1975-1976

6th June, 2017 By Phil Daly

One by one, the peaks of glory which had dominated the Headingley horizon for almost a decade, were obscured by the mists of failure, as Leeds ended a comparatively disappointing season with merely the Yorkshire Cup. Merely, indeed Leeds had never laid hands on that trophy between 1937 and 1958, yet now, after winning it for the fifth time in eight seasons, it was taken for granted. That was a measure of the standard Leeds had set themselves: a standard which was a source of justifiable pride, but at times a millstone of responsibility as management and players sought to straddle once again the pinnacles of success.

Three players were transferred during the season: Tony Fisher, to Castleford; Derek Parker, to Bramley; and Gordon Pritchard, after trials with Bramley, to Bradford Northern. Two players were introduced: scrum-half Kevin Dick, son of the former Leeds forward, from the Colts; and Harold Budby, ex-Wakefield Juniors.

By the end of October, Leeds had established the springboard for a successful season, with progress in three knock-out competitions more than compensating for league setbacks at Hull K.R. and St. Helens. Following a 1st Round victory over Halifax, with Hague deputising commendably for the injured Dyl, we had qualified for the Esso Yorkshire Cup Final with further wins at Odsal and Lawkholme Lane. In the Floodlit Competition, with Hague again in the limelight, we had disposed of Castleford at Headingley, and then wriggled out of the strait-jacket imposed by the narrow Greyhound Stadium pitch, to beat New Hunslet by a single point. A visit to Swinton for the 1st Round of the John Player Competition had proved far less exacting, Leeds winning 23-7.

November?s programme, with three away matches in the League and four Cup-ties, presented a formidable test of stamina and resolution, from which Leeds emerged with considerable credit. Within three days of a second triumph at Station Road, we were successfully withstanding a tremendous battering from Wigan in the Floodlit Competition, Dyl tipping the scales with an explosive burst, to put Hynes in the clear midway through the second half. Travelling to Hull five days later, in the John Player Competition, we gallantly discounted the loss of the injured Hepworth, to gain a 9-5 interval lead, and though a Flanagan try turned The Boulevard into a seething cauldron of fury with fifteen minutes to go, Leeds missed not a tackle and gave not a yard, only for Davidson to level the scores with a drop goal in the 77th minute. All the more disappointing, therefore, was the replay, with Hancock scoring a try of meteoric brilliance and dropping three goals at a critical stage, as Hull stormed to victory by 23 points to 11.

And so to the Yorkshire Cup Final, against Hull K.R. at Headingley, with Hynes, now player-coach, taking over at scrum-half in a bid to counter the wiles of Millward. Five times the lead changed hands in a match throbbing with vibrant expectancy: a Sullivan try, 0-3: a Cookson try, converted by Holmes, 5-3; a Holmes penalty, and it was 7-3 at the interval; a second-half escape for Leeds, with Sullivan stepping in touch just a yard out: a prodigious dummy by Fox for a 5-point try, 7-8: a Holmes penalty, 9-8; a Millward drop goal, 9-9: a Fox penalty, 9-11, and Leeds desperate with three minutes to go …. a play-the-ball …. Dyl dashes up as acting half-back, ignores a call for the ball, and charges over the line in a thrust of irresistible, jet-propelled power, for Holmes to convert and then make doubly sure of victory with a drop goal in the dying seconds. Glory for Leeds! Sympathy for Hull K.R., who had forfeited ground advantage and so very nearly won the day. The Leeds team was: Marshall; A. Smith, Hague, Dyl, Atkinson; Holmes, Hynes: M. Harrison, Payne, Pitchford (Dickinson), Eccles, Batten, Cookson.

Rounding off the November programme with wins at Dewsbury and Oldham, Leeds had played seven of their first nine league matches away from home, and lost only twice: so that, with the Semi-Final of the Floodlit Competition against Dewsbury still to come, and eight of the next nine league matches scheduled for Headingley, prospects could hardly have looked brighter at the beginning of December. So much for rose-coloured spectacles! Sterile down-the-middle tactics, with neglected wingers, Atkinson and Alan Smith, qualifying for redundancy pay, extinguished our Floodlit hopes at Crown Flatt: and worse was to follow, three home defeats and the unexpected retirement of Bob Haigh putting the damper on championship aspirations.

Wembley! One word was sufficient to dispel the doldrums of depression! Waxing confident, Leeds swept to victory at Fartown, and faced up to Bradford Northern in the 2nd Round at Headingley with buoyant assurance. We needed it, too, in a nerve-racking first half which ended in controversy, with Leeds? 8-5 lead momentarily in peril as Mordue crashed over near the posts, only for the try to be disallowed, presumably for failing to ground the ball. The escape was fortuitous, the warning salutary, Leeds taking complete control in the second half with an authority born of conviction. This was our year! Alas, a 3rd Round visit to Post Office Road brought shattering disillusionment: bewildered before the kick-off by the non-arrival of Hepworth, we had been reduced to serfdom by Feather?stone long before the hooter put us out of our misery at 33-7!

With ten league matches still to play, and every point vital in the championship race, Leeds immediately lengthened the odds by losing at home yet again, this time to Castleford, and then suffered a further setback through the loss of Atkinson with a severely dislocated ankle. Even so, seven consecutive victories took us into 2nd place, with the championship still there for the taking if we could round off the programme with wins at Wigan and Odsal but hard as we tried, it was not to be. How we regretted those four home defeats!

There was still the Premiership! Playing with tremendous spirit, Leeds beat Widnes in the 1st Round, and put up gallant displays against Cup-winners St. Helens in the Semi-Final, going down 5-12 in the 1st Leg at Headingley, after Pimblett?s attempted drop goal had glanced off a post to give James a 5-point try; and refusing to bow to the inevitable in the 2nd Leg, until Ward?s dismissal precipitated a 15-point collapse.

It was the end of an era, with Ray Batten, arch-schemer of countless try-scoring moves. going into retirement after making 420 appearances.

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