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

ClubDirector of Rugby/Head CoachCaptainKit supplierStadiumCapacityCity/Area
Bath Todd Blackadder Matt GarveyCanterburyThe Recreation Ground14,500Bath
Bristol Bears Pat LamN/A Bristol SportAshton Gate27,000Bristol
Exeter Chiefs Rob Baxter Jack YeandleSamurai SportswearSandy Park12,800Exeter
Gloucester David Humphreys Willi HeinzXBladesKingsholm Stadium16,115Gloucester
Harlequins Paul Gustard
Billy Millard
James Horwill
Chris Robshaw
AdidasTwickenham Stoop14,800Twickenham, Greater London
Leicester Tigers Geordan Murphy Tom YoungsKukriWelford Road25,849Leicester
Newcastle Falcons Dean Richards Will WelchISCKingston Park10,200Newcastle upon Tyne
Northampton Saints Chris Boyd Dylan Hartley
Alex Waller
MacronFranklin's Gardens15,249Northampton
Sale Sharks Steve Diamond Jono RossSamurai SportswearAJ Bell Stadium12,000Salford, Greater Manchester
Saracens Mark McCall Brad BarrittNikeAllianz Park10,000Barnet, Greater London
Wasps Dai YoungUnder ArmourRicoh Arena32,609Coventry
Worcester Warriors Alan Solomons GJ van VelzeVX3Sixways Stadium11,499Worcester

Pool stage

Pool 1

Round 1

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Round 2

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Round 3

Pool 2

Round 1

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Round 2

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Round 3

Pool 3

Round 1

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Round 2

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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.
The four qualifiers are seeded according to performance in the pool stage. The top 2 seeds host the semi-finals against the lower seeds, in a 1 v 4, 2v 3 format. Note, if two teams qualify from the same pool, they can still be drawn together in the semi-finals.
Teams are ranked by:
RankPool leadersPtsWinsDiffPFTF
1Worcester Warriors1635112318
2Northampton Saints1535312518
3Newcastle Falcons153339512
RankPool runners–upPtsWinsDiffPFTF
4Saracens1634011015
5Exeter Chiefs153258813
6Bristol Bears102-108511

Semi-finals

Final

Attendances

Individual statistics

Top try scorers

Season records

Team

;Largest home win — 52 points
52 – 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 — 20
Semesa 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 — 17,815
Leicester Tigers at home to Worcester Warriors on 3 November 2018
;Lowest — 3,824
Sale Sharks at home to Newcastle Falcons on 3 February 2019