# 1995–96 Pilkington Cup

The 1995–96 Pilkington Cup was the 25th edition of England's premier rugby union club competition. Bath won the competition defeating Leicester in the final. The attendance of 75,000 was a world record for a rugby union match. The final ended in controversy after the referee Steve Lander awarded a penalty try in the last minute of the match which sealed victory for Bath. The event was sponsored by Pilkington and the final was held at Twickenham Stadium.

## Draw and results
### First round (Sep 9)

| Team one | Team two | Score |
| Askeans | Brixham | 30-18 |
| Basingstoke | Berry Hill | 20-11 |
| Bridlington | Syston | 34-10 |
| Broadstreet | Wharfedale | 26-21 |
| Camberley | Barking | 26-24 |
| Ealing | Weston-Super-Mare | 8-26 |
| Gloucester Old Boys | Camborne | 25-8 |
| Harlow | Abbey | 41-6 |
| Henley | Ruislip | 30-8 |
| High Wycombe | Cheltenham | 0-15 |
| Hornets | Bournemouth | 34-23 |
| Hull Ionians | Selly Oak | 52-8 |
| Launceston | Metropolitan Police | 10-16 |
| Leighton Buzzard | Birmingham | 11-29 |
| Lewes | Oxford | 24-17 |
| Macclesfield | Sandal | 47-17 |
| Manchester | Scunthorpe | 15-22 |
| North Walsham | Letchworth | 23-12 |
| Northern | Sheffield | 22-10 |
| Nuneaton | Winnington Park | 26-32 aet |
| Old Blues | Tabard | 5-11 |
| Olney | Westcombe Park | 0-23 |
| Preston Grasshoppers | Stourbridge | 19-44 |
| Stafford | Netherall | 13-18 |
| Stockton | Broughton Park | 13-11 |
| Stoke | Lichfield | 13-11 |
| Sudbury | Lydney | 6-28 |
| Worcester | Kendal | 30-17 |

### Second round (Oct 7)

| Team one | Team two | Score |
| Basingstoke | Lewes | 19-28 |
| Birmingham | Worcester | 14-19 |
| Bridlington | Aspatria | 50-10 |
| Cheltenham | Weston-Super-Mare | 11-13 |
| Clifton | Metropolitan Police | 11-12 |
| Gloucester Old Boys | London Welsh | 7-16 |
| Harrogate | Fylde | 6-23 |
| Havant | Exeter | 11-20 |
| Henley | Hornets | 33-8 |
| Liverpool St Helens | Hull Ionians | 15-8 |
| Lydney | Harlow | 37-7 |
| Macclesfield | Morley | 18-6 |
| Netherall | Winnington Park | 7-17 |
| Northern | Stourbridge | 21-22 |
| Otley | Stoke | 16-11 |
| Plymouth | Camberley | 18-39 |
| Redruth | North Walsham | 19-15 |
| Rosslyn Park | Richmond | 14-22 |
| Rotherham | Coventry | 15-24 |
| Scunthorpe | Walsall | 18-49 |
| Stockton | Leeds | 8-27 |
| Tabard | Askeans | 28-15 |
| Westcombe Park | Reading | 9-32 |

### Third round (Nov 4)

| Team one | Team two | Score |
| Bridlington | Winnington Park | 13-17 |
| Coventry | Stourbridge | 78-20 |
| Exeter | Redruth | 17-15 |
| Leeds | Fylde | 12-6 |
| Lewes | Camberley | 10-40 |
| London Welsh | Richmond | 27-12 |
| Macclesfield | Walsall | 35-36 |
| Metropolitan Police | Reading | 10-27 |
| Otley | Rugby | 31-40 |
| Tabard | Lydney | 17-19 |
| Weston-Super-Mare | Henley | 19-18 |
| Worcester | Liverpool St Helens | 24-8 |

### Fourth round (Dec 23)

| Team one | Team two | Score |
| Bath | Northampton | 12-3 |
| Bedford | Worcester | 27-12 |
| Blackheath | Coventry | 9-19 |
| Camberley | Wakefield | 0-18 |
| Exeter | Leicester | 0-27 |
| Gloucester | Walsall | 47-0 |
| Leeds | Waterloo | 20-15 |
| London Irish | London Welsh | 21-3 |
| Newcastle | Moseley | 26-5 |
| Nottingham | London Scottish | 32-16 |
| Orrell | Harlequins | 17-19 |
| Reading | Bristol | 7-44 |
| Sale | Wasps | 9-18 |
| Saracens | Rugby | 27-7 |
| Weston-Super-Mare | West Hartlepool | 9-25 |
| Winnington Park | Lydney | 26-11 |

### Fifth round (Jan 27 & Feb 10)

| Team one | Team two | Score |
| Bedford | Bristol | 0-37 |
| Leeds | London Irish | 13-29 |
| Leicester | Saracens | 40-16 |
| Newcastle Gosforth | Harlequins | 22-44 |
| Nottingham | Gloucester | 10-36 |
| Wakefield | Bath | 12-16 |
| West Hartlepool | Coventry | 16-6 |
| Winnington Park | Wasps | 0-57 |

### Quarter-finals (Feb 24)

| Team one | Team two | Score |
| London Irish | West Hartlepool | 11-10 |
| Gloucester | Wasps | 22-9 |
| Leicester | Harlequins | 24-9 |
| Bristol | Bath | 12-19 |

### Semi-finals (Mar 23)

| Team one | Team two | Score |
| London Irish | Leicester | 21-46 |
| Bath | Gloucester | 19-10 |

### Final

* 4 May 1996
| Bath | 16–15 | Leicester |
| Try: Penalty try Con: Callard Pen: Callard 2 Drop: Catt | | Try: Malone Poole Con: Liley Pen: Liley |
* Twickenham Stadium, London Attendance: 75,000 (World Record) Referee: Steve Lander (Liverpool)
| | 16 | Jon Callard |
| | 15 | Audley Lumsden |
| | 14 | Phil de Glanville (c) |
| | 12 | Adedayo Adebayo |
| | 11 | Jon Sleightholme |
| | 10 | Mike Catt |
| | 9 | Andy Nicol |
| | 8 | Eric Peters |
| | 7 | Steve Ojomoh |
| | 6 | Andy Robinson |
| | 5 | Nigel Redman |
| | 4 | Martin Haag |
| | 3 | John Mallett |
| | 2 | Graham Dawe |
| | 1 | Dave Hilton |
| Replacements: ||
| | 16 | Richard Butland |
| | 17 | Ian Sanders |
| | 18 | Darren Crompton |
| | 19 | Neil McCarthy |
| | 20 | Andy Reed |
| | 21 | Ed Pearce |
| Coach: ||
| Brian Ashton ||
| | O | John Liley |
| | N | Steve Hackney |
| | M | Stuart Potter |
| | L | Richie Robinson |
| | K | Rory Underwood |
| | J | Niall Malone |
| | I | Aadel Kardooni |
| | G | Dean Richards (c) |
| | H | Neil Back |
| | F | John Wells |
| | E | Matt Poole |
| | D | Martin Johnson |
| | C | Darren Garforth |
| | B | Richard Cockerill |
| | A | Graham Rowntree |
| Replacements: ||
| | P | Jez Harris |
| | Q | Jamie Hamilton |
| | R | Derek Jelley |
| | S | Dorian West |
| | T | Chris Tarbuck |
| | U | Bill Drake-Lee |
| Coach: ||