1998–99 Tetley's Bitter Cup
# 1998–99 Tetley's Bitter Cup

The 1998–99 Tetley's Bitter Cup was the 28th edition of England's rugby union club competition. Wasps won the competition defeating Newcastle Falcons in the final. The event was sponsored by Tetley's Brewery and the final was held at Twickenham Stadium.

## Draw and results

### First round (19 September)

| Home | Away | Score |
| - | - | - |
| Aspatria | Bedford Athletic | 17-32 |
| Banbury | Scunthorpe | 5-27 |
| Barkers Butts | Macclesfield | 17-24 |
| Bromsgrove | Sedgley Park | 10-34 |
| Cheshunt | Morpeth | 33-26 |
| Clevedon | Barking | 7-32 |
| Clifton | Esher | 3-60 |
| Doncaster | Walsall | 30-19 |
| Guildford & Godalming | Bridgwater | 18-28 |
| Hinckley | Nuneaton | 20-24 |
| Hull Ionians | Egremont | 59-0 |
| Kendal | Broadstreet | 13-12 |
| Launceston | North Walsham | 32-18 |
| Malvern | Sandal | 14-52 |
| Metropolitan Police | Cheltenham | 34-8 |
| New Brighton | Lichfield | 33-8 |
| Norwich | Winchester | 15-23 |
| Penzance & Newlyn | Cambridge | 32-13 |
| Plymouth | Redruth | 32-18 |
| Preston Grasshoppers | Kenilworth | 43-6 |
| Ruislip | Old Colleians | 9-43 |
| Spartans | Havant | 10-24 |
| Swanage & Wareham | Abbey | 33-7 |
| Tabard | Wimbledon | 26-23 |
| Torquay Athletic | Maidenhead | 15-29 |
| Tynedale | Winnington Park | 47-10 |
| Westcombe Park | Bracknell | 14-21 |
| Weston-super-Mare | Ipswich | 34-26 |
| Whitchurch | Aspull | 32-10 |

### Second round (17 October)

| Home | Away | Score |
| - | - | - |
| Bridgwater | Rosslyn Park | 15-49 |
| Esher | Tabard | 41-3 |
| Henley Hawks | Havant | 100-19 |
| Hull Ionians | Macclesfield | 13-3 |
| Kendal | Liverpool | 20-7 |
| Lydney | Camberley | 44-34 |
| Maidenhead | Launceston | 22-21 |
| Metropolitan Police | Winchester | 25-14 |
| New Brighton | Nuneaton | 25-10 |
| Newbury | Cheshunt | 37-13 |
| Nottingham | Preston Grasshoppers | 50-3 |
| Old Colleians | Swanage & Wareham | 23-32 |
| Otley | Morley | 18-20 |
| Plymouth | Barking | 13-18 |
| Reading | Penzance & Newlyn | 21-5 |
| Sandal | Doncaster | 6-3 |
| Scunthorpe | Harrogate | 0-29 |
| Sedgley Park | Manchester | 20-17 |
| Tynedale | Stourbridge | 22-30 |
| Weston-super-Mare | Bracknell | 15-42 |
| Wharfedale | Birmingham & Solihull | 27-5 |
| Whitchurch | Bedford Athletic | 23-15 |

### Third round (14 November)

| Home | Away | Score |
| - | - | - |
| Blackheath | Sedgley Park | 21-22 |
| Bracknell | Metropolitan Police | 13-6 |
| Bristol | Sandal | 55-0 |
| Coventry | Worcester | 26-36 |
| Esher | Harrogate | 42-17 |
| Exeter | Whitchurch | 81-11 |
| Hull Ionians | Newbury | 7-31 |
| Lydney | Stourbridge | 44-5 |
| Morley | Maidenhead | 39-25 |
| Moseley | Fylde | 22-15 |
| Nottingham | Wharfedale | 27-17 |
| Reading | Orrell | 12-23 |
| Rosslyn Park | Henley Hawks | 12-16 |
| Rotherham | London Welsh | 8-6 |
| Rugby | Leeds | 7-68 |
| Swanage & Wareham | Barking | 6-36 |
| Wakefield | Kendal | 8-16 |
| Waterloo | New Brighton | 34-23 |

### Fourth round (11 January)

| Home | Away | Score |
| - | - | - |
| Bedford | Henley Hawks | 22-29 |
| Bristol | London Irish | 19-43 |
| Gloucester | Worcester | 31-17 |
| Harlequins | Esher | 46-10 |
| Kendal | London Scottish | 20-25 |
| Leicester | Barking | 65-6 |
| Morley | Saracens | 8-76 |
| Moseley | Lydney | 23-25 |
| Newcastle Falcons | Bath | 25-22 |
| Nottingham | Exeter | 8-24 |
| Rotherham | Leeds | 24-27 |
| Richmond | Newbury | 46-12 |
| Sale | Northampton | 31-47 |
| Sedgley Park | Wasps | 3-53 |
| Waterloo | Orrell | 16-11 aet |
| West Hartlepool | Bracknell | 34-14 |

### Fifth round (30 January)

| Team One | Team Two | Score |
| - | - | - |
| Gloucester | Henley Hawks | 31–9 |
| Leicester | Leeds Tykes | 49–0 |
| London Scottish | Harlequins | 33–37 |
| Lydney | Saracens | 0–40 |
| Northampton | London Irish | 6–21 |
| Richmond | Exeter | 37–10 |
| Wasps | Waterloo | 27–10 |
| West Hartlepool | Newcastle Falcons | 21–32 |

### Quarter-finals (27 February)

| Home | Away | Score |
| - | - | - |
| Gloucester | Harlequins | 15–13 |
| Newcastle Falcons | Saracens | 15–0 |
| Richmond | Leicester | 15-–3 |
| Wasps | London Irish | 19–3 |

### Semi-finals (3 & 4 April)

| Home | Away | Score |
| - | - | - |
| Richmond | Newcastle Falcons | 3–20 |
| Wasps | Gloucester | 35–21 |

### Final

* 15 May 1999

| Wasps | 29–19 | Newcastle Falcons |
| - | - | - |
| Try: Alex King Josh Lewsey Con: Gareth Rees 2 Pen: Gareth Rees 4 Drop: Alex King | | Try: Va'aiga Tuigamala Con: Jonny Wilkinson Pen: Jonny Wilkinson 4 |

* Twickenham Stadium, London Attendance: 48,000 Referee: Steve Lander (Liverpool)

| | 15 | Gareth Rees |
| - | - | - |
| | 14 | Josh Lewsey |
| | 13 | Fraser Waters |
| | 12 | Mark Denney |
| | 11 | Paul Sampson |
| | 10 | Alex King |
| | 9 | Andy Gomarsall |
| | 8 | Peter Scrivener |
| | 7 | Joe Worsley |
| | 6 | Lawrence Dallaglio |
| | 5 | Simon Shaw |
| | 4 | Mark Weedon (c) |
| | 3 | Will Green |
| | 2 | Trevor Leota |
| | 1 | Darren Molloy |
| Replacements: ||
| | 16 | Mike Friday |
| | 17 | Kenny Logan |
| | 18 | Rob Henderson |
| | 19 | Dinos Alexopoulos |
| | 20 | Joe Beardshaw |
| | 21 | Paul Volley |
| | 22 | Adam Black |
| Coach: ||
| Rob Smith ||
| | 15 | Stuart Legg |
| | 14 | Jim Naylor |
| | 13 | Martin Shaw |
| | 12 | Tom May |
| | 11 | Va'aiga Tuigamala |
| | 10 | Jonny Wilkinson |
| | 9 | Gary Armstrong (c) |
| | 8 | Ross Beattie |
| | 7 | Richard Arnold |
| | 6 | Peter Walton |
| | 5 | Doddie Weir |
| | 4 | Gareth Archer |
| | 3 | Marius Hurter |
| | 2 | Ross Nesdale |
| | 1 | George Graham |
| Replacements: ||
| | 16 | Hall Charlton |
| | 17 | Peter Massey |
| | 18 | Tony Underwood |
| | 19 | Richard Horton |
| | 20 | Ian Peel |
| | 21 | Hugh Vyvyan |
| | 22 | Jimmy Cartmell |
| Coach: ||
| Steve Bates ||
