2017–18 Anglo-Welsh 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 will be replaced by the Premiership Rugby Cup and will played for by clubs from the English Premiership only.
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. 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 | 14,500 | Bath, Somerset, England |
Cardiff Blues | Danny Wilson | Gethin Jenkins | BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park | 12,125 | Cardiff, Glamorgan, Wales |
Dragons | Bernard Jackman | Cory Hill | Rodney Parade | 8,800 | Newport, Wales |
Exeter Chiefs | Rob Baxter | Jack Yeandle | Sandy Park | 12,800 | Exeter, Devon, England |
Gloucester | David Humphreys | Willi Heinz | Kingsholm Stadium | 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 | 25,800 | Leicester, Leicestershire, England |
London Irish | Nick Kennedy | David Paice | Madejski Stadium | 24,161 | Reading, Berkshire |
Newcastle Falcons | Dean Richards | Will Welch | Kingston Park | 10,200 | Newcastle, Tyne and Wear, England |
Northampton Saints | Alan Gaffney | Dylan Hartley | Franklin's Gardens | 15,500 | Northampton, Northamptonshire, England |
Ospreys | Steve Tandy | Alun Wyn Jones | Liberty Stadium | 20,827 | Swansea, West Glamorgan, Wales |
Sale Sharks | Steve Diamond | Will Addison | AJ Bell Stadium | 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 | 32,609 | Coventry, West Midlands, England |
Worcester Warriors | Alan Solomons | Donncha O'Callaghan | Sixways Stadium | 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
- 1 bonus point for a loss by seven points or less
Pool 1 v Pool 4
Round 1 (England)
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Round 2
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Round 1 (Wales)
Round 3
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Round 4
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Pool 2 v Pool 3
Round 1 (England)
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Round 2
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Round 1 (Wales)
Round 3
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Round 4
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Semi-finals
Final
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% |
Individual statistics
- * Note that points scorers includes tries as well as conversions, penalties and drop goals. Appearance figures also include coming on as substitutes.
Top points scorers
Top try scorers
Season records
Team
;Largest home win — 59 points66–7 London Irish at home to Wasps on 27 January 2018
;Largest away win — 40 points
40-0 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 — 10
London Irish at home to Wasps on 27 January 2018
;Most conversions in a match — 8
London Irish at home to Wasps on 27 January 2018
;Most penalties in a match — 5
Saracens away to Sale Sharks on 10 November 2017
;Most drop goals in a match — 0
Attendances
;Highest — 18,408Leicester Tigers at home to Gloucester on 4 November 2017
;Lowest — 2,500
Sale Sharks at home to Northampton Saints on 27 January 2018
;Highest Average Attendance —
;Lowest Average Attendance —
Player
;Most points in a match — 21Freddie Burns for Bath at home to Leicester Tigers on 10 November 2017
;Most tries in a match — 3
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