Pilkington Cup
Current season, competition or edition: 2016–17 Anglo-Welsh Cup
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|
| Sport | Rugby union |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1971 |
| No. of teams | 16 |
| Countries |
 England Wales
|
| Most recent champion(s) |
Leicester (8th title) |
| Most titles | Bath (10 titles) |
| TV partner(s) | BT Sport |
| Official website | [1] |
The Anglo-Welsh Cup (Welsh: Cwpan Eingl-Gymreig), is a cross-border rugby union knock-out cup competition featuring the 12 English Premiership clubs and the four Welsh regions. The latest sponsorship deal was with British insurance company LV, which ran for six seasons, was announced on 29 October 2009, just before the start of the 2009–10 competition and ended in 2015. Between 2006 and 2009, the competition was sponsored by EDF's UK subsidiary and referred to as the EDF Energy Cup.
The competition is seen by most clubs as a tournament to experiment with younger and upcoming players, with many regular team starters rested from the match day squad.
Prior to 2005 the cup was an all-English competition.
Originally known as the RFU Club Competition, for which no cup was awarded nor sponsorship sought, it was renamed the John Player Cup in 1976. The first competition took place in 1972, and Gloucester were crowned inaugural champions, defeating Moseley in the final, 17–6. Coventry won two titles in succession in 1973 and 1974, and after Bedford's championship win in 1975, Gosforth also won two in succession, in 1976 and 1977. Gloucester won their second title in 1978. The competition was then dominated by Leicester, who won three championships in a row, until Gloucester won their third title in 1982. This was shared with Moseley after a 12–12 draw in extra time, and was the only time the cup was shared between two teams. Leicester were again in the final in 1983, but lost to Bristol. Leicester's record run was then broken by Bath from 1984 to 1987, who won the cup four times in a row, until Harlequins won their first in 1988.
The name of the cup was changed to the Pilkington Cup for the 1989 tournament. Bath picked up from where they left off in the late 1980s, going onto win another six times from 1989 to 1996. Harlequins won their second title in 1991, and Leicester added to their three championships in 1993 and again in 1997. The cup changed its name again after Leicesters' 1997 victory, becoming the Tetley's Bitter Cup for the 1998 season. Saracens won their first title, defeating Wasps in 1998. Wasps were again in the final in 1999, and defeated Newcastle to claim their first championship. Wasps also won the 2000 competition.
In 2001, the name of the tournament was changed to the Powergen Cup. Newcastle won the first Powergen Cup, defeating the Harlequins 30–27. London Irish won it for their first time the following season, and Gloucester won it for the first time since 1982 in 2003. Newcastle won in 2004, and in 2005 the Leeds Tykes defeated Bath to win it for the first time.
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