Swinton win Championship – 1927 – Championship Final
The Lions of Swinton were rampant on 30th April 1927 when they overcame a 5-2 half-time deficit to win 13-8 against St Helens Recreation.
Once again league form had ensured that the top two met at Wilderspool in Warrington where a feverent crowd of 24,432 gathered.
A cloudy, yet dry and windy day awaited the players of both teams and Swinton took the lead after just five minutes when Bert Morris kicked a penalty. St Helens Recs missed a couple of long range drop goal attempts before Frank Bowen scored to put the Saints side in front.
They extended their advantage after 35 minutes when Tommy Dingsdale kicked a penalty.
The Lions leveled when Bryn Evans raced through. Morris missed the goal and the Lions had another try after 55 minutes when Fred Beswick picked up to score in the corner. Brothers Jack and Bryn Evans then lit up the contest in the 64th minute with a brilliant interplay that led to Bryn scoring his second try of the game. This time Morris was successful with the kick and it was 13-5.
Recs weren’t to be denied further consolation when Bob Innes scored near the end, but Swinton deserved their 13-8 success.
The following report appeared in the Athletic News about the game.
The final table makes for interesting reading. This is reprinted from The Yorkshire Post.
