# 1997–98 Tetley's Bitter Cup

The 1997–98 Tetley's Bitter Cup was the 27th edition of England's top rugby union club competition. Saracens won the competition, for the first time by defeating Wasps, who lost in the final for the third time. The first two rounds were unsponsored and by the third round Tetley's Brewery took over the sponsorship; the previous nine years had been sponsored by Pilkington. The final was held at Twickenham Stadium.

## Draw and results
### First round (13 September)

| Team One | Team Two | Score |
| Aspatria | Stockton | 23-13 |
| Barking | Swanage & Wareham | 26-18 |
| Basingstoke | Weston-super-Mare | 10-39 |
| Birmingham/Solihull | Westleigh | 22-10 |
| Bridgwater | Metropolitan Police | 18-30 |
| Broadstreet | Walsall | 25-17 |
| Camberley | Barnstaple | 38-16 |
| Cheltenham | Okehampton | 138-0 |
| Coney Hill | Preston Grasshoppers | 5-16 |
| Haywards Heath | Plymouth | 26-25 |
| Henley | Cambridge | 64-12 |
| Hornets | Havant | 28-72 |
| Launceston | Bicester | 58-6 |
| Lewes | Wimbledon | 12-11 |
| Lichfield | Manchester | 10-28 |
| Longton | Widnes | 22-38 |
| Maidenhead | Amersham & Chiltern | 14-36 |
| Matson | Bishop Stortford | 8-3 |
| North Walsham | Esher | 19-18 |
| Northern | Derby | 49-3 |
| Norwich | Bracknell | 14-25 |
| Nuneaton | Sedgley Park | 11-7 |
| Old Coventrians | Huddersfield | 13-35 |
| Olney | St Ives | 18-20 |
| Sandal | Chester | 30-22 |
| Scunthorpe | Doncaster | 6-23 |
| Selley Oak | Syston | 31-19 |
| Sevenoaks | Cheshunt | 32-13 |
| Sheffield | Old Northamptons | 38-14 |
| Sherborne | Clifton | 19-30 |
| St Benedict’s | Wigton | 9-24 |
| Staines | Redruth | 35-25 |
| Sunderland | Kendal | 8-27 |
| Sutton & Epsom | Banbury | 23-25 |
| Tabard | Harlow | 23-0 |
| Taunton | Canterbury | 34-12 |
| Tynedale | Hinckley | 32-8 |
| Vagabonds (IOM) | Old Brodleians | 18-15 |
| Vale of Lune | Ampthill | 27-25 |
| Whitchurch | Stourbridge | 28-35 |
| Winchester | Ruislip | 20-0 |
| Winnington Park | Stoke | 64-12 |
* Cheltenham's 138 – 0 win over Okehampton was a record score for the competition.

### Second round (4 October)

| Team One | Team Two | Score |
| Aspatria | Widnes | 27-18 |
| Birmingham/Solihull | Otley | 9-10 |
| Bracknell | Metropolitan Police | 35-14 |
| Broadstreet | Huddersfield | 41-3 |
| Cheltenham | Sevenoaks | 20-18 |
| Havant | Matson | 19-10 |
| Haywards Heath | Launceston | 20-22 |
| Henley | Camberley | 3-16 |
| Kendal | Harrogate | 9-5 |
| Lewes | North Walsham | 10-42 |
| London Welsh | Clifton | 65-17 |
| Lydney | Amersham & Chiltern | 67-0 |
| Morley | Selly Oak | 41-5 |
| Northern | Tynedale | 5-22 |
| Nottingham | Doncaster | 20-24 |
| Preston Grasshoppers | Manchester | 8-33 |
| Rugby | Vagabonds (IOM) | 46-0 |
| Sandal | Nuneaton | 22-16 |
| Sheffield | Vale of Lune | 42-20 |
| St Ives | Barking | 6-53 |
| Staines | Banbury | 32-12 |
| Stourbridge | Taunton | 69-5 |
| Tabard | Rosslyn Park | 0-31 |
| Weston-super-Mare | Newbury | 17-36 |
| Wharfedale | Wigton | 35-10 |
| Winchester | Reading | 12-26 |
| Winnington Park | Liverpool St Helens | 24-26 |
| Worcester | Leeds | 28-11 |

### Third round (1 November)

| Team One | Team Two | Score |
| Barking | Exeter | 13-17 |
| Bedford | Staines | 76-15 |
| Blackheath | Sandal | 32-3 |
| Broadstreet | Bracknell | 15-21 |
| Camberley | Kendal | 32-20 |
| Coventry | Sheffield | 83-19 |
| Doncaster | Tynedale | 24-11 |
| Fylde | Aspatria | 48-5 |
| Havant | Rugby | 22-32 |
| London Welsh | Waterloo | 36-34 |
| Lydney | London Scottish | 3-45 |
| Moseley | Liverpool St Helens | 79-10 |
| North Walsham | Rosslyn Park | 11-27 |
| Orrell | Newbury | 16-26 |
| Otley | Manchester | 24-25 |
| Rotherham | Launceston | 67-15 |
| Stourbridge | Reading | 24-58 |
| Wakefield | Morley | 53-14 |
| West Hartlepool | Cheltenham | 41-5 |
| Wharfedale | Worcester | 8-29 |

### Fourth round (3 & 4 January)

| Team One | Team Two | Score |
| Bath | London Scottish | 24-23 |
| Blackheath | Saracens | 31-59 |
| Bracknell | Rotherham | 3-26 |
| Camberley | Newbury | 10-11 |
| Coventry | Leicester | 14-50 |
| Fylde | Rosslyn Park | 20-5 |
| London Welsh | Gloucester | 18-34 |
| Manchester | London Irish | 13-36 |
| Moseley | Sale | 11-18 |
| Newcastle | Exeter | 34-10 |
| Northampton | Bedford | 31-26 |
| Richmond | Doncaster | 58-8 |
| Rugby | Reading | 26-17 |
| Wasps | Harlequins | 31-26 |
| West Hartlepool | Wakefield | 23-13 |
| Worcester | Bristol | 14-12 |

### Fifth round (24 January)

| Team One | Team Two | Score |
| Bath | Richmond | 17-29 aet |
| London Irish | Rotherham | 27-14 |
| Northampton | Gloucester | 30-11 |
| Sale | Newbury | 38-11 |
| Saracens | Leicester | 14-13 |
| Wasps | Fylde | 34 -8 |
| West Hartlepool | Rugby | 42-11 |
| Worcester | Newcastle | 0-10 |

### Quarter-finals (28 February & 1 March)

| Team One | Team Two | Score |
| London Irish | Wasps | 7-41 |
| Northampton | Newcastle | 17-7 |
| Richmond | Saracens | 30-36 |
| West Hartlepool | Sale | 21-36 |

### Semi-finals (28 March)

| Team One | Team Two | Score |
| Northampton | Saracens | 10 – 25 |
| Wasps | Sale | 15 – 9 |

### Final

* 9 May 1998
| Saracens | 48–18 | Wasps |
| Try: Sella Constable Johnson Grewcock Ravenscroft Bracken Wallace Con: Lynagh 5 Drop: Lynagh | | Try: Volley Roiser Con: Rees Pen: Rees 2 |
* Twickenham Stadium, London Attendance: 65,000 Referee: Chris White (Gloucestershire)
| | 15 | Gavin Johnson |
| | 14 | Brendon Daniel |
| | 13 | Philippe Sella |
| | 12 | Steve Ravenscroft |
| | 11 | Ryan Constable |
| | 10 | Michael Lynagh |
| | 9 | Kyran Bracken |
| | 8 | Tony Diprose (c) |
| | 7 | Francois Pienaar (player/coach) |
| | 6 | Ben Sturnham |
| | 5 | Danny Grewcock |
| | 4 | Paddy Johns |
| | 3 | Paul Wallace |
| | 2 | George Chuter |
| | 1 | Roberto Diego Grau |
| Replacements: ||
| | 16 | Marcus Olsen |
| | 17 | Andy Lee |
| | 18 | Matt Singer |
| | 19 | Richard Wallace |
| | 20 | Adrian Olver |
| | 21 | Greg Botterman |
| | 22 | Alex Bennett |
| Player Coach: ||
| Francois Pienaar ||
| | 15 | Gareth Rees |
| | 14 | Shane Roiser |
| | 13 | Mark Denney |
| | 12 | Rob Henderson |
| | 11 | Laurence Scrase |
| | 10 | Alex King |
| | 9 | Mike Friday |
| | 8 | Joe Worsley |
| | 7 | Paul Volley |
| | 6 | Lawrence Dallaglio (c) |
| | 5 | Simon Shaw |
| | 4 | Mark Weedon |
| | 3 | Will Green |
| | 2 | Simon Mitchell |
| | 1 | Darren Molloy |
| Replacements: ||
| | 16 | Andy Gomarsall |
| | 17 | Paul Sampson |
| | 18 | Ian Dunston |
| | 19 | Trevor Leota |
| | 20 | Adam Black |
| | 21 | Buster White |
| | 22 | Andy Reed |
| Coach: ||
| Nigel Melville ||