1971–72 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy

The 1971–72 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy was the seventh occasion on which the BBC2 Floodlit Trophy competition had been held.

This year was another new name on the trophy

St. Helens won the trophy by beating Rochdale Hornets by the score of 8-2

The match was played at Knowsley Road, Eccleston, St Helens, Merseyside. The attendance was 9,255 and receipts were £2,493

This was St. Helens first victory after being runner-up in three of the previous six finals

Background
This season saw no changes in the entrants, no new members and no withdrawals, the number remaining at eighteen.

The format was changed back to that favoured in previous seasons when the preliminary round was played on a two-legged home and away basis with the  rest of the tournament being played on a knock-out basis.

The preliminary round involved four clubs, to reduce the numbers to sixteen.

Preliminary round – first leg
Involved 2 matches and 4 clubs

Preliminary round – second leg
Involved 2 matches and the same 4 Clubs in reverse fixtures

Round 1 – first round
Involved 8 matches and 16 clubs

Round 2 – quarter finals
Involved 4 matches with 8 clubs

Round 3 – semi-finals
Involved 2 matches and 4 clubs

Teams and scorers
Scoring - Try = three (3) points - Goal = two (2) points - Drop goal = two (2) points

The road to success
This tree excludes any preliminary round fixtures

Notes and comments
1 * This match was televised

2 * Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1990-1991 and 1991-92 and the St. Helens official archives give the  attendance as 9,300, but RUGBYLEAGUEprojects gives it as 9,255

3 * Knowsley Road was the home of St Helens R.F.C. from 1890 until its closure in 2010. The final capacity was 17,500 although the record attendance was 35,695 set on 26 December 1949 for a league game between St Helens and Wigan.