# 2018–19 Premiership Rugby Cup

The 2018–19 Premiership Rugby 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 was seen by many clubs as a development competition, and games took 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

| Club | Director of Rugby/Head Coach | Captain | Kit supplier | Stadium | Capacity | City/Area |
| Bath | Todd Blackadder | Matt Garvey | Canterbury | The Recreation Ground | 14,500 | Bath |
| Bristol Bears | Pat Lam | N/A (Leadership Group) | Bristol Sport | Ashton Gate | 27,000 | Bristol |
| Exeter Chiefs | Rob Baxter | Jack Yeandle | Samurai Sportswear | Sandy Park | 12,800 | Exeter |
| Gloucester | David Humphreys | Willi Heinz | XBlades | Kingsholm Stadium | 16,115 | Gloucester |
| Harlequins | Paul Gustard Billy Millard | James Horwill Chris Robshaw | Adidas | Twickenham Stoop | 14,800 | Twickenham, Greater London |
| Leicester Tigers | Geordan Murphy (interim) | Tom Youngs | Kukri | Welford Road | 25,849 | Leicester |
| Newcastle Falcons | Dean Richards | Will Welch | ISC | Kingston Park | 10,200 | Newcastle upon Tyne |
| Northampton Saints | Chris Boyd | Dylan Hartley Alex Waller | Macron | Franklin's Gardens | 15,249 | Northampton |
| Sale Sharks | Steve Diamond | Jono Ross | Samurai Sportswear | AJ Bell Stadium | 12,000 | Salford, Greater Manchester |
| Saracens | Mark McCall | Brad Barritt | Nike | Allianz Park | 10,000 | Barnet, Greater London |
| Wasps | Dai Young | Joe Launchbury | Under Armour | Ricoh Arena | 32,609 | Coventry |
| Worcester Warriors | Alan Solomons | GJ van Velze | VX3 | Sixways Stadium | 11,499 | Worcester |

## Pool stage
### Pool 1

Pool 1 :
| | Club | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Points For | Points Against | Points Difference | Tries For | Tries Against | Try Bonus | Losing Bonus | Points |
| 1 | Newcastle Falcons | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 95 | 62 | 33 | 12 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 15 |
| 2 | Exeter Chiefs | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 88 | 63 | 25 | 13 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 15 |
| 3 | Bath | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 96 | 74 | 22 | 14 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| 4 | Harlequins | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 73 | 103 | -30 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order: Number of matches won Difference between points for and against Total number of points for Total number of tries scored |||||||||||||||
| Green background means the club has qualified for the semi-finals as pool winner. Blue background means the club has qualified for the semi-finals as the best pool runner up. Updated: 2 February 2019 Note that each team plays 4 games; 3 pool games plus a derby game against a team in another pool. Source: "Premiership Rugby Cup 2018-19". Premiership Rugby. |||||||||||||||

#### Round 1

* 27 October 2018 15:00
| Bath | 19 – 27 | Harlequins |
| Try: J. Walker 13' m Batty (2) 65' c, 72' c Con: Davies (2/3) 66', 73' | Report | Try: C. Walker 39' m Dombrandt 43' c Con: Catrakilis (1/2) 44' c Pen: Catrakilis (4) 17', 23', 56', 69' Lang 75' |
* Recreation Ground Attendance: 14,509 Referee: Greg Macdonald
* 28 October 2018 15:00
| Newcastle Falcons | 22 – 22 | Exeter Chiefs |
| Try: Kibirige (3) 25' c, 33' m, 57' c Con: Connon (2/3) 26', 58' Pen: Connon 48' | Report | Try: Bodilly (2) 19' c, 68' c Short 62' m Con: Skinner (2/3) 21', 70' Pen: Skinner 55' |
* Kingston Park Attendance: 6,502 Referee: Andrew Jackson

#### Round 2

* 3 November 2018 13:00
| Exeter Chiefs | 25 – 18 | Bath (1 BP) |
| Try: Short 15' m Devoto 32' c O'Flaherty 51' c Con: J. Simmonds (2/3) 33', 52' Pen: J. Simmonds 46' Skinner 77' | Report | Try: Batty 38' m Wilson (2) 55' m, 74' m Con: Davies (0/2) Atkins (0/1) Pen: Davies 4' |
* Sandy Park Attendance: 12,693 Referee: Dean Richards
* 4 November 2018 15:00
| (1 BP) Harlequins | 21 – 23 | Newcastle Falcons |
| Try: Boyce 55' m Dombrandt 60' c Con: Catrakilis (1/2) 61' Pen: Catrakilis (3) 10', 20', 48' | Report | Try: Bettencourt 31' c Stevenson 50' c Con: Connon (2/2) 32', 50' Pen: Connon (2) 13', 30' Swiel 71' |
* Twickenham Stoop Attendance: 8,027 Referee: Mike Hudson

#### Round 3

* 9 November 2018 19:45
| Newcastle Falcons | 22 – 7 | Bath |
| Try: Young 18' c Hammersley 43' c Sinoti 65' m Con: Hodgson (2/3) 20', 44' Pen: Hodgson 26' | Report | Try: Bayliss 75' c Con: Davies 76' |
* Kingston Park Attendance: 5,425 Referee: Anthony Woodthorpe
* 10 November 2018 13:00
| (1 BP) Exeter Chiefs | 29 – 13 | Harlequins |
| Try: Capstick 27' c Keast 32' m O'Flaherty 34' m Lawday 40' m J. Simmonds 57' c Con: J. Simmonds (2/5) 27', 57' | Report | Try: Ward 79' c Con: Smith (1/1) 79' Pen: Smith (2) 2', 38' |
* Sandy Park Attendance: 11,927 Referee: Craig Maxwell-Keys

### Pool 2

Pool 2 :
| | Club | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Points For | Points Against | Points Difference | Tries For | Tries Against | Try Bonus | Losing Bonus | Points |
| 1 | Worcester Warriors | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 123 | 72 | 51 | 18 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 16 |
| 2 | Saracens | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 110 | 70 | 40 | 15 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 16 |
| 3 | Sale Sharks | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 48 | 94 | -46 | 6 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 4 | Leicester Tigers | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 69 | 125 | -56 | 7 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order: Number of matches won Difference between points for and against Total number of points for Total number of tries scored |||||||||||||||
| Green background means the club has qualified for the semi-finals as pool winner. Blue background means the club has qualified for the semi-finals as the best pool runner up. Updated: 2 February 2019 Note that each team plays 4 games; 3 pool games plus a derby game against a team in another pool. Source: "Premiership Rugby Cup 2018-19". Premiership Rugby. |||||||||||||||

#### Round 1

* 26 October 2018 19:45
| (1 BP) Worcester Warriors | 35 – 3 | Sale Sharks |
| Try: Adams 4' c Hougaard 26' c Venter 31' c Phillips 53' c Williams '76' c Con: Wier (4/4) 5', 27', 32', 55' Shillcock (1/1) 77' | Report | Pen: Wilkinson 15' |
* Sixways Stadium Attendance: 6,606 Referee: Adam Leal
* 27 October 2018 15:00
| Saracens | 29 – 21 | Leicester Tigers |
| Try: Burger 7' m Vailanu (2) 39' m, 46' c Con: Malins (1/3) 47' Pen: Malins (4) 21', 52', 57', 66' | Report | Try: Feao 62' c Wells 70' m Con: J. Ford (1/2) 62' Pen: J. Ford (3) 2', 6', 30' |
* Allianz Park Attendance: 7,194 Referee: Christophe Ridley

#### Round 2

* 2 November 2018 20:00
| Sale Sharks | 15 – 15 | Saracens |
| Try: Odogwu 36' c Cliff 57' m Con: Cliff (1/2) Pen: Cliff 4' | Report | Try: Kpoku 16' c Gallagher 23' m Con: Malins (1/2) 17' Pen: Malins 67' |
* AJ Bell Stadium Attendance: 4,687 Referee: Anthony Woodthorpe
* 3 November 2018
| Leicester Tigers | 12 – 31 | Worcester Warriors (1 BP) |
| Try: Owen 57' m Reffell 65' c Con: Hardwick (1/2) 66' | Report | Try: Hill 1' c Weir 5' c Hougaard 14' m Heem (2) 28' c, 61' m Con: Weir (3/5) 2', 7', 28' |
* Welford Road Stadium Attendance: 17,815 Referee: Hamish Smales

#### Round 3

* 10 November 2018 15:00
| (1 BP) Leicester Tigers | 16 – 18 | Sale Sharks |
| Try: Thompson 39' c Con: Hardwick (1/1) 40' Pen: Hardwick (3) 21', 25', 52' | Report | Try: Webber 16' m Penalty try 76' Con: Du Preez (0/1) Pen: Du Preez (2) 10', 20' |
* Welford Road Stadium Attendance: 17,023 Referee: Simon Harding
* 11 November 2018 15:00
| (1 BP) Saracens | 34 – 22 | Worcester Warriors (1 BP) |
| Try: Burger 21' m Lewington 33' m Earl 42' c Crossdale (2) 45' m, 63' m Skelton 52' c Con: Malins (0/2) Whiteley (2/4) 42', 53' | Report | Try: Van Breda 25' c Williams 37' m Hammond 55' m Olivier 68' m Con: Van Breda (1/4) 26' |
* Allianz Park Attendance: 4,804 Referee: Matthew O'Grady

### Pool 3

Pool 3 :
| | Club | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Points For | Points Against | Points Difference | Tries For | Tries Against | Try Bonus | Losing Bonus | Points |
| 1 | Northampton Saints | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 125 | 72 | 53 | 18 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 15 |
| 2 | Bristol Bears | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 85 | 95 | -10 | 11 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 3 | Gloucester | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 58 | 92 | -34 | 8 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 9 |
| 4 | Wasps | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 63 | 111 | -48 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order: Number of matches won Difference between points for and against Total number of points for Total number of tries scored |||||||||||||||
| Green background means the club has qualified for the semi-finals as pool winner. Blue background means the club has qualified for the semi-finals as the best pool runner up. Updated: 2 February 2019 Note that each team plays 4 games; 3 pool games plus a derby game against a team in another pool. Source: "Premiership Rugby Cup 2018-19". Premiership Rugby. |||||||||||||||

#### Round 1

* 27 October 2018 14:00
| (1 BP) Northampton Saints | 51 – 24 | Bristol Bears (1 BP) |
| Try: Grayson 5' m Van Wyk (2) 9' m, 28' c Mitchell 40'+2 c Marshall 48' c Furbank 58' c Kellaway 68' c Con: Grayson (4/6) 29', 40'+3, 48', 59' Furbank (1/1) 70' Pen: Grayson (2) 19', 25' | Report | Try: Lindsay 16' m Crane 54' c Pincus 71' m Lam 78' c Con: Madigan (2/4) 56', 79' |
* Franklin's Gardens Attendance: 12,172 Referee: Simon Harding
* 27 October 2018 15:00
| (1 BP) Gloucester | 31 – 7 | Wasps |
| Try: Terry 2' m Vellacott 18' m Evans 21' c Coetzer 25' c Mullis 75' c Con: Evans (2/4) 22', 24' Chapman 76' | Report | Try: Barbeary 80'+1 c Con: Jardine 80'+2 |
* Kingsholm Stadium Attendance: 12,709 Referee: Michael Hudson

#### Round 2

* 2 November 2018 19:45
| Bristol Bears | 21 – 13 | Gloucester |
| Try: Haining 27' c Thomas 65' c Heenan 74' c Con: Sheedy (2/2) 28', 75' Eden (1/1) 67' | Report | Try: Penalty Try 80'+4 Pen: Williams (2) 42', 49' |
* Ashton Gate Stadium Attendance: 9,944 Referee: Adam Leal
* 4 November 2018 15:00
| (1 BP) Wasps | 14 – 15 | Northampton Saints |
| Try: Watson 13' c Willis 47' c Con: Searle (2/2) 14', 48' | Report | Try: Naiyaravoro 62' m Eadie 80+1' c Con: Grayson (1/2) 80+2' Pen: Grayson 51' |
* Ricoh Arena Attendance: 9,042 Referee: Sara Cox

#### Round 3

* 9 November 2018 19:45
| Gloucester | 14 – 12 | Northampton Saints (1 BP) |
| Try: Banahan 20' c Grobler 80'+1 c Con: Twelvetrees (2/2) 21', 80'+4 | Report | Try: Francis 4' m Reinach 41' c Con: Grayson (1/2) 42' |
* Kingsholm Stadium Attendance: 11,499 Referee: Greg Macdonald
* 11 November 2018 15:00
| Wasps | 19 – 30 | Bristol Bears |
| Try: Bassett 16' c Con: Sopoaga (1/1) 17' Pen: Sopoaga (4) 5', 28', 48', 69' | Report | Try: Edwards (2) 22' c, 76' c Malton 44' c Con: Sheedy (3/3) 23', 46', 77' Pen: Sheedy (3) 2', 31', 73' |
* Ricoh Arena Attendance: 8,352 Referee: Andrew Jackson

### 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.
* 26 January 2019 15:00
| (1 BP) Bristol Bears (P3) | 10 – 12 | Exeter Chiefs (P1) |
| Try: Edwards 41' c Con: Madigan (1/1) 41' Pen: Madigan (1) 51' | Report | Try: Holmes 8' m Penalty Try 68' Con: Skinner (0/1) |
* Ashton Gate Stadium Attendance: 8,845 Referee: Luke Pearce
* 26 January 2019 15:00
| Harlequins (P1) | 12 – 32 | Saracens (P2) (1 BP) |
| Try: Ibuanokpe 2' c Elia 42' m Con: Lang (1/2) 3' | Report | Try: Vailanu 4' m Malins 68' c Kpoku 49' c Segun 79' c Con: Malins (0/1) Lozowski (3/3) 50', 69', 80' Pen: Malins 18' Lozowski 45' |
* Twickenham Stoop Attendance: 14,800 Referee: Wayne Barnes
* 26 January 2019 15:00
| (1 BP) Northampton Saints (P3) | 47 – 20 | Leicester Tigers (P2) |
| Try: Grayson 14' c Fish 25' m Barrow 29' c Brüssow 45' c Reinach (2) 73' c, 79' c Collins 78' c Con: Grayson (6/7) 15', 31', 46', 74', 79', 80' | Report | Try: F.Tuilagi 7' c J. Ford 66' c Con: J. Ford (2/2) 8', 67' Pen: J. Ford (2) 34', 49' |
* Franklin's Gardens Attendance: 13,900 Referee: Adam Leal
* 3 February 2019 15:00
| (1 BP) Worcester Warriors (P2) | 35 – 23 | Wasps (P3) |
| Try: Heem (2) 53' c, 68' c Ventor 60' c Waller 65' m Con: Weir (3/4) 54', 60', 67' Pen: Weir (3) 21', 26', 37' | Report | Try: Bassett 16' m Miller 44' m Carr 78' c Con: Sopoaga (0/1) Searle (1/2) 78' Pen: Sopoaga 23' Searle 51' |
* Sixways Stadium Attendance: 6,000 Referee: Mike Hudson
* 3 February 2019 15:00
| Sale Sharks (P2) | 12 – 28 | Newcastle Falcons (1 BP) (P1) |
| Try: Van Rensburg 23' c Beaumont 72' m Con: Cliff (1/1) 24' Wilkinson (0/1) | Report | Try: Chick 9' c Goneva 57' c Kibirige 65' c Blamire 75' c Con: Flood (3/3) 9', 58', 66' Connon (1/1) 76' |
* AJ Bell Stadium Attendance: 3,824 Referee: Hamish Smales
* 4 February 2019 19:30
| Bath (P1) | 52 – 0 | Gloucester (P3) |
| Try: Rokoduguni (4) 2' c, 56' c, 72' c, 78' c McConnochie 15' c Walker 38' c Homer 64' c Con: Priestland (5/5) 3', 17', 39'+1, 57', 65' Burns (2/2) 73', 79' Pen: Priestland 13' | Report | |
* Recreation Ground Attendance: 7,644 Referee: JP Doyle
* Game originally due to be played on 2 February but postponed twice due to snow.

## Knock-out stage

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:
    1 – competition points (4 for a win, 2 for a draw)
    2 – where competition points are equal, greatest number of wins
    3 – where the number of wins are equal, aggregate points difference
    4 – where the aggregate points difference are equal, greatest number of points scored
    5 – where the greatest number of points are equal, greatest number of tries scored
| Rank | Pool leaders | Pts | Wins | Diff | PF | TF |
| 1 | Worcester Warriors | 16 | 3 | 51 | 123 | 18 |
| 2 | Northampton Saints | 15 | 3 | 53 | 125 | 18 |
| 3 | Newcastle Falcons | 15 | 3 | 33 | 95 | 12 |
| Rank | Pool runners–up | Pts | Wins | Diff | PF | TF |
| 4 | Saracens | 16 | 3 | 40 | 110 | 15 |
| 5 | Exeter Chiefs | 15 | 3 | 25 | 88 | 13 |
| 6 | Bristol Bears | 10 | 2 | -10 | 85 | 11 |
| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final |
| Sixways | Sixways |
| Worcester Warriors | 22 |
| Worcester Warriors | 22 | Franklin's Gardens | Franklin's Gardens |
| Saracens | 38 | Franklin's Gardens | Franklin's Gardens |
| Saracens | 38 | Northampton Saints | 23 |
| Franklin's Gardens | Franklin's Gardens | | Northampton Saints | 23 |
| Franklin's Gardens | Franklin's Gardens | Saracens | 9 |
| Northampton Saints | 59 | Saracens | 9 |
| Newcastle Falcons | 33 | | |

### Semi-finals

* 8 February 2019 19:45
| Worcester Warriors | 22 – 38 | Saracens |
| Try: David 43' m Howe (2) 56' c, 80' c Con: Weir (2/3) 57', 80'+1 Pen: Van Breda 40' | Report | Try: Whiteley 5' c Segun 10' m Malins 59' c Vailanu 65' c Con: Lozowski (3/4) 6', 60', 66' Pen: Lozowski (4) 27', 35', 51', 54' |
* Sixways Attendance: 5,115 Referee: Christophe Ridley
* 9 February 2019 12:15
| Northampton Saints | 59 – 33 | Newcastle Falcons |
| Try: Furbank 28' c Tuala 35' c Ludlam 38' c Gibson 41' m Fish 46' c Naiyaravoro 55' c Brüssow (2) 65' c, 75' m Burrell 68' c Con: Grayson (7/9) 29', 36', 38', 47', 56', 66', 70' | Report | Try: Takulua 1' c Matavesi 9' c Goneva 13' c Kibirige 31' c Harris 50' m Con: Connon (4/5) 2', 9', 13', 32' |
* Franklin's Gardens Attendance: 5,994 Referee: Craig Maxwell-Keys

### Final

* 17 March 2019 15:00
| Northampton Saints | 23–9 | Saracens |
| Try: Harrison 7' m Wood 23' m Tuala 30' c Con: Grayson (1/3) 31' Pen: Grayson 55' Francis 72' | Report | Pen: Malins (3) 11', 20', 28' |
* Franklin's Gardens Attendance: 15,250 Referee: Ian Tempest

## Attendances

| Club | Home matches | Total | Average | Highest | Lowest | % Capacity |
| Bath | 2 | 22,153 | 11,077 | 14,509 | 7,644 | 76% |
| Bristol Bears | 2 | 18,789 | 9,395 | 9,944 | 8,845 | 35% |
| Exeter Chiefs | 2 | 24,620 | 12,310 | 12,693 | 11,927 | 96% |
| Gloucester | 2 | 24,208 | 12,104 | 12,709 | 11,499 | 75% |
| Harlequins | 2 | 22,827 | 11,414 | 14,800 | 8,027 | 77% |
| Leicester Tigers | 2 | 34,838 | 17,419 | 17,815 | 17,023 | 67% |
| Newcastle Falcons | 2 | 11,927 | 5,964 | 6,502 | 5,425 | 58% |
| Northampton Saints | 4 | 47,316 | 11,829 | 15,250 | 5,994 | 78% |
| Sale Sharks | 2 | 8,511 | 4,256 | 4,687 | 3,824 | 35% |
| Saracens | 2 | 11,998 | 5,999 | 7,194 | 4,804 | 60% |
| Wasps | 2 | 17,394 | 8,697 | 9,042 | 8,352 | 27% |
| Worcester Warriors | 3 | 17,721 | 5,907 | 6,606 | 5,115 | 51% |

## Individual statistics

* Points scorers includes tries as well as conversions, penalties and drop goals. Appearance figures also include coming on as substitutes (unused substitutes not included).