Must have been big for the BBC to allow the Rugby League John Player Trophy draw to be done live on National BBC "Breakfast Time" Television but thats what happened on 3rd December 1985.

So alas you'd think the RFL would get it right but no, it ended one hell of a cock up.

The first tie drawn out was Wigan to meet Barrow. Problem was Barrow had been knocked out by Warrington in the previous round. David Oxley, over-seeing the draw, must have had one pretty clenched buttock when that happened. He noticed straight away though and it was decided to ignore that. Wigan ended up with Leigh instead.

Widnes v St Helens and Warrington v Hull KR followed before ending with York v Hull.

Turned out their were 9 balls in the bag with the excuse being that one of the balls had stuck in the lining of the padded bag from the previous round.


What transpired was that this cock up, televised on National TV, was voided and the draw re-done 45 minutes later with Hull KR v York, St Helens v Hull, Warrington v Wigan and Widnes v Leigh!

At least they've been historically sh*te.

I do remember this, IIRC I watched this live on morning tv before school.

As I went to school in Leigh (and being the only Wiganer), I remember a sharp intake of breath in anticipation and confusion as Wigan v Leigh was drawn (instead of Wigan / Barrow) even though Barrow were out...only to be told it had been re-drawn shortly after.

From what I remember there was a lot of puzzled looks during the draw, pity nobody has the clip on Youtube.

No I don't remember it at all. At 26 years old in 1985 TV in the morning was already far too revolutionary a thing to contemplate.

Does anyone remember the Challenge Cup draw in the early 70s when they ran out of balls and proceeded to scramble round on the floor to find the missing one (live on tv). They had to do the draw again the following night, perhaps that's why they do the draw on the radio now.

What I want to know is....what had they been doing with the bag to make the inside 'sticky' ?

If the bag was made from man-made fibre, eg nylon, the HOT ball they drop in first would melt the lining.- and stick to it. Well, thats my take on it anyway.

if you heat the balls up before putting them in the bag you may have a problem

If you heat one up and chill another one, that's two home or away teams sorted out. Watch 'em fishing around in the bag for the chosen ball, it's obvious what they're up to. there'll also be a heavy one, a lightweight one, a squeezy one, a sticky one, the permutations are endless.
They think we're daft.

Yes, they probably do.

correct me if i wrong i think it was leigh ball that was on the floor.the last one drawn out of the bag was leeds and the tie should have been leeds v leigh but the draw had to redrawn. this was the early 70s. the drawn was on early evening programme bbc look north west.

That's how I remember it, and Leigh (correctly!) kicked up a fuss.
IIRC, the dropped ball (No, it wasn't by Hock!) occured early on in the draw, and the rest of the draw continued whilst someone scrambled around on the floor looking for it.

Was it the time Leigh beat Widnes and lost to Wigan in the Semi ?