2017–18 Anglo-Welsh Cup


The 2017–18 Anglo-Welsh Cup was the 46th season of England's national rugby union cup competition, and the 12th and final to follow the Anglo-Welsh Cup format. After this season it will be replaced by the Premiership Rugby Cup and will played for by clubs from the English Premiership only.
The competition consists of the four Welsh Pro14 teams and the twelve Aviva Premiership clubs arranged in pools of three English and one Welsh team. English clubs were allocated to the pools depending on their final positions in the 2016–17 Aviva Premiership. Teams will play two home and two away pool matches, with teams in Pools 1 and 4 playing each other and teams in Pools 2 and 3 playing each other. The top team from each pool will qualify for the semi-finals. The competition will take place during the Autumn International window and during the Six Nations.
Leicester Tigers are defending champions after claiming the cup with a 16–12 victory over Exeter Chiefs in the 2016–17 final at Twickenham Stoop. This was Leicester's eighth title in the competition.

Teams & locations

ClubCoachCaptainStadiumCapacityCity/Area
Bath Todd Blackadder Matt GarveyThe Recreation Ground14,500Bath, Somerset, England
Cardiff Blues Danny Wilson Gethin JenkinsBT Sport Cardiff Arms Park12,125Cardiff, Glamorgan, Wales
Dragons Bernard Jackman Cory HillRodney Parade8,800Newport, Wales
Exeter Chiefs Rob Baxter Jack YeandleSandy Park12,800Exeter, Devon, England
Gloucester David Humphreys Willi HeinzKingsholm Stadium16,500Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England
Harlequins John Kingston James HorwillTwickenham Stoop14,816Twickenham, Greater London, England
Leicester Tigers Matt O'Connor Tom YoungsWelford Road25,800Leicester, Leicestershire, England
London Irish Nick Kennedy David PaiceMadejski Stadium24,161Reading, Berkshire
Newcastle Falcons Dean Richards Will WelchKingston Park10,200Newcastle, Tyne and Wear, England
Northampton Saints Alan Gaffney Dylan HartleyFranklin's Gardens15,500Northampton, Northamptonshire, England
Ospreys Steve Tandy Alun Wyn JonesLiberty Stadium20,827Swansea, West Glamorgan, Wales
Sale Sharks Steve Diamond Will AddisonAJ Bell Stadium12,000Salford, Greater Manchester, England
Saracens Mark McCall Brad BarrittAllianz Park10,000Barnet, Greater London, England
Scarlets Wayne Pivac Ken OwensParc y Scarlets14,870Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, Wales
Wasps Dai Young Joe LaunchburyRicoh Arena32,609Coventry, West Midlands, England
Worcester Warriors Alan Solomons Donncha O'CallaghanSixways Stadium12,024Worcester, Worcestershire, England

Pool stages

;Points system
The points scoring system for the pool stages will be as follows:

Round 1 (England)

----
----

Round 2

----
----
----

Round 1 (Wales)

Round 3

----
----
----

Round 4

----
----
----

Pool 2 v Pool 3

Round 1 (England)

----
----

Round 2

----
----
----

Round 1 (Wales)

Round 3

----
----
----

Round 4

----
----
----

Semi-finals

Final

Attendances

ClubHome
games
TotalAverageHighestLowest% Capacity
Bath336,43612,14514,3548,45584%
Cardiff Blues26,3273,1643,2043,12326%
Dragons27,5793,7903,9173,66245%
Exeter Chiefs331,61410,53812,4378,83382%
Gloucester222,95511,47811,68311,27271%
Harlequins216,6058,3039,3057,30056%
Leicester Tigers236,53018,26518,40818,12271%
London Irish28,9624,4814,5984,36419%
Newcastle Falcons27,8423,9214,0963,74638%
Northampton Saints219,4729,73610,1259,34763%
Ospreys29,2434,6225,0204,22322%
Sale Sharks26,7733,3874,2732,50028%
Saracens215,6467,8239,2146,43278%
Scarlets28,0324,0165,0113,02127%
Wasps216,9268,4639,4097,51726%
Worcester Warriors213,6936,8477,6126,08157%

Individual statistics

Top try scorers

Season records

Team

;Largest home win — 59 points
66–7 London Irish at home to Wasps on 27 January 2018
;Largest away win — 40 points
40-0 Exeter Chiefs away to Scarlets on 12 November 2017
;Most points scored — 66 points
66–7 London Irish at home to Wasps on 27 January 2018
;Most tries in a match — 10
London Irish at home to Wasps on 27 January 2018
;Most conversions in a match — 8
London Irish at home to Wasps on 27 January 2018
;Most penalties in a match — 5
Saracens away to Sale Sharks on 10 November 2017
;Most drop goals in a match — 0

Attendances

;Highest — 18,408
Leicester Tigers at home to Gloucester on 4 November 2017
;Lowest — 2,500
Sale Sharks at home to Northampton Saints on 27 January 2018
;Highest Average Attendance —
;Lowest Average Attendance —

Player

;Most points in a match — 21
Freddie Burns for Bath at home to Leicester Tigers on 10 November 2017
;Most tries in a match — 3
Dean Hammond for Worcester Warriors away to Harlequins on 12 November 2017
Joe Cokanasiga for London Irish at home to Wasps on 27 January 2018
;Most conversions in a match — 6
James Marshall for London Irish away to Cardiff Blues on 2 February 2018
;Most penalties in a match — 5
Max Malins for Saracens away to Sale Sharks on 10 November 2017
;Most drop goals in a match — 0