# 2005–06 Powergen Anglo-Welsh Cup

The 2005–06 Powergen Anglo-Welsh Cup was the 35th annual rugby union cup competition in England, and the first since it incorporated the four Welsh regional sides to become the Anglo-Welsh Cup. Whereas the competition previously featured teams from the lower levels of the English rugby pyramid, this season it was contested by the 12 teams from the English Premiership and the four Welsh regional sides from the Celtic League.
The competition began with a pool stage, in which each pool consisted of a Welsh region and three English sides, with each team playing the others in the group once. Pool matches were played in September, October and December 2005. The team that finished top of each pool advanced to the semi-finals. The semi-finals were played at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on 4 March 2006, and the final was played at Twickenham Stadium in London on 9 April.
London Wasps beat Leicester Tigers 22–17 in their semi-final, while Llanelli Scarlets beat Bath 27–26 in theirs; Wasps then beat the Scarlets 26–10 in the final.

## Group stages
### Group A

| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | BP | Pts |
| Bath | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 73 | 42 | +31 | 0 | 12 |
| Gloucester | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 69 | 34 | +35 | 1 | 9 |
| Ospreys | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 70 | 78 | −8 | 2 | 6 |
| Bristol | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 44 | 102 | −58 | 1 | 1 |
* 1 October 2005
| Bath | 25–10 | Bristol |
| | Report | |
* Recreation Ground, Bath Attendance: 8,993 Referee: Rob Debney (England)
* 1 October 2005
| Gloucester | 23–7 | Ospreys |
| | Report | |
* Kingsholm Stadium, Gloucester Attendance: 6,154 Referee: Roy Maybank (England)
* 9 October 2005
| Bristol | 6–34 | Gloucester |
| | Report | |
* Memorial Stadium, Bristol Attendance: 5,018 Referee: Sean Davey (England)
* 9 October 2005
| Ospreys | 20–27 | Bath |
| | Report | |
* Liberty Stadium, Swansea Attendance: 5,018 Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
* 3 December 2005
| Bath | 21–12 | Gloucester |
| | Report | |
* Recreation Ground, Bath Attendance: 8,563 Referee: Nigel Whitehouse (Wales)
* 4 December 2005
| Bristol | 28–43 | Ospreys |
| | Report | |
* Memorial Stadium, Bristol Attendance: 7,684 Referee: Bruce Robertson (England)

### Group B

| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | BP | Pts |
| London Wasps | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 112 | 53 | +59 | 2 | 14 |
| Cardiff Blues | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 79 | 87 | −8 | 2 | 6 |
| London Irish | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 66 | 85 | −19 | 1 | 5 |
| Saracens | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 60 | 92 | −32 | 1 | 5 |
* 1 October 2005
| Cardiff Blues | 37–20 | Saracens |
| | Report | |
* Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff Attendance: 8,212 Referee: Phil Fear (Wales)
* 2 October 2005
| London Irish | 26–30 | London Wasps |
| | Report | |
* Madejski Stadium, Reading Attendance: 6,829 Referee: Ashley Rowden (England)
* 7 October 2005
| London Wasps | 40–19 | Cardiff Blues |
| | Report | |
* Adams Park, High Wycombe Attendance: 6,427 Referee: Chris White (England)
* 9 October 2005
| Saracens | 32–13 | London Irish |
| | Report | |
* Vicarage Road, Watford Attendance: 6,103 Referee: Dave Pearson (England)
* 4 December 2005
| London Irish | 27–23 | Cardiff Blues |
| | Report | |
* Madejski Stadium, Reading Attendance: 6,024 Referee: Sean Davey (England)
* 4 December 2005
| London Wasps | 42–8 | Saracens |
| | Report | |
* Adams Park, High Wycombe Attendance: 6,377 Referee: Ashley Rowden (England)

### Group C

| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | BP | Pts |
| Llanelli Scarlets | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 74 | 50 | +24 | 0 | 12 |
| Newcastle Falcons | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 72 | 49 | +23 | 2 | 8 |
| Sale Sharks | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 77 | 68 | +9 | 2 | 6 |
| Leeds Tykes | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 35 | 91 | −56 | 0 | 2 |
* 2 October 2005
| Leeds Tykes | 7–28 | Llanelli Scarlets |
| | Report | |
* Headingley Rugby Stadium, Leeds Attendance: 2,582 Referee: Tony Spreadbury (England)
* 2 October 2005
| Newcastle Falcons | 34–9 | Sale Sharks |
| | Report | |
* Kingston Park, Newcastle-upon-Tyne Attendance: 4,917 Referee: Sean Davey (England)
* 7 October 2005
| Sale Sharks | 45–10 | Leeds Tykes |
| | Report | |
* Edgeley Park, Stockport Attendance: 4,572 Referee: Martin Fox (England)
* 9 October 2005
| Llanelli Scarlets | 22–20 | Newcastle Falcons |
| | Report | |
* Stradey Park, Llanelli Attendance: 7,195 Referee: Nigel Whitehouse (Wales)
* 2 December 2005
| Leeds Tykes | 18–18 | Newcastle Falcons |
| | Report | |
* Headingley Rugby Stadium, Leeds Attendance: 3,316 Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
* 2 December 2005
| Llanelli Scarlets | 24–23 | Sale Sharks |
| | Report | |
* Stradey Park, Llanelli Attendance: 6,835 Referee: Jean-Pierre Matheu (France)

### Group D

| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | BP | Pts |
| Leicester Tigers | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 86 | 56 | +30 | 2 | 10 |
| Northampton Saints | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 70 | 43 | +27 | 1 | 9 |
| Newport Gwent Dragons | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 64 | 57 | +7 | 0 | 8 |
| Worcester Warriors | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 33 | 97 | −64 | 0 | 0 |
* 30 September 2005
| Newport Gwent Dragons | 24–15 | Leicester Tigers |
| | Report | |
* Rodney Parade, Newport Attendance: 6,327 Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
* 1 October 2005
| Worcester Warriors | 7–22 | Northampton Saints |
| | Report | |
* Sixways Stadium, Worcester Attendance: 7,561 Referee: Martin Fox (England)
* 8 October 2005
| Leicester Tigers | 42–16 | Worcester Warriors |
| | Report | |
* Welford Road Stadium, Leicester Attendance: 8,642 Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland)
* 8 October 2005
| Northampton Saints | 42–16 | Newport Gwent Dragons |
| | Report | |
* Franklin's Gardens, Northampton Attendance: 11,695 Referee: Tony Spreadbury (England)
* 3 December 2005
| Leicester Tigers | 29–16 | Northampton Saints |
| | Report | |
* Welford Road Stadium, Leicester Attendance: 11,072 Referee: Chris White (England)
* 3 December 2005
| Newport Gwent Dragons | 33–10 | Worcester Warriors |
| | Report | |
* Rodney Parade, Newport Attendance: 4,017 Referee: Neil Ballard (Wales)

## Semi-finals

* 4 March 2006
| London Wasps | 22–17 | Leicester Tigers |
| Try: Erinle Con: Staunton Pen: Staunton (5) | Report | Try: Varndell Lloyd Hipkiss Con: Goode |
* Millennium Stadium, Cardiff Attendance: 50,811 Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
* 4 March 2006
| Bath | 26–27 | Llanelli Scarlets |
| Try: Crockett Maddock Con: Malone (2) Pen: Malone (4) | Report | Try: Dunlea King M. Jones Con: Hercus (3) Pen: Hercus (2) |
* Millennium Stadium, Cardiff Attendance: 50,811 Referee: Malcolm Changleng (Scotland)

## Final

* 9 April 2006
| Llanelli Scarlets | 10–26 | London Wasps |
| Try: B. Davies Con: Hercus Pen: Hercus | Report | Try: Voyce (2) Con: Van Gisbergen (2) Pen: Van Gisbergen (3) Drop: King |
* Twickenham Stadium, London Attendance: 57,212 Referee: Alan Lewis (Ireland)
| FB | 15 | Barry Davies |
| RW | 14 | Mark Jones |
| OC | 13 | Matthew Watkins |
| IC | 12 | Regan King |
| LW | 11 | Dafydd James |
| FH | 10 | Mike Hercus |
| SH | 9 | Clive Stuart-Smith |
| N8 | 8 | Alix Popham |
| OF | 7 | Gavin Thomas |
| BF | 6 | Simon Easterby (c) | 27' |
| RL | 5 | Adam Jones |
| LL | 4 | Inoke Afeaki | 67' |
| TP | 3 | John Davies | 64' |
| HK | 2 | Matthew Rees | 73' |
| LP | 1 | Phil John |
| Replacements: ||
| HK | 16 | Aled Gravelle | 73' |
| PR | 17 | Martyn Madden | 64' |
| LK | 18 | Vernon Cooper | 67' |
| FL | 19 | Dafydd Jones | 27' |
| SH | 20 | Liam Davies |
| FH | 21 | Gareth Bowen |
| FB | 22 | Garan Evans |
| Coach: ||
| Gareth Jenkins ||
| FB | 15 | Mark van Gisbergen |
| RW | 14 | Paul Sackey |
| OC | 13 | Josh Lewsey |
| IC | 12 | Stuart Abbott |
| LW | 11 | Tom Voyce |
| FH | 10 | Jeremy Staunton | | 54' |
| SH | 9 | Eoin Reddan | | 54' |
| N8 | 8 | Lawrence Dallaglio (c) |
| OF | 7 | Johnny O'Connor | | 1' |
| BF | 6 | Joe Worsley | | 78' |
| RL | 5 | Richard Birkett |
| LL | 4 | Simon Shaw |
| TP | 3 | Tim Payne |
| HK | 2 | Raphaël Ibañez | | 61' |
| LP | 1 | Alistair McKenzie | 29' |
| Replacements: ||
| HK | 16 | Joe Ward | | 61' |
| PR | 17 | Peter Bracken | | | 31' |
| LK | 18 | Daniel Leo | | 1' | 31' |
| FL | 19 | James Haskell | | 78' |
| SH | 20 | Matt Dawson | | 54' |
| FH | 21 | Alex King | | 54' |
| CE | 22 | Ayoola Erinle |
| Coach: ||
| Shaun Edwards ||