Sporting Bygones: Schofield and Gibson capture Yorkshire honours

I vaguely recollected the hirsute Australian playing a telling role in picking apart their derby foes even though the day may have been largely remembered for two long-range interceptions courtesy of Garry Schofield and the often under-rated Carl Gibson.

And so it was, as I sifted through the negatives, that Lyons did indeed beam back at me, clutching the man-of-the-match award for his stellar stand-off display at Elland Road.

My memory had not been playing tricks.

The piece I was writing regarded the World Club Challenge, Lyons’s long-time Manly team-mate Geoff Toovey having been in Yorkshire last week to coach the Sydney aristocrats against Leeds Rhinos.

Much of the rhetoric since Leeds’ subsequent stirring win over the Australian champions has been about a desire to expand the World Club Challenge to incorporate more of the game’s finest sides.

I agree heartily but it also left me thinking about which competitions have, conversely, slipped out of our consciousness and are no longer with us.

The Yorkshire Cup – and its equivalent in Lancashire – is one such trophy.

Little did Leeds, or anyone else for that matter, know that when they defeated Castleford on October 16, 1988 it was the beginning of the end for the famous competition.

Just four years later, the historic tournament which had largely been playing since Hunslet’s inaugural 1906 win over Halifax, somehow ceased to exist.

Wakefield Trinity’s triumph over Sheffield Eagles in 1992 was its last act as the game’s more powerful names deemed it was an unnecessary pressure on their congested fixture list.

So all that remains are the memories of finals gone by, this pearl involving Leeds and Castleford definitely proving a hit.

Although the cash-rich Loiners, who had assembled a star-studded side at vast expense, eventually eased out comfortable 33-12 victors, the game had been much tougher than that scoreline suggests.

After 51 minutes, the Elland Road epic was finely balanced with the Headingley club narrowly ahead 15-12.

Probing Castleford, with captain John Joyner and Great Britain tourists Kevin Ward and Kevin Beardmore forming the basis of a quality pack, ironically with Manly second-row Ronnie ‘Rambo’ Gibbs also in situ, looked certain to overhaul that deficit as they attacked Leeds’ left flank.

However, at the crucial moment, the alert Gibson nipped in to intercept and race 90m to deny them, his stunning effort proving a vital turning point.

Soon after, the former Batley wideman scorched in for his second after some textbook centre play from David Stephenson, and the game was over for stunned Castleford.

In front of a 22,968 crowd at Elland Road, they had scored first half tries through Giles Boothroyd and Joyner, Martin Ketteridge having slotted a penalty and conversion.

Leeds had relied heavily on Schofield’s intuition to keep them in touch, the Great Britain star brilliantly scoring a spectacular 90m interception of his own after just four minutes and then finishing off another long-range break initiated by in-form captain Lee Crooks.

Stephenson added a conversion and two penalties with Schofield keeping the scoreboard ticking over with a drop goal.

It was enough though as, following Gibson’s double strike, Castleford grew further frustrated and never managed to add to their half-time score.

Super-sub Paul Medley went over for Leeds and Stephenson completed the scoring with a last-minute penalty awarded after Castleford prop Keith England had broken his nose.

It was his sixth goal, a new Yorkshire Cup final record to go alongside his Lancashire version, having booted seven for Wigan in 1985.

The ’88 final also broke new ground for Leeds as a club; they extended their record number of county wins to 17 out of a record 21 appearances. It would be their last outing, though.

Bradford Northern overcame Featherstone Rovers 20-14 the following year before Crooks captained Castleford to a narrow success against Wakefield in 1991.

The Wheldon Road club defended their crown 12 months later when they vanquished Bradford 28-6 before Wakefield lifted the trophy for the last time.