# 1987–88 John Player Cup

The 1987–88 John Player Special Cup was the 17th edition of England's premier rugby union cup competition. Harlequins won the competition, for the first time, defeating Bristol in the final at Twickenham Stadium. The competition was sponsored by John Player cigarettes.

## First round

| Home | Away | Score |
| Askeans | London Irish | 10-12 |
| Bedford | Barkers Butts | 35-4 |
| Berry Hill | Salisbury | 12-0 |
| Devonport Services | Maidenhead | 11-12 |
| Dixonians | Droitwich | 21-6 |
| Ealing | Southend | 10-9 |
| Gordon League | Chiltern | 44-7 |
| Fylde | Hartlepool Rovers | 30-9 |
| Leighton Buzzard | Derby | 10-7 |
| Letchworth | Blackheath | 0-26 |
| Lewes | Havant | 15-13 |
| Lichfield | Vipers | 31-3 |
| London Scottish | Sudbury | 9-3 |
| Nuneaton | Aspatria | 4-43 |
| Old Alleynians | Maidstone | 12-0 |
| Oxford | Camborne | 14-0 |
| Redruth | Old Culverhaysians | 26-9 |
| Tynedale | Vale of Lune | 16-15 |
| Wakefield | Morley | 22-0 |
| Widnes | Birkenhead Park | 4-3 |

## Second round

| Home | Away | Score |
| Berry Hill | Lewe | 35-9 |
| Dixonians | Asptatria | 3-53 |
| Gordon League | Oxford | 18-16 |
| Leighton Buzzard | Bedford | 6-24 |
| Lichfield | Widnes | 31-3 |
| London Irish | Ealing | 13-10 |
| Maidenhead | Old Alleynians | 13-3 |
| Redruth | Blackheath | 9-13 |
| Tynedale | London Scottish | 11-9 |
| Wakefield | Fylde | 24-21 |

## Third round

| Home | Away | Score |
| Aspatria | Wasps | 6-13 |
| Bedford | Bristol | 4-21 |
| Coventry | Tynedale | 7-6 |
| Gloucester | Orrell | 19-9 |
| Gordon League | Headingley | 10-0 |
| Harlequins | Maidenhead | 40-0 |
| Lichfield | Bath | 3-43 |
| London Irish | Sale | 3-16 |
| London Welsh | Berry Hill | 10-13 |
| Plymouth Albion | Northampton | 14-7 |
| Richmond | Liverpool St Helens | 10-6 |
| Rosslyn Park | Leicester | 0-15 |
| Ruislip | Gosforth | 10-13 |
| Saracens | Blackheath | 15-3 |
| Waterloo | Nottingham | 19-6 |
| Wakefield | Moseley | 4-14 |

## Fourth round

| Home | Away | Score |
| Berry Hill | Harlequins | 4-17 |
| Bristol | Richmond | 34-0 |
| Coventry | Sale | 0-13 |
| Gloucester | Wasps | 13-24 |
| Gordon League | Waterloo | 9-11 |
| Leicester | Bath | 6-13 |
| Moseley | Gosforth | 33-9 |
| Plymouth Albion | Saracens | 14-6 |

## Quarter-finals

| Home | Away | Score |
| Plymouth Albion | Wasps | 4-26 |
| Harlequins | Waterloo | 37-4 |
| Moseley | Bath | 4-3 |
| Sale | Bristol | 15-19 |

## Semi-finals

| Moseley | 6–34 | Bristol |
* The Reddings
| Wasps | 16–20 (a.e.t.) | Harlequins |
* Sudbury

### Notes
## Final

* 30 April 1988
| Harlequins | 28–22 | Bristol |
| Try: Carling 2 Harriman Con: Thresher Salmon Pen: Thresher Salmon 3 | | Try: Duggan Penalty try Con: Webb Pen: Webb 3 Drop: Knibbs |
* Twickenham Stadium, London Attendance: 37,000 (record for competition) Referee: Fred Howard (Liverpool)
| | 15 | Stuart Thresher |
| | 14 | Andrew Harriman |
| | 13 | Jamie Salmon |
| | 12 | Will Carling |
| | 11 | Everton Davis |
| | 10 | Adrian Thompson |
| | 9 | Richard Moon |
| | 8 | Richard Langhorn |
| | 7 | Tim Bell |
| | 6 | Mick Skinner |
| | 5 | Neil Edwards |
| | 4 | Paul Ackford |
| | 3 | Andy Mullins |
| | 2 | John Olver (c) |
| | 1 | Paul Curtis |
| Replacements: ||
| | 16 | Simon Hunter |
| | 17 | Richard Cramb |
| | 18 | Alan Woodhouse |
| | 19 | David Butcher |
| | 20 | S Conway |
| | 21 | Chris Sheasby |
| Coach: ||
| | A | Jonathan Webb |
| | B | Huw Duggan |
| | C | David Thomas |
| | D | Ralph Knibbs |
| | E | John Carr |
| | F | Simon Hogg |
| | G | Richard Harding |
| | O | Paul Collings |
| | N | Wayne Hone |
| | M | Andy Dun |
| | L | Nigel Pomphrey (c) |
| | K | Andy Blackmore |
| | J | John Doubleday |
| | I | Dave Palmer |
| | H | Crayton Phillips |
| Replacements: ||
| | P | Kevin Morgan |
| | Q | Paul Jeffrey |
| | R | Kevin Bogira |
| | S | Darryll Hickey |
| | T | Geoff Crane |
| | U | Pete Polledri |
| Coach: ||
| Bob Hesford ||

### Notes

* ↑ This game would also count as Harlequins and Bristol's league match in the 1987–88 Courage League Division One.

## Records

* The attendance for the final of 37,000 was highest in the competition's history
* Bath's unbeaten sequence of 22 matches ended when Moseley beat them in a quarter-final at The Reddings

## Sponsorship

The competition was sponsored, for the last time, by John Player and the prize money was £125,000 (an increase of £15,000). Both finalists received £3,750 each and in thirteen years of sponsorship over £1 million has been provided.