Sunday 11 June 2017

UK Top Teams : 1961-1970

This is part of a series where top results are scored and tallied up. The Championship is the top 4 teams, scored 6-3-2-1. Then the Premiership again top 4, 6-4-2- 2. Challenge Cup finalists, 4-2. Lancashire & Yorkshire Cups, BBC Floodlit Trophy finalists, 3-1. The BBC Trophy was from 1966-1970 and there was no Premiership held for 1963 & 1964.

422 points were divvied up in total. The most points any side could achieve was 213, but what a boring situation if anyone managed to do that. As it is there was a clear winner: St Helens. It's best year was 1966, when it won the Championship, Premiership, Challenge Cup and second in the BBC Trophy. It only missed out in the Lancashire Cup. Saints collected points every year, the only side to do so.

Wakefield came in second, just ahead of fellow Yorkshire club Leeds. Wigan came in fourth and Castleford fifth. The chart below shows the list of twenty teams who took something in the decade.

Summary: Back in the early 60's the game very different. There was unlimited tackle, which meant that  team could keep the ball indefinitely as long as they didn't make a mistake. A side could slow the game down if they wanted to. The defensive line was much closer too that the ten metres today.

It was a tough game back then, a war of attrition mostly. The game today is insanely hectic by comparison. More action is what people want. That's what rugby league delivers in spades.

For the next in the series, simply click here.

Rk Team / Year Tot 70 69 68 67 66 65 64 63 62 61
1 St Helens RFC 86 8 9 6 5 19 13 5 6 3 12
2 Wakefield Trinity 52

12 8 1 6 6 16 3
3 Leeds Rhinos 51 10 15 12 6
1

1 6
4 Wigan Warriors 45 5 5 2 3 7 9 3 3 8
5 Castleford Tigers 39 11 12 3 5 3 4
1

6 Hull KR 25 2
9 8 2
3 1

6 Swinton Lions 25 3

1 3 1 6 7 1 3
8 Huddersfield Giants 19







10 9
9 Featherstone Rov 14 1

7

2
4
10 Halifax RLFC 13



4 6 3


11 Hull FC 11 3
1





7
12 Widnes Vikings 8





6 2

12 Hunslet RLFC 8



1 3
3
1
14 Salford Red Devils 7
5






2
15 Leigh Centurions 6 4
1


1


16 Warrington Wolves 4

1
3




17 Bradford Bulls 3



3




17 Barrow Raiders 3


3





19 Oldham Roughyeds 2
1
1





20 Rochdale Hornets 1



1





Total 422 47 47 47 47 47 43 29 29 43 43

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