2018–19 Premiership Rugby Cup
The 2018–19 Premiership Cup was the 47th season of England's national rugby union cup competition and the first under the new Premiership Rugby Cup format following the disbanding of the Anglo-Welsh Cup at the end of the 2017–18 season due to the withdrawal of the Welsh Pro14 regions. Although there are no stipulations on player selection, the cup will be seen by many clubs as a development competition, and games will take place during the Autumn International window and during the Six Nations.
Northampton Saints became the first ever winners of the Premiership Cup when they defeated Saracens 23 – 9 in the final at Franklin's Gardens on 17 March 2019. It was the Saints first domestic cup triumph since winning the 2009–10 LV Cup and their second overall.
Competition format
The competition consists of the twelve English Premiership teams arranged in three pools of four clubs each, with each team playing three games against teams in their pool, as well as a 'derby' game against a team in another group. The top team in each pool, plus the best overall runner up, progress to the semi-finals, with the highest ranked teams having home advantage. The winners of the semi-finals then meet at the final in March 2019 to be held at the home ground of the highest ranked remaining team.Teams and locations
Club | Director of Rugby/Head Coach | Captain | Kit supplier | Stadium | Capacity | City/Area |
Bath | Todd Blackadder | Matt Garvey | Canterbury | The Recreation Ground | 14,500 | Bath |
Bristol Bears | Pat Lam | N/A | Bristol Sport | Ashton Gate | 27,000 | Bristol |
Exeter Chiefs | Rob Baxter | Jack Yeandle | Samurai Sportswear | Sandy Park | 12,800 | Exeter |
Gloucester | David Humphreys | Willi Heinz | XBlades | Kingsholm Stadium | 16,115 | Gloucester |
Harlequins | Paul Gustard Billy Millard | James Horwill Chris Robshaw | Adidas | Twickenham Stoop | 14,800 | Twickenham, Greater London |
Leicester Tigers | Geordan Murphy | Tom Youngs | Kukri | Welford Road | 25,849 | Leicester |
Newcastle Falcons | Dean Richards | Will Welch | ISC | Kingston Park | 10,200 | Newcastle upon Tyne |
Northampton Saints | Chris Boyd | Dylan Hartley Alex Waller | Macron | Franklin's Gardens | 15,249 | Northampton |
Sale Sharks | Steve Diamond | Jono Ross | Samurai Sportswear | AJ Bell Stadium | 12,000 | Salford, Greater Manchester |
Saracens | Mark McCall | Brad Barritt | Nike | Allianz Park | 10,000 | Barnet, Greater London |
Wasps | Dai Young | Under Armour | Ricoh Arena | 32,609 | Coventry | |
Worcester Warriors | Alan Solomons | GJ van Velze | VX3 | Sixways Stadium | 11,499 | Worcester |
Pool stage
Pool 1
Round 1
----Round 2
----Round 3
Pool 2
Round 1
----Round 2
----Round 3
Pool 3
Round 1
----Round 2
----Round 3
Round 4 (derby games)
After three pool games, each team will play a 'derby' game against a team in another pool, with results counting towards the final standings in each pool.- Game originally due to be played on 2 February but postponed twice due to snow.
Knock-out stage
Teams are ranked by:
Rank | Pool leaders | Pts | Wins | Diff | PF | TF |
1 | Worcester Warriors | 16 | 3 | 51 | 123 | 18 |
2 | Northampton Saints | 15 | 3 | 53 | 125 | 18 |
3 | Newcastle Falcons | 15 | 3 | 33 | 95 | 12 |
Rank | Pool runners–up | Pts | Wins | Diff | PF | TF |
4 | Saracens | 16 | 3 | 40 | 110 | 15 |
5 | Exeter Chiefs | 15 | 3 | 25 | 88 | 13 |
6 | Bristol Bears | 10 | 2 | -10 | 85 | 11 |
Semi-finals
Final
Attendances
Individual statistics
- Points scorers includes tries as well as conversions, penalties and drop goals. Appearance figures also include coming on as substitutes.
Top points scorers
Top try scorers
Season records
Team
;Largest home win — 52 points52 – 0 Bath at home to Gloucester on 4 February 2019
;Largest away win — 20 points
32 – 12 Saracens away to Harlequins on 26 January 2019
;Most points scored — 59
59 – 33 Northampton Saints at home to Newcastle Falcons on 9 February 2019
;Most tries in a match — 9
Northampton Saints at home to Newcastle Falcons on 9 February 2019
;Most conversions in a match — 7
Bath at home to Gloucester on 4 February 2019
Northampton Saints at home to Newcastle Falcons on 9 February 2019
;Most penalties in a match — 4
Harlequins away to Bath on 27 October 2018
Saracens at home to Leicester Tigers on 27 October 2018
Wasps at home to Bristol Bears on 11 November 2018
Saracens away to Worcester Warriors on 8 February 2019
;Most drop goals in a match — 0
Player
;Most points in a match — 20Semesa Rokoduguni for Bath at home to Gloucester on 4 February 2019
;Most tries in a match — 4
Semesa Rokoduguni for Bath at home to Gloucester on 4 February 2019
;Most conversions in a match — 7
James Grayson for Northampton Saints at home to Newcastle Falcons on 9 February 2019
;Most penalties in a match — 4
Demetri Catrakilis for Harlequins away to Bath on 27 October 2018
Max Malins for Saracens at home to Leicester Tigers on 27 October 2018
Lima Sopoaga for Wasps at home to Bristol Bears on 11 November 2018
Alex Lozowski for Saracens away to Worcester Warriors on 8 February 2019
;Most drop goals in a match — 0
Attendances
;Highest — 17,815Leicester Tigers at home to Worcester Warriors on 3 November 2018
;Lowest — 3,824
Sale Sharks at home to Newcastle Falcons on 3 February 2019