My memories relate to the cup run of 1972.
I’d started watching the wire as an 11 year old around 1963 and over the following 9 years, whilst I’d enjoyed my rugby, I’d experienced little or no success. There were some great players at the club, the likes of Parry Gordon, Brian Brady, Jackie Melling and Bobby Fulton were up there with the best of them but there was still something missing. The older supporters had their memories but to me, Wembley was something that happened to other clubs. I was even too late to have seen the great Brian Bevan play. However, with the arrival of Ossie Davies and Alex Murphy all of that was to change. Strangely I never fully accepted Alex as a Warrington player. He’d left me with too many scars from his St Helen’s days for that to happen. Nevertheless I was happy for him act as the catalyst to our future success. With his arrival the crowds started to increase and the club was once again talk of the town.
We’d drawn with Castleford in one of the earlier rounds and for whatever reason, the replay at Wilderspool was a midweek afternoon fixture. At the time I worked for Lancashire Steel at Bewsey and they, like many local firms, allowed people to take the half day off. In the ground the atmosphere was electric – and in those days the cup had a magic which doesn’t appear to exist anymore. Cup rugby was a step up from the norm. It was faster and more brutal and the crowds loved it. So, with more than a little help from the Fletcher Street end, Wire beat Castleford in an entertaining game and cup fever enveloped the town.
After beating Bramley in the next round we went on to meet St Helens in the semi at Wigan. Warrington in a semi – surely not, I couldn’t believe it. Unfortunately, in the build up to the game two of our star players were injured in a car crash. Derek Whitehead, an elusive full back and reliable goalkicker and Mick Henighan, a dynamic loose forward or winger. We were now very much the underdogs but come the day we matched St Helens in every department. Toby du Toit our big South African winger scored a wonder try, plucking a ball out of the air which most assumed was heading for touch, and then proceeding to scatter the Saints defence en-route to the line.
We only needed to convert the try and we’d be a Wembley – but once again the gods were against us. In the absence of Whitehead, Du Toit was our stand-in goalkicker but his exertions in scoring the try meant he was unable to take the kick. Sadly, his deputy missed and the match was drawn. History tells us that Warrington subsequently lost the replay at Wigan 6-10 to a late and dubious St Helens try. Du Toit kicked 2 goals and Murphy dropped a goal before a crowd of 32,380.
Happy days.
John Cogan
Comment added by John Robinson, August 18 2013: I'm sure we played Cas on a midweek afternoon was because of the power the power cuts so no floodlights
Warrington Wolves v Hull FC Superleague memories game 17th May 2013
The Alzheimer's Society recently launched a national initiative called Dementia Friends which is giving people an understanding of dementia and the small things people can do that make a difference to people living with dementia. Alzheimer's Society want to create a network of a million Dementia Friends across England by 2015 - for more information visit dementiafriends.org.uk
Memory added on May 8, 2013
Comments (Add your voice)
No comments have yet been added to this memory.
