1924 Challenge Cup - Part 2

Welcome to Part 2 of my look back to our 1924 Challenge Cup run. We left the Wiganers heading into the Cup Quarter Finals where they were to face Hunslet...

Saturday 15th March 1924. Challenge Cup Quarter-Final vs. Hunslet @ Parkside, Hunslet. 13-8 att: 23,500

Wigan warmed up for the Hunslet game against a dogged and tough Warrington team who played with only 12 men! Like Wigan, Hunslet had already made two Final appearances but the difference between the two sides was that Hunslet were triumphant in one of them with a 14-0 victory over Hull FC in 1908. Wigan were yet to play Hunslet in the League home or away so it was difficult to see how the game would go. Hunslet were seventh in the League on a 64% win rate compared to Wigan's 82%. The bookies made Wigan favourites but it would be a tough encounter, especially as 12-man Warrington had made it difficult for Wigan the weekend before.

For Wigan fans, this Cup-tie was seen as the biggest post-War match the club had participated in. The Cup was still coveted by the Wigan public and this was justified with a record 23,500 atendance at Hunslet's Parkside ground with record receipts of £1,738. Such was the popularity of the Cup-tie in Wigan, two special excursion trains were put on to cope with the away support. Going up to kick-off time, thousands of supporters were still trying to enter the venue and an estimated 20,000 supporters were inside at 3pm, half an hour before kick-off. Luckily, everything went well and all managed to fit inside somehow. The Wigan team were largely unchanged from the one that defeated Warrington with only Lou Brown replacing Percy Coldrick in the forwards.

Percy Coldrick missed the game against Hunslet
(wikipedia pic)

Hunslet started the better as they set their stall out from the off, Wigan hardly had a chance to do anything other than to defend. The Parkside forwards were up for this encounter and actually managed to cross the line. They would have taken the lead had it not been for Danny Hurcombe to snatch the ball from Clarkson and clear it in time before it was grounded. With this effort from Hurcombe, the game seemed to sway Wigan's way. eventually, the ball kept finding the hands of the Wigan backs as they settled down to their usual routine plays. The next half hour was all Wigan as a Howley-Ring partnership was a joy to watch with darting runs, clever passing and clean breaks dominating the Hunslet equivalents. The Hunslet forwards were dominant in the srummages, a continuation of the domination they enjoyed in the early stages of the game, but the difference was Jerram and Hurcombe at half back. They had the know-how to send the ball out wide as quickly as possible to the backs, knowing that the Wigan forwards were second best. Wigan took the lead through Van Heerden after afine break by Danny Hurcombe had given Van Heerden an easy score and was to be the highlight of the match. Tommy Howley scored again for Wigan after good play from Johnny Ring which let Wigan go in 8-0 at half time.

Hunslet were still in the game, they were beating Wigan in the forward department but lagging behind in the backs. After the break, a quick breakaway by the Hunslet pack ought to have resulted in a score, but it was the Central Park men who secured the points. A few minutes after the re-start, Howley cleverly intercepted a pass by Young to Cottam. The Wigan centre ran up field, made a short punt and followed up to score near the posts. Sullivan kicked the tricky goal to give Wigan a 13-0 lead. The Hunslet forwards kept at it though, continuously edging up field from scrummages and winning the tackles. Wigan's hero was to be Attie Van Heerden. The South African intercepted several passes near the Wigan goal, on one occasion, one interception saved a certain try for Hunslet. However, Hunslet were rewarded for their continued pressure as eleven minutes into the second half, they got onto the scoresheet at long last. From a scrummage, one of their forwards literally pushed his way across the defending Wigan backs over in the corner but failed at the conversion attempt to make it 13-3. Such was the Wigan three-quarter dominance, Clarkson of Hunslet was moved from the forwards into a back position to try and cancel out whatever the Wigan quartette threw at them. The numerical advantage did not help as the speed and passing of Wigan was too great for the five Hunslet backs to cope with. Hunslet scored a late consolation try after frantic play by both sets of players, chief of whom Sullivan, led to the ball being free and finding a hunslet set of hands to go in for the score. Wigan had won and now were in their seventh Cup semi final, just a game away from the Final.

Saturday 29th March 1924. Challenge Cup Semi-Final vs. Barrow @ The Willows, Salford. 30-5 att: 20,376

Nearly 78,000 people had already seen Wigan play in the three rounds of the Challenge Cup so far in the competition, easily a record if there was such a one being kept. Such was the popularity of the Cup in Wigan, many fans believed this was to be their year at long last. The only thing now that stood in the way of Wigan and a third final appearance was Barrow. The Furness team were sitting below mid-table in the League with a 46% win rate, compared to league laders Wigan who were on 83% thanks to recent fine wins over Leigh (43-9) and Rochdale Hornets (57-5). Two weeks before the semi, Wigan enjoyed seeing another mammoth crowd when Leigh were defeated once more and a week later, Jim Sullivan scored a record 12 conversions for a League match against Rochdale at Central Park. Johnny Ring scored four and Van Heerden scored a hat-trick in the Rochdale game, with Parker and Price scoring twice also. It wasn't looking good for Barrow at all with any hope of a win was dashed in that two-week period.

Hope is a funny word in sport, for example, St Helens hoping to emulate the success of Wigan. Funny. Barrow hoped that they would face Oldham or Huddersfield in the semi, not Wigan. They also hoped to catch Wigan on an off day at Salford. A year earlier, Barrow were in a similar position when they earned a replay against eventual winners Leeds but lost. The men from Cumberland had never reached a Challenge Cup Final and were just as desperate as Wigan to get into one. Barrow started their Cup campaign with a short travel up the Cumbrian coast to Dearham, just North of... Flimby & Fothergill... and east of Maryport. Despite being 18th in the League at the time of the semi final, Barrow had then beaten Hull Kingston Rovers and Warrington in the Cup to progress, both close affairs. The venue of Salford, The Willows, was a common one in those days. most grounds in Lancashire were inappropriate for such an occasion. The other Semi-Final between Oldham and Huddersfield took place at Thrum Hall, Halifax, a venue which was deemed to be 'half-way' between the two towns. One thing for sure, all eyes were on Salford that Saturday when the big day came around.

One thing that may have bugged Wigan was that The Willows was the scene of their first Cup Final in 1991, that day Broughton Rangers were victorious in front of 8,000 spectators. Today however, 20,376 crammed into the Salford ground (receipts of £1,600) in the hope that (for the majority of spectators) Wigan would earn a place in the Final for a third time. The other semi-final attracted roughly 20,000 people but took more in terms of receipts (£1,700) as the entrance fee was slightly different. Same old RFL. Wigan started the game as favourites, being league leaders of course but also due to their previous win in league competition by 28-8 the past September.

Once all were inside, the referee was happy to blow his whistle and commence the match. Wigan won the toss and captain Jack Price decided to play with the wind in Wigan's favour. The opening of the match was quite an equal affair, Barrow had their moments through centre Carr, whilst Van Heerdens now trademark chip-and-run tactic failed to deliver up the other end of the field. The fullbacks gave great early exchanges as Sullivan, of Wigan, and Spender of Barrow equally outdid eachother finding touch with long punts. Wigan took the lead when after a stubborn defensive effort by Barrow, Tommy Howley kicked a neat ball out wide to Johnny Ring who followed up well and swerved around fullback Spencer to score at the corner. Jimmy Sullivan failed at the conversion attempt but it was still early in the match. Although Wigan took the lead after seven minutes' play, they were not producing their best form for they neglected their usual combinational plays from their backs and opted instead to let Jim Sullivan kick Wigan about everywhere. Wigan gave away a penalty a few moments later for obstruction near the Wigan line which got Barrow back into the match with a penalty kick.

Earlier in the game, Barrow suffered the loss of their forward Daniels who had a nasty cut on his head. upon his return, Daniels got the Barrowians moving again and being more than agressive with the Wigan boys. Barrow were now on the front foot and could have taken the lead when Braithwaite passed to centre Carr who advanced toward the Wigan line, but luckily he was tackled in time and without support, surrendered a fine scoring opportunity. Just as things were going well for Barrow, it got a lot worse. Gunning went off injured and almost immediately after this, Johnny Ring scored his second try of the game, evading four tacklers to score at the corner. Sullivan again missed the attempt as Wigan moved up to 6 points. Barrow then came close again via Thornburrow who only had to receive the ball to score on the line but failed to get hold. Less than a minute later, Barrow came within inches of the Wigan line after Wallace made a burst up field before passing to Scott who was ultimately tackled just in time. Wigan were on the back foot again as Scott tried his luck once more but Jim Sullivan managed to snatch the ball and kick it clear at the goal line. Wigan needed a break, and they got it via Danny Hurcombe, literally. Hurcombe found an opening after a scrummage in midfield and ran up field before passing to Parker who then gave to Attie Van Heereden to score in at the corner. Van Heerden had now scored in every round of the Cup but more importantly, for now, was that Sullivan had missed his third difficult kick of the afternoon. Harry Banks, the Wigan forward, dribbled the ball upfield for an age. he looked certain to score when he only had the Barrow fullback Spencer to beat. Spencer heroically dived at Banks' feet and somehow prevented a certain score. In a fantastic bit of play for the spectator, Spencer then got up, collected the ball, passed to centre Carr who then ran halfway upfield before passing to Thornburrow who transfered a low kick towards the Wigan goal line. Luckily for Wigan it found touch just before it got to the corner flag. Just before halftime, and after several Barrow efforts at a try, Sullivan missed his fourth kick of the game after Barrow were penalised when Wiganer Rowley was tripped. Half time came with Wigan leading 9-2, but it should have been a lot more.

Danny Hurcombe was 'average at best' against Barrow

After the interval, Wigan only took five minutes to get on the scoresheet once again. Howley initiated a fine movement when he drew the opposition in before creating an opening for his pass to Hurcombe who easily scored unopposed. Finally, the name 'Sullivan' appeared on the scoresheet after his first success of the game. Wigan were then awarded a penalty after the Wigan stand off Hurcombe was obstructed whilst trying to collect a kick through he made. Again, for the fifth time out of six attempts, Sullivan failed at the attempt at goal. The game then got a bit ugly when in a scrummage, Jerram of Wigan and Barnes of Barrow were sent off for striking. Both players retired to the touchline and were settling down to witness the contest, when the referee stopped play and sent them both to the dressing rooms. Captain Jack Price, now playing in the halfbacks thanks to Syd Jerram's absence,was making a real difference in his new role. With a dribble, Price kicked the ball into the Barrow goal but unfortunately, a Barrow hand touch the ball dead before a Wiganer could dive upon it. Harry Banks drove towards the line moments later but was held up inches short. Playing the ball to himself, Banks dove over to score Wigans fifth try and give Sullivan a chance to kick his second goal, which he did. Barrow were down to eleven men moments later when Daniels, who suffered a head wound early in the first half, retired still suffering from his injury. Despite the number difference, Barrow scored their first try which was failed to be converted. Johnny Ring then thought he had a hat trick of tries but for only it to be ruled out via a forward pass. Not to worry though, Hurcombe, who must have been the Man of the Match by now, put in a kick from a scrummage and successfully pounced upon it to score a minute after Ring's disallowed try. Sullivan kicked his third goal. Barrow with eleven men were now waiting for the hooter. Wigan scored two more tries via Price and Van Heerden, both failed to be converted by Terrible Jim. It dididn't matter... not one jot! Wigan were now in the Cup Final for the third time in their history with their 30-5 win over Barrow.

Oldham had successfully held off Huddersfield in the other semi final to make it an all-Lancastrian affair for the first time since 1911. Weirdly, Wigan were in the 1911 Final but lost to Broughton Rangers 4-0. The press and fans were now asking whether it would be third time lucky for Wigan and rightly so. Oldham had appearaed in three previous Finals but had only been successful once, 25 years earlier. By all accounts, the Semi against Barrow was a dull occasion. Wigan had failed to emulate their League form whilst their backs lacked fluid passing, resourcefulness and accuracy. In fact, only one passing move resulted in a try from the Wigan backs - the last try of the game via Van Heerden. Jack Price took great pleasure in showing how to get the ball from the forwards to the Wigan backs when he filled in for Syd Jerram at halfback. The pairing of Jerram and Hurcombe was average at best and the fluidity of passing was only sparked once Jerram was sent off and Price filled in. All that mattered was that Wigan were into their third Cup Final... against Oldham.

TBC...