The 1987–88

Rugby Football League The Rugby Football League is the governing body for professional rugby league in England, and until 1995 for the whole British Isles. The name Rugby Football League previously also referred to the main league competition run by the organisati ...

season was the 93rd season of

rugby league football Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playing field, field measur ...

in Britain.

Season summary

During the season, defending champions Wigan hosted

NSWRL The New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) is the governing body of rugby league in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory and is a member of the Australian Rugby League Commission. It was formed in Sydney on 8 August 1907 and was ...

champions, the

Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches. The team colours are maroon and white, while their namesake and logo is the sea eagle. They compete in Australia's premier rugb ...

in the 1987 World Club Challenge match.

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the north-east and Warrington t ...

were World Club Champions for the first time when they beat

Manly-Warringah The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches. The team colours are maroon and white, while their namesake and logo is the sea eagle. They compete in Australia's premier rugb ...

8–2 at

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated ...

on 7 Oct 1987 before a crowd of 36,895 The Stones Bitter League Champions were

Widnes Widnes ( ) is an industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2011 census had a population of 61,464. Historically in Lancashire, it is on the northern bank of the River Mersey where the estuary narrows to form th ...

for the second time in their history, exactly ten years after their first.

Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staf ...

, Swinton and

Hunslet Hunslet () is an inner-city area in south Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is southeast of the city centre and has an industrial past. It is situated in the Hunslet and Riverside ward of Leeds City Council and Leeds Central parliamentar ...

were relegated. The Challenge Cup winners were

who beat Halifax 32–12 in the final. John Player Special Trophy winners were St. Helens who beat

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...

15–14 in the final.

Rugby League Premiership The Rugby League Premiership was a competition for British rugby league clubs, which operated between 1973 and 1995. As the Super League Premiership the competition continued to operate until 1997. History From 1909 until 1973 (except for the p ...

Trophy Winners were

who beat St. Helens 38–14 in the final. 2nd Division Champions were

Oldham Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, wh ...

Featherstone Rovers Featherstone Rovers are a professional rugby league club in Featherstone, West Yorkshire, England, who play in the Championship. Featherstone is a former coal mining town with a population of around 16,000 and Rovers are one of the last "smal ...

and

Wakefield Trinity Wakefield Trinity is a professional rugby league club in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, that plays in the Super League. One of the original twenty-two clubs that formed the Northern Rugby Football Union in 1895, between 1999 and 2016 the ...

were also promoted. Blackpool Borough changed their name to Springfield Borough.

beat

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...

28–16 to win the

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

County Cup The county football associations are the local governing bodies of association football in England and the Crown dependencies. County FAs exist to govern all aspects of football in England. They are responsible for administering club and player ...

, and

Bradford Northern The Bradford Bulls are a professional rugby league club in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, playing in the Championship. They have won five Challenge Cups, six league championships and three World Club Challenges. The team jersey is pre ...

beat

Castleford Castleford is a town within the City of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 45,106 at a 2021 population estimate. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, to the north of the town centre the River Calder joins th ...

12–12 (replay 11–2) to win the

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

. At the end of the season players from the League were selected to go on the 1988 Great Britain Lions tour.

League Tables

Championship Final Standings

Second Division

Challenge Cup

Wigan had reached the final by beating Bradford Northern 2–0 in Round One at home on 30 Jan; Leeds 30–14 in Round Two at home on 14 Feb; Widnes 10–1 in the Quarter Final at home on 27 Feb and Salford 34–4 in the semi-final played at Bolton on 12 Mar. Wigan beat Halifax 32–12 in the final played at Wembley before a crowd of 94,273. This was Wigan's ninth Challenge Cup Final win in eighteen Final appearances. It was the start of their record breaking eight Challenge Cup Final wins in a row. The Wigan scrum half,

Andy Gregory Andrew Gregory (born 10 August 1961) is an English former professional rugby league footballer. A Great Britain international representative , he is an inductee of the Wigan Hall of Fame. He was the first player to win five Challenge Cup Fina ...

, won the

Lance Todd Trophy The Lance Todd Trophy is a trophy in rugby league, awarded to the annual Challenge Cup Final's man of the match. Introduced in 1945–46, the trophy was named in memory of Lance Todd, the New Zealand-born player and administrator, who was killed i ...

for his man-of-the-match performance.

League Cup

Premiership

References

Sources

1987-88 Rugby Football League season at wigan.rlfans.comThe Challenge Cup at The Rugby Football League website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rugby Football League Season, 1987-88 1987 in English rugby league 1988 in English rugby league Rugby Football League seasons