Premiership Cup

The Premiership Rugby Cup began in 2018 when it replaced the Anglo-Welsh Cup after the Welsh regions withdrew from the competition and started their own under-23s competition. This move followed all four of the Welsh regions finishing bottom of their pools in the 2017-18 version of the Anglo-Welsh Cup. As a result, since 2018-19, the Premiership Rugby Cup has only been contested by clubs who compete in the English Premiership.

Although Premiership Cup rugby is fiercely competitive, it’s geared towards younger English Premiership players. The competition aims to ensure these players get an opportunity to compete at Premiership stadia in front of large crowds and big television audiences. This was also the case with the Anglo-Welsh Cup, where test players such as Owen Farrell, George Ford and Maro Itoje all made their senior debuts.

All 12 teams in the Premiership compete in the rugby Premiership Cup. The teams are grouped into three pools of four teams and at least one club in each pool has a local derby match. The Premiership Rugby Cup fixtures are usually played during the end-of-year rugby union internationals or Rugby World Cup and Six Nations Championship weekends. This is because the absence of international stars means more places in the starting line-up are available for up-and-coming players.

At the end of the pools stage, all three pool winners and the best runner-up enter the semi-finals. The team with the best record plays at home in both the semi-finals and the final. The winner of the final then becomes that year’s Premiership Rugby Cup champions and also takes home £500,000.