# 1982–83 John Player Cup

The 1982–83 John Player Cup was the 12th edition of England's premier rugby union club competition at the time. Bristol won the competition defeating Leicester in the final. The event was sponsored by John Player cigarettes and the final was held at Twickenham Stadium.

## Draw and results
### First round

| Team one | Team two | Score |
| Hertford | Saracens | 6-15 |
| East Grinstead | Sudbury | 9-22 |
| U.S Portsmouth | Old Gaytonians | 13-13* |
| Kettering | Lichfield | 9-11 |
| Worcester | Stoke Old Boys | 10-6 |
| Northampton | Hinckley | 31-4 |
| Birmingham | Stamford | 14-11 |
| West Hartlepool | Morpeth | 24-3 |
| Sheffield | Sale | 6-7 |
| Aspatria | Fylde | 6-20 |
| Wimborne | Oxford | 3-3* |
| High Wycombe | Exeter | 26-16 |
| Stroud | St Ives | 6-9 |
| Keynsham | Maidenhead | 12-15 |
Away team progress*

### Second round

| Team one | Team two | Score |
| Bromsgrove | Lichfield | 4-8 |
| Fylde | Worcester | 13-3 |
| Maidenhead | Lydney | 7-26 |
| Old Emmanuel | Norwich | 6-6* |
| Oxford | High Wycombe | 3-12 |
| St Ives | Old Gaytonians | 3-0 |
| Sale | Birmingham | 24-6 |
| Saracens | Sidcup | 11-0 |
| Sudbury | Metropolitan Police | 0-35 |
| West Hartlepool | Northampton | 27-3 |

### Third round

| Team one | Team two | Score |
| Wakefield | Plymouth Albion | 10-0 |
| Metropolitan Police | St Ives | 6-11 |
| Coventry | Moseley | 25-3 |
| Liverpool | Nottingham | 13-27 |
| Lydney | Sale | 9-16 |
| Rosslyn Park | Wasps | 9-15 |
| London Scottish | Broughton Park | ?-12 |
| London Irish | Orrell | 6-9 |
| Bedford | Saracens | 21-0 |
| Harrogate | Bristol | 15-33 |
| Harlequins | Gosforth | 24-15 |
| Lichfield | Norwich | 20-3 |
| Leicester | High Wycombe | 47-18 |
| Camborne | West Hartlepool | 3-33 |
| Blackheath | Fylde | 12-9 |
| Gloucester | London Welsh | 3-14 |

### Fourth round

| Team one | Team two | Score |
| Leicester | Wakefield | 30-14 |
| Bedford | Bristol | 10-20 |
| Orrell | Coventry | 4-6 |
| Sale | Harlequins | 19-33 |
| West Hartlepool | Wasps | 18-12 |
| Blackheath | London Scottish | 9-10 |
| London Welsh | Lichfield | 24-6 |
| Nottingham | St Ives | 20-3 |

### Quarter-finals

| Team one | Team two | Score |
| London Welsh | London Scottish | 6-15 |
| Leicester | Harlequins | 18-4 |
| West Hartlepool | Bristol | 14-16 |
| Coventry | Nottingham | 19-9 |

### Semi-finals

| Team one | Team two | Score |
| London Scottish | Leicester | 9-30 |
| Coventry | Bristol | 3-23 |

### Final

* 30 April 1983
| Bristol | 28–22 | Leicester |
| Try: Carr 2 Hogg Hesford Con: Barnes 3 Pen: Barnes 2 | | Try: Evans Smith Con: Cusworth Pen: Cusworth 4 |
* Twickenham Stadium, London Attendance: 34,000 Referee: Roger Quittenton (London)
| | A | Huw Duggan |
| | B | Alan Morley |
| | C | Ralph Knibbs |
| | D | Simon Hogg |
| | E | John Carr |
| | F | Stuart Barnes |
| | G | Richard Harding |
| | H | John Doubleday |
| | I | Kevin Bogira |
| | J | Austin Sheppard |
| | K | Alf Troughton |
| | L | Nigel Pomphrey |
| | M | Pete Polledri |
| | N | Mike Rafter (c) |
| | O | Bob Hesford |
| Replacements: ||
| | P | Dave Palmer |
| | Q | Phil Cue |
| | R | Dave Sorrell |
| | S | Lawrence Yandell |
| | T | Mark Tomlin |
| | U | Peter Stiff |
| Coach: ||
| Dave Tyler ||
| | O | Ian Dodson |
| | N | Barry Evans |
| | M | Paul Dodge |
| | L | Clive Woodward |
| | K | Tim Barnwell |
| | J | Les Cusworth |
| | I | Nick Youngs |
| | A | Stuart Redfern |
| | B | Peter Wheeler |
| | C | Steve Redfern |
| | D | Nigel Gillingham |
| | E | Malcolm Foulkes-Arnold |
| | F | Steve Johnson (c) |
| | H | Ian "Dosser" Smith |
| | G | Dean Richards |
| Replacements: ||
| | P | Ian Bates for Barnwell |
| | Q | Nick Jackson |
| | R | Steve Kenney |
| | S | Mike Poulson |
| | T | Wayne Richardson |
| | U | Chris Tressler |
| Coach: ||
| Peter Rossborough ||