2017–18 Anglo-Welsh Cup Explained
| 2017–18 Anglo-Welsh Cup |
| Countries: |
|
| Tournament Format: | Round-robin and knockout |
| Date: | 3 November 2017 – 18 March 2018 |
| Teams: | 16 |
| Matches: | 35 |
| Highest Attendance: | 18,408
(Leicester Tigers v Gloucester) |
| Lowest Attendance: | 2,500
(Sale Sharks v Northampton Saints) |
| Top Point Scorer: | Joe Simmonds (Exeter)
54 points |
| Top Try Scorer: | Joe Cokanasiga (L Irish)
Dean Hammond (Worcester)
Jonah Holmes (Leicester)
Ken Pisi (Northampton)
4 tries each |
| Venue: | Kingsholm Stadium |
| Champions: | Exeter Chiefs |
| Count: | 2 |
| Runner-Up: | Bath |
| Previous Year: | 2016–17 |
| Previous Tournament: | 2016–17 Anglo-Welsh Cup |
| Next Year: | 2018–19 (Premiership Rugby Cup) |
| Next Tournament: | 2018–19 Premiership Rugby Cup |
The 2017–18 Anglo-Welsh Cup was the 46th season of England's national rugby union cup competition, and the 12th and final to follow the Anglo-Welsh Cup format. After this season it was replaced by the Premiership Rugby Cup and was played for by clubs from the English Premiership only.[1]
The competition consists of the four Welsh Pro14 teams and the twelve Aviva Premiership clubs arranged in pools of three English and one Welsh team. English clubs were allocated to the pools depending on their final positions in the 2016–17 Aviva Premiership. Teams will play two home and two away pool matches, with teams in Pools 1 and 4 playing each other and teams in Pools 2 and 3 playing each other. The top team from each pool will qualify for the semi-finals. The competition will take place during the Autumn International window and during the Six Nations.
Leicester Tigers are defending champions after claiming the cup with a 16–12 victory over Exeter Chiefs in the 2016–17 final at Twickenham Stoop.[2] [3] This was Leicester's eighth title in the competition.
Teams & locations
| Club | Coach | Captain | Stadium | Capacity | City/Area |
|---|
| Bath |  Todd Blackadder | Matt Garvey | The Recreation Ground | align=center | 14,500 | Bath, Somerset, England |
| Cardiff Blues | Danny Wilson | Gethin Jenkins | BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park | align=center | 12,125 | Cardiff, Glamorgan, Wales |
| Dragons | Bernard Jackman | Cory Hill | Rodney Parade | align=center | 8,800 | Newport, Wales |
| Exeter Chiefs | Rob Baxter | Jack Yeandle | Sandy Park | align=center | 12,800 | Exeter, Devon, England |
| Gloucester | David Humphreys | Willi Heinz | Kingsholm Stadium | align=center | 16,500 | Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England |
| Harlequins | John Kingston | James Horwill | Twickenham Stoop | 14,816 | Twickenham, Greater London, England |
| Leicester Tigers |  Matt O'Connor | Tom Youngs | Welford Road | align=center | 25,800 | Leicester, Leicestershire, England |
| London Irish | Nick Kennedy | David Paice | Madejski Stadium | align=center | 24,161 | Reading, Berkshire |
| Newcastle Falcons | Dean Richards | Will Welch | Kingston Park | align=center | 10,200 | Newcastle, Tyne and Wear, England |
| Northampton Saints | Alan Gaffney | Dylan Hartley | Franklin's Gardens | align=center | 15,500 | Northampton, Northamptonshire, England |
| Ospreys | Steve Tandy | Alun Wyn Jones | Liberty Stadium | align=center | 20,827 | Swansea, West Glamorgan, Wales |
| Sale Sharks | Steve Diamond | Will Addison | AJ Bell Stadium | align=center | 12,000 | Salford, Greater Manchester, England |
| Saracens | Mark McCall | Brad Barritt | Allianz Park | 10,000 | Barnet, Greater London, England |
| Scarlets | Wayne Pivac | Ken Owens | Parc y Scarlets | 14,870 | Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, Wales |
| Wasps | Dai Young | Joe Launchbury | Ricoh Arena | align=center | 32,609 | Coventry, West Midlands, England |
| Worcester Warriors | Alan Solomons | Donncha O'Callaghan | Sixways Stadium | align=center | 12,024 | Worcester, Worcestershire, England | |
Pool stages
- Points systemThe points scoring system for the pool stages will be as follows:
- 4 points for a win
- 2 points for a draw
- 1 bonus point for scoring four or more tries in a match (TB)
- 1 bonus point for a loss by seven points or less (LB)
Pool 1 v Pool 4
| Pool 1 |
| Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts |
|---|
| Bath (1) | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 112 | 80 | 32 | 12 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 17 |
| 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 133 | 84 | 49 | 20 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 11 |
| 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 134 | 159 | -25 | 20 | 24 | 3 | 0 | 11 |
| 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 49 | 149 | -100 | 6 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Updated: 4 February 2018
Source: Premiership Rugby | |
| Pool 4 |
| Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts |
|---|
| Newcastle Falcons (3) | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 149 | 81 | 68 | 22 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 15 |
| 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 137 | 101 | 36 | 21 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 12 |
| 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 109 | 119 | -10 | 14 | 16 | 2 | 1 | 11 |
| 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 77 | 127 | -50 | 10 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
Updated: 4 February 2017
Source: Premiership Rugby | |
Round 1 (England)
--------[4]
Round 2
------------[5]
Round 1 (Wales)
[6]
Round 3
------------[7]
Round 4
------------[8]
Pool 2 v Pool 3
| Pool 2 |
| Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts |
|---|
| Exeter Chiefs (2) | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 147 | 79 | 68 | 23 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 15 |
| 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 120 | 109 | 11 | 18 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 15 |
| 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 118 | 85 | 33 | 16 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 14 |
| 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 84 | 126 | -42 | 12 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 9 |
Updated: 3 February 2018
Source: Premiership Rugby | |
| Pool 3 |
| Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts |
|---|
| Northampton Saints (4) | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 129 | 80 | 49 | 18 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 15 |
| 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 116 | 123 | -7 | 17 | 18 | 2 | 2 | 8 |
| 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 111 | 123 | -12 | 14 | 17 | 2 | 2 | 8 |
| 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 43 | 143 | -100 | 5 | 21 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Updated: 3 February 2018
Source: Premiership Rugby | |
Round 1 (England)
--------[4]
Round 2
------------[5]
Round 1 (Wales)
[6]
Round 3
------------[7]
Round 4
------------[8]
Semi-finals
[9]
Final
[10]
Attendances
- Attendances do not include the final at Kingsholm.
| Club | Home
games | Total | Average | Highest | Lowest | % Capacity |
|---|
| Bath | 3 | 36,436 | 12,145 | 14,354 | 8,455 | 84% |
| Cardiff Blues | 2 | 6,327 | 3,164 | 3,204 | 3,123 | 26% |
| Dragons | 2 | 7,579 | 3,790 | 3,917 | 3,662 | 45% |
| Exeter Chiefs | 3 | 31,614 | 10,538 | 12,437 | 8,833 | 82% |
| Gloucester | 2 | 22,955 | 11,478 | 11,683 | 11,272 | 71% |
| Harlequins | 2 | 16,605 | 8,303 | 9,305 | 7,300 | 56% |
| Leicester Tigers | 2 | 36,530 | 18,265 | 18,408 | 18,122 | 71% |
| London Irish | 2 | 8,962 | 4,481 | 4,598 | 4,364 | 19% |
| Newcastle Falcons | 2 | 7,842 | 3,921 | 4,096 | 3,746 | 38% |
| Northampton Saints | 2 | 19,472 | 9,736 | 10,125 | 9,347 | 63% |
| Ospreys | 2 | 9,243 | 4,622 | 5,020 | 4,223 | 22% |
| Sale Sharks | 2 | 6,773 | 3,387 | 4,273 | 2,500 | 28% |
| Saracens | 2 | 15,646 | 7,823 | 9,214 | 6,432 | 78% |
| Scarlets | 2 | 8,032 | 4,016 | 5,011 | 3,021 | 27% |
| Wasps | 2 | 16,926 | 8,463 | 9,409 | 7,517 | 26% |
| Worcester Warriors | 2 | 13,693 | 6,847 | 7,612 | 6,081 | 57% |
|
[4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] Individual statistics
- * Note that points scorers includes tries as well as conversions, penalties and drop goals. Appearance figures also include coming on as substitutes (unused substitutes not included).
Top points scorers
| Rank | Player | Team | | Points |
|---|
| 1 | | | 6 | 54 |
| 2 | | | 4 | 49 |
| 3 | | | 4 | 46 |
| 4 | | | 4 | 40 |
| 5 | | | 5 | 33 |
| 6 | | | 4 | 27 |
| | 5 | 27 |
| 7 | | | 2 | 21 |
| | 4 | 21 |
| | 4 | 21 |
|
[4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] Top try scorers
| Rank | Player | Team | | Tries |
|---|
| 1 | | | 3 | 4 |
| | 4 | 4 |
| | 4 | 4 |
| | 5 | 4 |
| 2 | | | 2 | 3 |
| | 3 | 3 |
| | 3 | 3 |
| | 3 | 3 |
| | 3 | 3 |
| | 3 | 3 |
| | 4 | 3 |
| | 4 | 3 |
| | 5 | 3 |
| | 6 | 3 |
|
[4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] Season records
Team
- Largest home win — 59 points66–7 London Irish at home to Wasps on 27 January 2018
Largest away win — 40 points40-0 Exeter Chiefs away to Scarlets on 12 November 2017
Most points scored — 66 points 66–7 London Irish at home to Wasps on 27 January 2018
Most tries in a match — 10London Irish at home to Wasps on 27 January 2018
Most conversions in a match — 8London Irish at home to Wasps on 27 January 2018
Most penalties in a match — 5Saracens away to Sale Sharks on 10 November 2017
Most drop goals in a match — 0
[4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]
Attendances
- Highest — 18,408Leicester Tigers at home to Gloucester on 4 November 2017
Lowest — 2,500Sale Sharks at home to Northampton Saints on 27 January 2018
Highest Average Attendance —
- Lowest Average Attendance —
[4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]
Player
- Most points in a match — 21 Freddie Burns for Bath at home to Leicester Tigers on 10 November 2017
Most tries in a match — 3 (2) Dean Hammond for Worcester Warriors away to Harlequins on 12 November 2017
Joe Cokanasiga for London Irish at home to Wasps on 27 January 2018
Most conversions in a match — 6 James Marshall for London Irish away to Cardiff Blues on 2 February 2018
Most penalties in a match — 5 Max Malins for Saracens away to Sale Sharks on 10 November 2017
Most drop goals in a match — 0
[4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]
Notes and References
- Web site: Premiership Rugby Cup to replace Anglo-Welsh Cup from next season . BBC Sport . 2018-05-12.
- Web site: Exeter Chiefs 12–16 Leicester Tigers verdict: Victory in Anglo-Welsh final . Leicester Mercury . 19 March 2017 . 30 August 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170320225129/http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/exeter-chiefs-xx-xx-leicester-tigers-verdict/story-30214171-detail/story.html . 20 March 2017 . dead .
- Web site: Match report: Exeter Chiefs 12 Leicester Tigers 16 – Leicester win Anglo-Welsh Cup . Devon Live . 19 March 2017 . 30 August 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170320233953/http://www.devonlive.com/match-report-exeter-chiefs-xx-leicester-tigers-xx/story-30214274-detail/story.html . 20 March 2017 . dead .
- News: Anglo-Welsh Cup. The RUGBYPaper. 477. Rugby Paper Ltd. 5 November 2017. 12–16 & 38.
- News: Anglo-Welsh Cup. The RUGBYPaper. 478. Rugby Paper Ltd. 12 November 2017. 18–21 & 38.
- News: Anglo-Welsh Cup. The RUGBYPaper. 479. Rugby Paper Ltd. 19 November 2017. 30 & 34.
- News: Anglo-Welsh Cup. The RUGBYPaper. 489. Rugby Paper Ltd. 28 January 2018. 8–11 & 38.
- News: Anglo-Welsh Cup. The RUGBYPaper. 490. Rugby Paper Ltd. 4 February 2018. 20–23 & 38.
- News: Anglo-Welsh Cup. The RUGBYPaper. 495. Rugby Paper Ltd. 11 March 2018. 22–23 & 38.
- News: Anglo-Welsh Cup. The RUGBYPaper. 498. Rugby Paper Ltd. 1 April 2018. 16 & 32.
