honour |access-date=2009-08-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090403144113/http://www.therfl.co.uk/challengecup/page.php?areaid=65 |archive-date=2009-04-03 |url-status=dead |df= }}

First round

width=150\| Date !width=250\| Team one !width=250\| Team two !width=100\| Score
class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
11 Feb	Beecroft	Swinton	2-10
11 Feb	Salford	Huddersfield	25-2
12 Feb	Leeds	Batley	40-6
12 Feb	Warrington	St Helens	12-13
13 Feb	Blackpool	Bradford Northern	8-38
13 Feb	Bramley	Widnes	6-11
13 Feb	Castleford	New Hunslet	27-6
13 Feb	Hull FC	Doncaster	34-11
13 Feb	Hull Kingston Rovers	Keighley	20-10
13 Feb	Huyton	Workington Town	3-10
13 Feb	Oldham	Dewsbury	8-15
13 Feb	Pilkington Recs	Wigan	4-10
13 Feb	Rochdale Hornets	Leigh	23-8
13 Feb	Wakefield Trinity	Halifax	12-3
13 Feb	Whitehaven	Featherstone Rovers	5-6
26 Feb	York	Barrow	9-15

Second round

width=150\| Date !width=250\| Team one !width=250\| Team two !width=100\| Score
class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
26 Feb	Hull Kingston Rovers	Hull FC	12-9
26 Feb	Leeds	Barrow	21-11
27 Feb	Bradford Northern	Featherstone Rovers	12-7
27 Feb	Dewsbury	Wakefield Trinity	3-0
27 Feb	Rochdale Hornets	Castleford	2-10
27 Feb	Widnes	Swinton	36-5
27 Feb	Wigan	St Helens	4-9
27 Feb	Workington Town	Salford	13-4

Quarter-finals

width=150\| Date !width=250\| Team one !width=250\| Team two !width=100\| Score
class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
12 Mar	Castleford	Hull Kingston Rovers	15-25
13 Mar	Dewsbury	St Helens	8-11
13 Mar	Widnes	Bradford Northern	19-5
13 Mar	Workington Town	Leeds	2-8

Semi-finals

class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
width=150\| Date !width=250\| Team one !width=250\| Team two !width=100\| Score
26 Mar	St Helens	Leeds	2-7
02 Apr	Hull Kingston Rovers	Widnes	5-14

class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"

width=150| Date

!width=250| Team one

!width=250| Team two

!width=100| Score

26 Mar

St Helens

Leeds

2-7

02 Apr

Hull Kingston Rovers

Widnes

5-14

Final

{{Rugbyleaguebox

|date = 7 May 1977

|time =

|team1 = Leeds

|score = 16 – 7

|team2 = Widnes

|points1 = Try: Atkinson, Dyl, Dick
Goal: Dick (3)
Drop goal: Dick

|points2 = Try: Aspey
Goal: Dutton (2)

|stadium = Wembley, London

|attendance = 80,871

|referee = J. V. Moss (Manchester){{cite news|last=Mather|first=Harold|title=Youth holds the key|newspaper=The Guardian|location=London|date=9 May 1977|page=19}}

|manofmatch = Steve Pitchford

|report = [http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/competitions/challenge-cup-1976/final/leeds-vs-widnes/summary.html Report]

}}

width="25"\|	width="25"\|
width="100%" \|valign="top" width="50%"\| {\| style="font-size: 90%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"
FB	1	Bryan Murrell
RW	2	Alan Smith	{{suboff\|77}}
RC	3	Neil Hague
LC	4	Les Dyl
LW	5	John Atkinson
SO	6	John Holmes
SH	7	Kevin Dick
PR	8	Mick Harrison
HK	9	David Ward (c)
PR	10	Steve Pitchford
SR	11	Graham Eccles
SR	12	Phil Cookson
LF	13	Stan Fearnley	{{suboff\|71}}
colspan=3\|Substitutions:
IC	14	David Smith	{{subon\|77}}
IC	15	Roy Dickinson	{{subon\|71}}
colspan=3\|Coach:
colspan="4"\| Syd Hynes

|valign="top" width="50%"|

width="25"\|	width="25"\|
style="font-size: 90%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"
FB	1	Ray Dutton
RW	2	Stuart Wright
RC	3	Mal Aspey
LC	4	David Eckersley
LW	5	Dennis O'Neill
SO	6	Eric Hughes
SH	7	Reg Bowden (c)
PR	8	Bill Ramsey
HK	9	Keith Elwell
PR	10	Jim Mills
SR	11	Alan Dearden	{{suboff\|64}}
SR	12	Mick Adams
LF	13	Doug Laughton
colspan=3\|Substitutions:
IC	14	Mick George
IC	15	John Foran	{{subon\|64}}
colspan=3\|Coach:
colspan="4"\| Frank Myler

References

External links

[http://www.thechallengecup.com/ Challenge Cup official website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140122043124/http://www.thechallengecup.com/ |date=2014-01-22 }}
[http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/competitions/challenge-cup-1976-77/results.html Challenge Cup 1976/77 results] at Rugby League Project

Category:Challenge Cup

Challenge Cup