2024–25 Premiership Rugby Cup
Rugby Union Cup tournament in England
The 2024–25 Premiership Rugby Cup is the 52nd season of England's national rugby union cup competition and the second under the new Premiership Rugby Cup format, including clubs from both the Premiership and Championship .[ 1] Gloucester are the reigning champions.[ 2]
The format will involve 20 teams – all 10 clubs from the 2024–25 Premiership Rugby and 10 out of 12 clubs from the 2024–25 RFU Championship .
The 20 teams will be divided into 5 regional pools, each made up of 4 teams, with each side playing 6 games (3 home, 3 away). This is a change from the previous season, where Premiership clubs typically had more home fixtures than the Championship sides.
The remaining 2 Championship clubs, Cambridge and Chinnor , were not invited, as Cambridge had finished 11th in the previous season, and Chinnor were newly promoted into the league.[ 3] This was despite 22 teams being involved in the competition in the 2023–24 edition. The two excluded clubs set up a two-club two-leg challenge match, the "Not The Prem Cup " as a form of protest.[ 4]
Teams
London teams:Four clubs
(see below)
Club
League
Stadium
Capacity
City/Area
Ampthill
Championship
Dillingham Park
3,000
Ampthill , Bedfordshire
Bath
Premiership
The Recreation Ground
14,509
Bath , Somerset
Bedford Blues
Championship
Goldington Road
5,000
Bedford , Bedfordshire
Bristol Bears
Premiership
Ashton Gate
27,000
Bristol
Caldy
Championship
Paton Field
4,000
Thurstaston , Wirral , Merseyside
Cornish Pirates
Championship
Mennaye Field
4,000
Penzance , Cornwall
Coventry
Championship
Butts Park Arena
5,200
Coventry , West Midlands
Doncaster Knights
Championship
Castle Park
5,183
Doncaster , South Yorkshire
Ealing Trailfinders
Championship
Trailfinders Sports Ground
5,000
West Ealing , London
Exeter Chiefs
Premiership
Sandy Park
15,600
Exeter , Devon
Gloucester
Premiership
Kingsholm
16,115
Gloucester , Gloucestershire
Harlequins
Premiership
Twickenham Stoop
14,800
Twickenham , Greater London
Hartpury University
Championship
4ED Hartpury Stadium, with Vodafone[ 5]
2,000
Hartpury , Gloucestershire
Leicester Tigers
Premiership
Mattioli Woods Welford Road
25,849
Leicester , Leicestershire
London Scottish
Championship
Athletic Ground
4,500
Richmond , London
Newcastle Falcons
Premiership
Kingston Park
10,200
Newcastle upon Tyne , Tyne and Wear
Northampton Saints
Premiership
cinch Stadium at Franklin's Gardens
15,249
Northampton , Northamptonshire
Nottingham
Championship
Lady Bay Sports Ground
3,700[ a]
Nottingham , Nottinghamshire
Sale Sharks
Premiership
Salford Community Stadium
12,000
Salford , Greater Manchester
Saracens
Premiership
StoneX Stadium
10,500
Hendon , Greater London
Player movements
Pools
Teams played every other team in their pool twice, once at home and once away. The group winners and three best placed runners up would qualify for the quarter finals.
If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:[ 6]
Number of matches won
Difference between points for and against
Total number of points for
Total number of tries scored
Pool A
2024–25 Premiership Rugby Cup Pool A table
Pos
Team
Pld
W
D
L
PF
PA
PD
TF
TA
TB
LB
Pts
1
Newcastle Falcons
3
3
0
0
92
67
+25
13
8
3
0
15
2
Sale Sharks
3
2
0
1
110
72
+38
16
10
3
1
12
3
Doncaster Knights
3
1
0
2
108
93
+15
15
13
3
2
9
4
Caldy
3
0
0
3
38
116
−78
6
17
0
0
0
Source: Premiership Rugby
[ 6]
Pool B
2024–25 Premiership Rugby Cup Pool 2 table
Pos
Team
Pld
W
D
L
PF
PA
PD
TF
TA
TB
LB
Pts
1
Northampton Saints
3
3
0
0
81
51
+30
13
8
2
0
14
2
Coventry
3
2
0
1
77
53
+24
13
8
2
0
10
3
Leicester Tigers
3
1
0
2
101
93
+8
15
15
1
0
5
4
Nottingham
3
0
0
3
73
135
−62
11
21
2
1
3
Source: Premiership Rugby
[ 6]
Pool C
2024–25 Premiership Rugby Cup Pool 3 table
Pos
Team
Pld
W
D
L
PF
PA
PD
TF
TA
TB
LB
Pts
1
Ealing Trailfinders
3
2
0
1
98
62
+36
16
9
3
1
12
2
Harlequins
3
2
0
1
99
83
+16
14
11
3
1
12
3
Saracens
3
2
0
1
146
82
+64
21
13
1
0
9
4
London Scottish
3
0
0
3
54
170
−116
9
26
2
0
2
Source: Premiership Rugby
[ 6]
Pool D
2024–25 Premiership Rugby Cup Pool 4 table
Pos
Team
Pld
W
D
L
PF
PA
PD
TF
TA
TB
LB
Pts
1
Bath
3
3
0
0
172
26
+146
26
4
2
0
14
2
Bristol Bears
3
2
0
1
126
112
+14
20
17
2
0
10
3
Bedford Blues
3
1
0
2
52
94
−42
8
14
1
0
5
4
Ampthill
3
0
0
3
21
139
−118
2
21
0
0
0
Source: Premiership Rugby
[ 6]
Pool E
Source: Premiership Rugby
[ 6]
Fixtures and results
The fixtures were announced on 20 August 2024, with the first game taking place on 1 November 2024, and the final taking place on the weekend of 14 March 2025.[ 7]
Round 1
Pool A
Source: The Rugby Paper[ 8]
Pool B
Lady Bay Sports Ground Attendance: 1,219 Referee: Andy Wigley
Source: The Rugby Paper[ 8]
Pool C
Source: The Rugby Paper[ 8]
Pool D
Ampthill 0 – 73 Bath (1 BP)Report Try: McConnochie (2) 2' c, 51' cTuipulotu (3) 11' m, 25' c, 39' cStaddon 42' cSpandler (2) 58' c, 74' cRoux 65' cHennessey 70' mGriffin 76' cCon: Bailey (9/11) 3', 25', 39', 43', 51', 58', 66', 75', 76'
Dillingham Park Attendance: 1,986 Referee: Alex Thomas
Source: The Rugby Paper[ 8]
Pool E
Cornish Pirates 7 – 68 Exeter Chiefs (1 BP)Try: Houston 22' cCon: Houston (1/1) 23'Report Try: Rigg (2) 2' c, 39' cBrown-Bampoe (3) 8' c, 16' c, 73' cHodge (2) 26' c, 62' cFrost 36' mSkinner 58' cInnard 66' cCon: Hodge (9/10) 3', 9', 17', 26', 39', 59', 63', 67', 74'
4ED Hartpury Stadium, with Vodafone Attendance: 1,743 Referee: George Selwood
Source: The Rugby Paper[ 8]
Round 2
Pool A
Source: The Rugby Paper[ 10]
Pool B
Source: The Rugby Paper[ 10]
Pool C
(1 BP) Saracens 99 – 27 London Scottish (1 BP)Try: Eke 5' cHadfield (6) 11' c, 27' c, 30' c, 48' c, 51' c, 58' mMichelow 17' cJackson 23' cBraley 40' cMoore-Aiono 61' cHall (2) 63' c, 65' mJ. Bracken 70' cHammick 74' mCon: Swiel (9/9) 6', 12', 18', 24', 28', 31', 40+1', 49', 52'Eden (3/6) 62', 64', 71'Report Try: Nutton 13' cBellamy 45' mTalbot-Davies 53' cBrown 79' mCon: Wilstead (2/3) 13', 54'Pen: Wilstead (1/1) 8'
Source: The Rugby Paper[ 10]
Pool D
(1 BP) Bath 78 – 19 Bristol Bears Try: Staddon 5' cParry (2) 12' m, 48' cHennessey (2) 16' c, 69' cTuipulotu 21' mCarr-Smith (2) 36' c, 52' cMcConnochie (2) 45' m, 56' cGreen 77' cOffiah 80' cCon: Bailey (3/5) 6', 17', 37'Donoghue (6/7) 49', 53', 57', 70', 79', 80'Report Try: Jenkins 29' cCapon 65' mBoshoff 75' cCon: Lane (2/3) 31', 76'
Source: The Rugby Paper[ 10]
Pool E
Kingsholm Attendance: 8,394 Referee: Andy Wigley
Source: The Rugby Paper[ 10]
Round 3
Pool A
Source: The Rugby Paper[ 11]
Pool B
Lady Bay Sports Ground Attendance: 3,690 Referee: Alexander Thomas
Source: The Rugby Paper[ 11]
Pool C
Source: The Rugby Paper[ 11]
Pool D
Ashton Gate Attendance: Not recorded Referee: Mike Hudson
Source: The Rugby Paper[ 11]
Pool E
4ED Hartpury Stadium, with Vodafone Attendance: 600 Referee: Charles Gayther
Source: The Rugby Paper[ 11]
Round 4
Pool A
Pool B
Pool C
Pool D
Pool E
4ED Hartpury Stadium, with Vodafone
Round 5
Pool A
Pool B
Pool C
Pool D
Pool E
Round 6
Pool A
Pool B
Pool C
Pool D
Pool E
Knockout stage
The winner from each pool will progress to the quarter-finals, along with the three best runners-up. The top 5 seeds are the group winners based on points – if teams are level, tiebreakers are applied. Seeds 6, 7 and 8 are the best 2nd place teams, based on the same criteria.[ 7]
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final
1
1st ranked club
8
8th ranked club
Quarter-final winner 1
Quarter-final winner 4
4
4th ranked club
5
5th ranked club
Semi-final winner 1
Semi-final winner 2
2
2nd ranked club
7
7th ranked club
Quarter-final winner 2
Quarter-final winner 3
3
3rd ranked club
6
6th ranked club
Quarter-finals
28 Feb / 1 Mar / 2 Mar 2025
1st ranked club v 8th ranked club
28 Feb / 1 Mar / 2 Mar 2025
2nd ranked club v 7th ranked club
28 Feb / 1 Mar / 2 Mar 2025
3rd ranked club v 6th ranked club
28 Feb / 1 Mar / 2 Mar 2025
4th ranked club v 5th ranked club
Semi-finals
Quarter-final winner 1 v Quarter-final winner 4
Quarter-final winner 2 v Quarter-final winner 3
Final
Semi-final winner 1 v Semi-final winner 2
Attendances
Club
Home matches
Total
Average
Highest
Lowest
% Capacity
Ampthill
1
1,986
1,986
1,986
1,986
66%
Bath
1
10,100
10,100
10,100
10,100
70%
Bedford Blues
2
6,635
3,318
3,845
2,790
66%
Bristol Bears
1[ b]
6,306
6,306
6,306
6,306
23%
Caldy
2
1,895
948
1,370
525
24%
Cornish Pirates
1
2,700
2,700
2,700
2,700
68%
Coventry
1
5,202
5,202
5,202
5,202
100%
Doncaster Knights
1
2,408
2,408
2,408
2,408
46%
Ealing Trailfinders
2
3,138
1,569
2,228
910
31%
Exeter Chiefs
1
8,445
8,445
8,445
8,445
54%
Gloucester
2
18,010
9,005
9,616
8,394
56%
Harlequins
1
4,316
4,316
4,316
4,316
29%
Hartpury University
2
2,343
1,172
1,743
600
59%
Leicester Tigers
1
15,200
15,200
15,200
15,200
59%
London Scottish
1
821
821
821
821
18%
Newcastle Falcons
2
7,717
3,859
4,113
3,604
38%
Northampton Saints
2
22,371
11,186
15,249
7,122
73%
Nottingham
2
4,909
2,455
3,690
1,219
66%
Sale Sharks
1
4,627
4,627
4,627
4,627
39%
Saracens
2
9,143
4,572
7,093
2,050
44%
Source: The Rugby Paper[ 8] [ 10] [ 11]
Individual statistics
Top points scorers
As of 23 November 2024
Source: The Rugby Paper[ 8] [ 10] [ 11]
Top try scorers
As of 23 November 2024
Source: The Rugby Paper[ 8] [ 10] [ 11]
Discipline
Citings/bans
Notes:
^ The cited player's club is listed in bold italics .[ 12]
^ a b The ban is reduced by one match, subject to the player's completion of the World Rugby Coaching Intervention Programme.[ 13]
See also
Notes
^ The Lady Bay Sports Ground capacity increased from 3,500 to 3,700 for the 2024–25 season.
^ Bristol Bears attendance versus Ampthill on 24 November not recorded.
References