# 1980–81 John Player Cup

The 1980–81 John Player Cup was the tenth edition of England's premier rugby union club competition at the time. Leicester won the competition for a third consecutive year defeating Gosforth in the final. The competition was extended with extra rounds replacing the previous format of 32 teams only. 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 |
| Sutton & Epsom | Crawley | 3-13 |
| Upper Clapton | Woodford | 13-4 |
| Metropolitan Police | Fullerians | 22-12 |
| High Wycombe | Midsomer Norton | 12-9 |
| Havant | Maidstone | 10-9 |
| Oxford | Bournemouth | 3-3* |
| Matson | Exeter | 8-14 |
| Hereford | Walsall | 15-15* |
| Coventry Welsh | Kettering | 19-12 |
| Alnwick | Broughton Park | 0-12 |
| Nottingham | Birmingham | 33-10 |
| Derby | Westleigh | 12-7 |
| Aspatria | Hartlepool Rovers | 10-10* |
| Sale | Morley | 29-10 |
| Abbey | Redruthy | 6-9 |
Away team progress*

### Second round

| Team one | Team two | Score |
| Upper Clapton | Crawley | 18-0 |
| Metropolitan Police | High Wycombe | 25-9 |
| Bournemouth | Havant | 18-10 |
| Blackheath | Exeter | 11-15 |
| Walsall | Coventry Welsh | 6-4 |
| Camp Hill | Broughton Park | 6-3 |
| Nottingham | Derby | 12-9 |
| Hartlepool Rovers | Sale | 8-17 |
| Guildford & Gosalming | Redruth | 3-9 |
| Stroud | Southend | 13-16 |

### Third round

| Team one | Team two | Score |
| Bournemouth | Exeter | 15-19 |
| Moseley | Bedford | 25-0 |
| Camborne | Metropolitan Police | 9-16 |
| Harlequins | Rosslyn Park | 9-20 |
| Camp Hill | Nottingham | 0-18 |
| Richmond | Bath | 6-12 |
| Waterloo | West Hartlepool | 17-0 |
| Gosforth | Fylde | 17-7 |
| Roundhay | Leicester | 3-34 |
| Upper Clapton | Bristol | 3-22 |
| Northampton | Sale | 13-20 |
| Saracens | Coventry | 7-15 |
| Wasps | London Scottish | 9-15 |
| Orrell | Walsall | 24-3 |
| Redruth | London Irish | 4-12 |
| Southend | Gloucester | 6-12 |

### Fourth round

| Team one | Team two | Score |
| London Irish | Gloucester | 13-22 |
| Waterloo | Gosforth | 9-12 |
| Exeter | Moseley | 7-15 |
| Metropolitan Police | Rosslyn Park | 15-6 |
| Nottingham | Bath | 4-3 |
| Leicester | Bristol | 27-14 |
| Sale | Coventry | 18-12 |
| London Scottish | Orrell | 12-10 |

### Quarter-finals

| Team one | Team two | Score |
| Leicester | Sale | 21-7 |
| Moseley | Metropolitan Police | 22-6 |
| Nottingham | Gosforth | 3-23 |
| London Scottish | Gloucester | 9-9* |
London Scottish progressed on more tries rule*

### Semi-finals

| Team one | Team two | Score |
| London Scottish | Leicester | 12-18 aet |
| Gosforth | Moseley | 24-3 |

### Final

* 2 May 1981
| Leicester | 22–15 | Gosforth |
| Try: Steve Kenney Tim Barnwell Dusty Hare Con: Dusty Hare 2 Pen: Dusty Hare 3 | | Try: Bob Cunnimgham Con: David Johnson Pen: David Johnson 2 Brian Patrick |
* Twickenham Stadium, London Attendance: 24,000 Referee: Roger Quittenton (London & Sussex Societies)
| | O | Dusty Hare |
| | N | Kevin Williams |
| | L | Clive Woodward |
| | M | Paul Dodge |
| | K | Tim Barnwell |
| | J | Les Cusworth |
| | I | Steve Kenney |
| | G | Garry Adey |
| | H | Ian "Dosser" Smith |
| | F | Steve Johnson |
| | E | Nick Jackson |
| | D | Nick Joyce |
| | C | Steve Redfern |
| | B | Peter Wheeler (c) |
| | A | Robin Cowling |
| Replacements: ||
| | P | Angus Collington for Johnson (82m) |
| | Q | Chris Tressler |
| | R | Wayne Richardson |
| | S | Mick Merriman |
| | T | Andy Key |
| | U | Brian Hall |
| Coach: ||
| Chalkie White ||
| | 15 | Brian Patrick |
| | 14 | Stuart Archer |
| | 13 | Richard Breakey |
| | 12 | Alan MacMillan |
| | 11 | Neil McDowall |
| | 10 | David Johnson |
| | 9 | Malcolm Young |
| | 8 | John Butler |
| | 7 | Simon Smith |
| | 6 | Terry Roberts |
| | 5 | Steve Bainbridge |
| | 4 | Bob Anderson |
| | 3 | Jeff Bell |
| | 2 | Bob Cunningham |
| | 1 | Colin White (c) |
| Replacements: ||
| | 16 | Steve Gustard |
| | 17 | John Storey |
| | 18 | Ian Ramage |
| | 19 | Stuart Lewis |
| | 20 | John Blissett |
| | 21 | Paul Simpson |
| Coach: ||
| David Robinson ||