2022–23 Premiership Rugby Cup
# 2022–23 Premiership Rugby Cup

The 2022–23 Premiership Rugby Cup is the 50th season of England's national rugby union cup competition and the fourth under the new Premiership Rugby Cup format following the disbanding of the Anglo-Welsh Cup at the end of the 2017–18 season due to the withdrawal of the Welsh Pro14 regions. Although there are no stipulations on player selection, the cup will be seen by many clubs as a development competition, and games will take place during the Autumn internationals and during the Six Nations.

Worcester Warriors entered the competition as reigning champions, becoming the third winners of the Premiership Cup when they defeated London Irish by virtue of scoring more tries in a 25–25 draw at the Brentford Community Stadium in the 2021–22 final.

## Competition format

The competition consists of the thirteen Premiership Rugby teams arranged in three pools. Pool 1 will consist of five teams whilst pools B and C will consist of four. Each team will play each team in their pool once only and, in the case of pools 2 and 3, also play an additional inter pool match. There will be five rounds of matches meaning each team will receive one bye. The top team in each pool, plus the best overall runner-up, will progress to the semi-finals, with the highest ranked teams having home advantage. The winners of the semi-finals will then meet at the final in May 2023 to be held at the home ground of the highest ranked remaining team.

### Teams

| Club | Director of Rugby/ Head Coach | Captain | Kit supplier | Stadium | Capacity | City/Area |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Bath | Johann van Graan | Ben Spencer | Macron | The Recreation Ground | 14,509 | Bath |
| Bristol Bears | Pat Lam | Steve Luatua | Umbro | Ashton Gate | 27,000 | Bristol |
| Exeter Chiefs | Rob Baxter | Jack Yeandle | Samurai Sportswear | Sandy Park | 13,593 | Exeter |
| Gloucester | George Skivington | Lewis Ludlow | Oxen Sports | Kingsholm Stadium | 16,115 | Gloucester |
| Harlequins | Billy Millard | Stephan Lewies | Castore | Twickenham Stoop | 14,800 | Twickenham, Greater London |
| Leicester Tigers | Steve Borthwick | Hanro Liebenberg | Samurai Sportswear | Mattioli Woods Welford Road | 25,849 | Leicester |
| London Irish | Declan Kidney | Matt Rogerson | BLK | Gtech Community Stadium | 17,250 | Brentford, Greater London |
| Newcastle Falcons | Dave Walder | Will Welch | Macron | Kingston Park | 10,200 | Newcastle upon Tyne |
| Northampton Saints | Phil Dowson | Lewis Ludlam | Macron | cinch Stadium at Franklin's Gardens | 15,200 | Northampton |
| Sale Sharks | Alex Sanderson | Jono Ross | Macron | AJ Bell Stadium | 12,000 | Salford, Greater Manchester |
| Saracens | Mark McCall | Owen Farrell | Castore | StoneX Stadium | 10,500 | Hendon, Greater London |
| Wasps | Lee Blackett | Joe Launchbury | Hummel | Coventry Building Society Arena | 32,609 | Coventry |
| Worcester Warriors | Steve Diamond | Ted Hill | O'Neills | Sixways Stadium | 11,499 | Worcester |

## Pools

### Pool 1

Pool 1 :

| | Club | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Points for | Points against | Points difference | Tries for | Tries against | Try bonus | Losing bonus | Points |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Exeter Chiefs | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 138 | 63 | 63 | 19 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 19 |
| 2 | Gloucester | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 149 | 32 | 49 | 22 | 16 | 4 | 0 | 16 |
| 3 | Bristol Bears | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 123 | 92 | 31 | 20 | 14 | 4 | 1 | 13 |
| 4 | Bath | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 44 | 83 | -65 | 6 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order: Number of matches won Difference between points for and against Total number of points for Total number of tries scored ||||||||||||||
| Green background means the club has qualified for the semi-finals as pool winner. Blue background means the club has qualified for the semi-finals as the best pool runner-up. Updated: 5 January 2023 Note that each team plays 4 games. ||||||||||||||

### Pool 2

Pool 2 :

| | Club | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Points for | Points against | Points difference | Tries for | Tries against | Try bonus | Losing bonus | Points |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Sale Sharks | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 113 | 102 | 11 | 16 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 14 |
| 2 | Leicester Tigers | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 133 | 82 | 51 | 20 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 13 |
| 3 | Newcastle Falcons | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 102 | 126 | -24 | 13 | 18 | 2 | 1 | 7 |
| If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order: Number of matches won Difference between points for and against Total number of points for Total number of tries scored ||||||||||||||
| Green background means the club has qualified for the semi-finals as pool winner. Blue background means the club has qualified for the semi-finals as the best pool runner-up. Updated: 5 January 2023 Note that each team plays 4 games; 3 pool games plus a derby game against a team in another pool. ||||||||||||||

### Pool 3

Pool 3 :

| | Club | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Points for | Points against | Points difference | Tries for | Tries against | Try bonus | Losing bonus | Points |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | London Irish | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 127 | 85 | 42 | 19 | 13 | 4 | 0 | 20 |
| 2 | Northampton Saints | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 164 | 119 | 45 | 24 | 19 | 4 | 1 | 17 |
| 3 | Harlequins | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 114 | 150 | -36 | 18 | 22 | 3 | 1 | 8 |
| 4 | Saracens | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 99 | 186 | -87 | 16 | 29 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order: Number of matches won Difference between points for and against Total number of points for Total number of tries scored ||||||||||||||
| Green background means the club has qualified for the semi-finals as pool winner. Blue background means the club has qualified for the semi-finals as the best pool runner-up. Updated: 5 January 2023 Note that each team plays 4 games; 3 pool games plus a derby game against a team in another pool. ||||||||||||||

## Fixtures

### Round 1

* 20 September 2022 19:45

| Sale Sharks | 25 – 19 | Leicester Tigers (1 BP) |
| - | - | - |
| Try: Dugdale 31' c Reed 45' c Beaumont 49' m Con: Wilkinson (2/3) 32', 46' Pen: Wilkinson (2/3) 19', 78' | Report | Try: Penalty Try 8' Horton 54' m Chessum 56' c Pen: Walsh (1/2) 57' |

* Salford City Stadium
* 20 September 2022 19:45

| (1 BP) Wasps | 35 – 21 | Newcastle Falcons |
| - | - | - |
| Try: Curran 4' c Fisilau 19' c van Vuuren (2) 30' c, 58' c Craven 64' c Con: Haydon-Wood (5/5) 4', 21', 30', 59', 64' | Report | Try: Greenwood 51' c Peters 77' c Stephens 80' c Con: Johnson (3/3) 51', 77', 80' |

* Coventry Building Society Arena
* 21 September 2022 19:45

| (1 BP) Gloucester | 49 – 21 | Worcester Warriors |
| - | - | - |
| Try: Reeves (2) 3' c, 50' c Clark 13' c Clement 54' c Seabrook 64' c Thomas (2) 76' c, 80' c Con: Barton (7/7) 4', 14', 51' 55', 66', 77', 80' | Report | Try: Doel 28' c Theobald-Thomas 37' c Wilson 71' c Con: Titcombe (3/3) 29', 38', 72' |

* Kingsholm
* 21 September 2022 19:45

| (2 BP) Harlequins | 26 – 30 | London Irish (1 BP) |
| - | - | - |
| Try: Green 30' c Edwards 52' c Riley 63' m Cleaves 65' c Con: Edwards (3/4) 31', 53', 66' | Report | Try: Harrison 4' m Dykes 6' c O'Sullivan 9' m Harmes 54' c Con: Jennings (2/4) 8', 55' Pen: Jennings (2/2) 46', 61' |

* Twickenham Stoop
* 5 October 2022 19:45

| (1 BP) Northampton Saints | 58 – 34 | Saracens (1 BP) |
| - | - | - |
| Try: Matavesi 2' m Sleightholme (2) 5' c, 40' m Skosan (3) 15' m, 42' c, 48' m Pollock (2) 23' c, 70' c Hinkley 75' c Con: Grayson (5/9) 6', 24', 43', 71', 76' Pen: Grayson (1/1) 68' | Report | Try: Moore 12' c Adejimi (4) 26' m, 44' c, 54' m, 65' m Wilson 78' m Con: Vunipola (2/6) 13', 45' |

* cinch Stadium at Franklin's Gardens
* 26 November 2022 15:00

| Exeter Chiefs | 25 - 22 | Bath Rugby (1 BP) |
| - | - | - |
| Try: Tuima 19' c Davis (2) 37' c, 63' m Con: Jenkins (2/3) 20', 37' Pen: Jenkins (2/2) 5', 16' | Report | Try: Richards 40' c Harris 45' c Carr-Smith 74' m Con: Francis (2/3) 40', 46' Pen: Francis (1/1) 30' |

* Sandy Park
* Bye/s: Bristol Bears

### Round 2

* 27 September 2022 19:00

| (1 BP) Leicester Tigers | 38 — 17 | Wasps |
| - | - | - |
| Try: Jansen 21' c Ilione 33' c Saumaki 56' c Edwards 69' c Vanes 73' c Con: Walsh (3/3) 22', 35', 57' Meredith (2/2) 70', 74' Pen: Walsh (1/1) 50' | Report | Try: Dawkins 9' c Hartley 26' c Con: Haydon-Wood (2/2) 10', 27' Pen: Haydon-Wood (1/1) 29' |

* Mattioli Woods Welford Road Stadium
* 27 September 2022 19:45

| (1 BP) London Irish | 28 — 26 | Northampton Saints (2 BP) |
| - | - | - |
| Try: Chapman (2) 50' c, 60' c Trotter 75' c Penalty try 80' Con: Jennings (3/3) 51', 61', 76' | Report | Try: Graham 17' c Ramm (2) 25' c, 27' m Heffernan 55' c Con: Grayson (3/4) 17', 26', 55' |

* Gtech Community Stadium
* 27 September 2022 19:45

| Newcastle Falcons | 21 — 29 | Sale Sharks (1 BP) |
| - | - | - |
| Try: Tiffen 10' c Obatoyinbo 61' m Con: Thomas (1/2) 11' Pen: Thomas (2/2) 30', 40' Blackett (2/2) 64' | Report | Try: Gourlay 35' c Jones 42' c Morris 48' m Pope 66' c Con: Curtis (3/4) 36', 43', 67' Pen: Curtis (1/2) 79' |

* Kingston Park Attendance: 2,371
* 28 September 2022 19:30

| (1 BP) Harlequins | 40 — 31 | Saracens (1 BP) |
| - | - | - |
| Try: Jibulu 26' c Slevin 30' c Carr 40' c Murray 53' c Bradley 55' c Osborne 62' m Con: Benson (5/6) 27', 31', 40', 53', 56' | Report | Try: Stonham 8' m Lewis (2) 16' m, 66' c Jackson 68' c Harris 73' c Con: Vunipola (3/6) 65', 67', 74' |

* Twickenham Stoop
* 28 September 2022 19:45

| Bath Rugby | 15 — 29 | Gloucester Rugby (1 BP) |
| - | - | - |
| Try: Doughty 26' c Stewart 61' m Con: Worboys (1/2) 26' Pen: Worboys (1/1) 16' | Report | Try: Polledri 11' c Reeves (2) 41' c, 49' c Moyle 56' m Con: Barton (3/4) 12', 42', 50' Pen: Barton (1/1) 66' |

* Recreation Ground
* 28 September 2022 19:45

| (1 BP) Bristol Bears | 20 — 35 | Exeter Chiefs (1 BP) |
| - | - | - |
| Try: Rowson 17' m Whiteley 44' m Jenkins (2) 72' m, 79' m | Report | Try: Penalty try 20' Innard 15' c Pearson (2) 29' c, 47' c O’Brien 50' c Con: Becconsall (4/4) 26', 29', 47', 51' |

* Ashton Gate
* Bye/s: Worcester Warriors

### Round 3

* 11 October 2022 19:45

| (1 BP) Northampton Saints | 49 — 29 | Harlequins (1 BP) |
| - | - | - |
| Try: Sylvester 8' c Scott-Young 14' c Collins (2) 17' c, 39' c Hendy 24' c Lockett 32' c James 53' c Con: Grayson (4/4) 9', 15', 18', 25' Matavesi (3/3) 32', 40', 54' | Report | Try: Cleaves 5' c Oresanya 22' c Slevin 31' m Edwards (2) 74' m, 80' m Con: Edwards (2/4) 7', 27' |

* cinch Stadium at Franklin's Gardens
* 17 October 2022 19:45

| (1 BP) Saracens | 26 — 43 | London Irish (1 BP) |
| - | - | - |
| Try: Stonham 20' c Moore (2) 41' m, 70' c Reynolds-West 78' c Con: Vunipola (1/2) 21' Elliot (2/2) 70', 79' | Report | Try: Gigena 6' c Hitchcock 11' c Basham 22' m Dykes (3) 25' c, 38' m, 46' m Harmes 31' c Con: Jennings (4/7) 7', 12', 27', 32' |

* StoneX Stadium
* 18 October 2022 19:45

| Wasps | Cancelled | Sale Sharks |
| - | - | - |

* Coventry Building Society Arena
* 19 October 2022 19:00

| (2 BP) Leicester Tigers | 31 - 32 | Newcastle Falcons (1 BP) |
| - | - | - |
| Try: Horton 14' m Jansen 50' m Manz 56' c Vanes (2) 65' c, 68' c Con: Walsh (3/5) 57', 66', 68' | Report | Try: Tait (2) 8' m, 61' c Obatoyinbo 16' c Fletcher 79' c Con: Schoeman (2/3) 17', 61' Johnson (1/1) 80' Pen: Schoeman (2/2) 32', 53' |

* Mattioli Woods Welford Road Stadium
* 19 October 2022 19:45

| Bath Rugby | 0 - 29 | Bristol Bears (1 BP) |
| - | - | - |
| | Report | Try: Thacker (3) 5' c, 38' m, 45' m Bailey 10' m Purdy 67' c Con: MacGinty (2/5) 5', 68' |

* Recreation Ground
* Bye/s: Exeter Chiefs, Gloucester Rugby

### Round 4

* 18 November 2022 19:45

| (1 BP) Sale Sharks | 40 — 19 | Harlequins |
| - | - | - |
| Try: Birch (2) 15' c, 55' m Postlethwaite 42' c Caine 65' c Wilkinson (2) 71' c, 80' c Con: Curtis (3/4) 16', 44', 80' Wilkinson (2/2) 66', 74' | Report | Try: Barnes 4' m Lawday 48' c Anderson 77' c Con: Slevin (2/3) 49', 77' |

* Salford City Stadium
* 19 November 2022 13:00

| Saracens | 8 — 45 | Leicester Tigers (1 BP) |
| - | - | - |
| Try: Elliot 20' m Pen: Elliot (1/1) 36' | Report | Try: Ramage 12' m Jansen (2) 33' c, 44' m Henderson 38' c van Wyk 68' c Horton (2) 70' c, 80' c Con: Atkinson (5/6) 33', 38', 69', 70', 80' |

* StoneX Stadium
* 19 November 2022 15:00

| (1 BP) Gloucester Rugby | 38 — 31 | Bristol Bears (2 BP) |
| - | - | - |
| Try: Morris (2) 1' m, 49' m Clement 22' c Knight 33' c Atkinson 40' c Blake 72' c Con: Barton (4/6) 23', 34', 40', 73' | Report | Try: Whiteley (2) 35' c, 69' c Williams 56' c Davies 79' c Con: Williams (4/4) 36', 57' 69', 80' Pen: Williams (1/1) 7' |

* Kingsholm
* 19 November 2022 15:30

| (2 BP) Newcastle Falcons | 28 — 31 | Northampton Saints (1 BP) |
| - | - | - |
| Try: Blamire 26' c Kerr 35' c Pepper 40' c Qorowale 71' c Con: Schoeman (3/3) 27', 36', 40' | Report | Try: Irvine 4' c Nansen 9' c Skosan 19' c Smith 52' c Con: Matavesi (4/4) 5', 10', 19', 52' Pen: Matavesi (1/1) 56' |

* Kingston Park Attendance: 2,231
* Bye/s: Bath Rugby, Exeter Chiefs

### Round 5

* 4 December 2022 15:00

| (1 BP) Exeter Chiefs | 50 - 33 | Gloucester Rugby (1 BP) |
| - | - | - |
| Try: Feyi-Waboso 4' c Cordero (2) 13' c, 17' m Tuima (2) 26' c, 44' c Frost (2) 63' c, 70' c Con: Jenkins (6/7) 4', 13', 26', 45', 64', 70' Pen: Jenkins (1/1) 24' | Report | Try: Meehan 13' c Blake 22' m Morris 53' c Morgan 77' c Reeves 80' c Con: Barton (4/5) 13', 53', 78', 80' |

* Sandy Park
* Bye/s: Bath Rugby, Bristol Bears, Harlequins, Leicester Tigers, London Irish, Newcastle Falcons, Northampton Saints, Sale Sharks, Saracens

### Round 6

* 4 January 2023 19:45

| (1 BP) London Irish | 26 - 7 | Bath Rugby |
| - | - | - |
| Try: Cornish (2) 20' c, 42' c Scragg 29' c Mille 75' m Con: Atkins (3/4) 20', 30', 45' | | Try: Ellis 80' c Con: Harris (1/1) 80' |

* Gtech Community Stadium
* 3 February 2023 19:45

| (1 BP) Bristol Bears | 43 - 19 | Sale Sharks |
| - | - | - |
| Try: Lloyd (3) 10' m, 30' m, 37' c Heward 24' c Holmes 35' c Ascherl 46' c Davies 57' m Con: Williams (3/6) 35', 38', 46' Sheedy (1/1) 25' | | Try: Gourlay (2) 39' m, 70' c Roebuck 74' c Con: Curtis (2/3) 71', 74' |

* Ashton Gate

Notes:

The matches in Round 6 were not part of the initial schedule of the competition, and were instead added to the fixture list to ensure that each team played the same number of matches following Worcester Warriors and Wasps being unable to complete their allotted fixtures.

* Bye/s:

### Semi-final

* 10 February 2023 19:45

| London Irish | 30–18 | Northampton Saints |
| - | - | - |
| Try: Cinti 11' c Basham 44' c Poolman 77' c Con: Jennings (3/3) 12', 45', 78' Pen: Jennings (3/3) 34', 40', 70' | | Try: Sleightholme 3' m Litchfield 37' c Con: Grayson (1/2) 37' Pen: Grayson (2/2) 47', 61' |

* Gtech Community Stadium
* 12 February 2023 13:00

| (1 BP) Exeter Chiefs | 46–3 | Sale Sharks |
| - | - | - |

* Sandy Park

### Final

* 19 March 2023 14:00

| London Irish | 20–24 (a.e.t.) | Exeter Chiefs |
| - | - | - |
| Try: Ruiz 15', 35' Con: Atkins (16', 36') Pen: Atkins (46', 88') | Report | Try: Innard 26' Iosefa-Scott 76' Davis 89' Con: Jenkins (27') Simmonds (77, 90') Pen: Jenkins (39') |

* Gtech Community Stadium Attendance: 7,663 Referee: Adam Leal

| FW | 15 | James Stokes |
| - | - | - |
| W | 14 | Matt Williams | | 64' |
| C | 13 | Will Joseph | | 54' |
| C | 12 | Tom Hitchcock |
| W | 11 | Michael Dykes |
| FH | 10 | Jacob Atkins |
| SH | 9 | Hugh O'Sullivan | | 90' |
| N8 | 8 | So'otala Fa'aso'o | | 53' |
| F | 7 | Josh Basham | 76' |
| F | 6 | Jack Cooke (c) |
| L | 5 | Chunya Munga |
| L | 4 | Josh Caulfield | | 90' |
| P | 3 | Lovejoy Chawatama | | 65' |
| H | 2 | Ignacio Ruiz |
| P | 1 | Facundo Gigena | | 51' |
| Substitutions: ||
| F | | Juan M. González | | 53' |
| C | | Eddie Poolman | | 54' |
| C | | Harnes | | 64' |
| H | | Caolan Englefield | | 90' |
| P | | Tarek Haffar | | 51' |
| H | | Matt Cornish | | 64' |
| P | | Ciaran Parker | | 65' |
| L | | Ed Scragg | | 90' |
| Head Coach: ||
| Les Kiss ||
| FW | 15 | Tom Wyatt |
| W | 14 | Dan John |
| C | 13 | Seán O'Brien |
| C | 12 | Tom Hendrickson | | 56' |
| W | 11 | Rory O'Loughlin |
| FH | 10 | Iwan Jenkins | | 72' |
| SH | 9 | Tom Cairns | | 51' |
| N8 | 8 | Rus Tuima |
| F | 7 | Aidon Davis |
| F | 6 | Christ Tshiunza |
| L | 5 | Jack Dunne |
| L | 4 | Mike Williams | | 56' |
| P | 3 | Patrick Schickerling | | 56' |
| H | 2 | Jack Innard | | |
| P | 1 | Danny Southworth | 33' | 64' |
| Substitutions: ||
| P | | Josh Iosefa-Scott | | 56' |
| H | | Iestyn Harris | | |
| L | | Jannes Kirsten | | 56' |
| C | | Ollie Devoto | | 56' |
| FB | | Joe Simmonds | | 72' |
| H | | Will Becconsall | | 51' |
| P | | James Kenny | | 64' |
| Head Coach: ||
| Ali Hepher ||
