Leicester Tigers in cup finals

This article is about the results and history of Leicester Tigers in cup finals. Leicester Tigers are a prominent rugby union club in England and compete in major national and continental finals. Leicester have competed in 46 major finals winning 28 and losing 18.

Summary[edit]

Competition Date Opponent Result For Against Venue Attendance Ref
Midlands Counties Cup 23 March 1889 Moseley L 0 6 The Butts, Coventry 4,000 [1]
Midlands Counties Cup 4 April 1891 Coventry L 0 8 Rugby Cricket Club [1]
Midlands Counties Cup 31 March 1894 Coventry L 0 11 Rugby Cricket Club [1]
Midlands Counties Cup 6 April 1898 Moseley W 5 3 The Butts, Coventry [1]
Midlands Counties Cup 1 April 1899 Nuneaton W 20 3 The Butts, Coventry 8,000 [1]
Midlands Counties Cup 31 March 1900 Moseley W 13 4 The Butts, Coventry 10,000 [1]
Midlands Counties Cup 30 March 1901 Moseley W 8 3 Rugby Cricket Club [1]
Midlands Counties Cup 29 March 1902 Moseley W 5 0 The Butts, Coventry 8,000 [1]
Midlands Counties Cup 4 April 1903 Rugby W 18 0 The Butts, Coventry 6,000 [1]
Midlands Counties Cup 2 April 1904 Moseley W 13 3 Burton-on-Trent 5,000 [1]
Midlands Counties Cup 1 April 1905 Nottingham W 31 0 The Butts, Coventry 10,000 [1]
Midlands Counties Cup 3 April 1909 Coventry W 8 3 Nottingham 4,000 [1]
Midlands Counties Cup 2 April 1910 Coventry W 8 6 Nuneaton 10,000 [1]
Midlands Counties Cup 30 March 1912 Coventry W 16 0 Rugby Cricket Club 3,000 [1]
Midlands Counties Cup 5 April 1913 Belgrave Premier Works W 39 8 Welford Road, Leicester 2,853 [1]
RFU Knock-out Cup 15 April 1978 Gloucester L 3 6 Twickenham, London 24,000 [1]
RFU Knock-out Cup 21 April 1979 Moseley W 15 12 Twickenham, London 18,000 [1]
RFU Knock-out Cup 19 April 1980 London Irish W 21 9 Twickenham, London 27,000 [1]
RFU Knock-out Cup 2 May 1981 Gosforth W 22 15 Twickenham, London 24,000 [1]
RFU Knock-out Cup 30 April 1983 Bristol L 22 28 Twickenham, London 34,000 [1]
RFU Knock-out Cup 29 April 1989 Bath L 6 10 Twickenham, London 59,300 [1]
RFU Knock-out Cup 1 May 1993 Harlequins W 23 16 Twickenham, London 54,000 [1]
RFU Knock-out Cup 7 May 1994 Bath L 9 21 Twickenham, London 68,000 [1]
RFU Knock-out Cup 4 May 1996 Bath L 15 16 Twickenham, London 75,000 [1]
Heineken Cup 25 January 1997 Brive L 9 28 Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff 41,664 [2]
RFU Knock-out Cup 10 May 1997 Sale W 9 3 Twickenham, London 75,000 [1]
Zurich Championship 13 May 2001 Bath W 22 10 Twickenham, London 33,500 [3]
Heineken Cup 19 May 2001 Stade Français W 34 30 Parc des Princes, Paris 44,000 [4]
Heineken Cup 25 May 2002 Munster W 15 9 Millennium Stadium, Cardiff 74,600 [5]
Premiership 14 May 2005 London Wasps L 14 39 Twickenham, London 60,762 [6]
Premiership 27 May 2006 Sale Sharks L 20 45 Twickenham, London 58,000 [7]
Anglo-Welsh Cup 15 April 2007 Ospreys W 41 35 Twickenham, London 43,312 [8]
Premiership 12 May 2007 Gloucester W 44 16 Twickenham, London 59,400 [9]
Heineken Cup 20 May 2007 London Wasps L 9 25 Twickenham, London 81,076 [10]
Anglo-Welsh Cup 12 April 2008 Ospreys L 6 23 Twickenham, London 65,756 [11]
Premiership 31 May 2008 London Wasps L 16 26 Twickenham, London 81,600 [12]
Premiership 16 May 2009 London Irish W 10 9 Twickenham, London 81,601 [13]
Heineken Cup 23 May 2009 Leinster L 16 19 Murrayfield, Edinburgh 66,523 [14]
Premiership 29 May 2010 Saracens W 33 27 Twickenham, London 81,600 [15]
Premiership 28 May 2011 Saracens L 18 22 Twickenham, London 80,016 [16]
Anglo-Welsh Cup 18 March 2012 Northampton W 26 14 Sixways, Worcester 11,895 [17]
Premiership 26 May 2012 Harlequins L 23 30 Twickenham, London 81,779 [18]
Premiership 25 May 2013 Northampton W 37 17 Twickenham, London 81,703 [19]
Anglo-Welsh Cup 19 March 2017 Exeter Chiefs W 16 12 Twickenham Stoop, London 6,834 [20]
European Challenge Cup 21 May 2021 Montpellier L 17 18 Twickenham, London 10,000 [21]
Premiership 18 June 2022 Saracens W 15 12 Twickenham, London 72,784 [22]
Premiership Cup 15 March 2024 Gloucester L 13 23 Kingsholm, Gloucester [23]

Midland Counties Cup[edit]

  Win   Loss

23 March 1889 Moseley 6–0 Leicester The Butts, Coventry  
[1] Attendance: 4,000
4 April 1891 Coventry 8–0 Leicester Rugby Cricket Club  
[1]
31 March 1894 Coventry 11–0 Leicester Rugby Cricket Club  
[1]
6 April 1898 Leicester 5–3 Moseley The Butts, Coventry  
Try: P.Oscroft
Con: F.Jones
 [1]
1 April 1899 Leicester 20–3 Nuneaton The Butts, Coventry  
Try: F.Jones (3)
H.Wilkinson (2)
Woodyatt
Con: F.Jones
 [1] Attendance: 8,000
31 March 1900 Leicester 13–4 Moseley The Butts, Coventry  
Try: F.Jones (2)
Foreman
Con: A.O.Jones
F.Jones
 [1] Attendance: 10,000
30 March 1901 Leicester 8–3 Moseley Rugby Cricket Club  
Try: Foreman
H.Wilkinson
Con: A.O.Jones
 [1]
29 March 1902 Leicester 5–0 Moseley The Butts, Coventry  
Try: A.Hind
Con: Butlin
 [1] Attendance: 8,000
4 April 1903 Leicester 18–0 Rugby The Butts, Coventry  
Try: A.Hind (2)
Miles
Dakin
Con: A.O.Jones (3)
 [1] Attendance: 6,000
2 April 1904 Leicester 13–3 Moseley Burton on Trent  
Try: Russell
D.Atkins
Sutton
Con: A.O.Jones (2)
 [1] Attendance: 5,000
1 April 1905 Leicester 31–0 Nottingham The Butts, Coventry  
Try: A.Hind (3)
Parsons (3)
Hills
Con: J.Jackett
A.O.Jones
Matthews
Drop: Braithwaite
 [1] Attendance: 10,000
3 April 1909 Leicester 8–3 Coventry Nottingham  
Try: P.Lawrie (2)
Con: Grimson
 [1] Attendance: 4,000
2 April 1910 Leicester 8–6 Coventry Nuneaton  
Try: P.Wood
Con: J. Jackett
Mark: J. Jackett
 [1] Attendance: 10,000
30 March 1912 Leicester 16–0 Coventry Rugby Cricket Club  
Try: P.Lawrie
Hogarth
Greasley
Con: Bream (2)
Pen: Bream
 [1] Attendance: 3,000
5 April 1913 Leicester 39–8 Belgrave Premier Works Welford Road, Leicester  
Try: Dalby (3)
Hunter (2)
P.Lawrie (2)
Farmer (2)
Greasley
T.Taylor
Con: Hunter
P.Lawrie
Bream
 [1] Attendance: 2,853

RFU Knock-out Cup[edit]

Launched in 1971 the Cup was the first nationwide competition for rugby union clubs in England. It was a straight knock-out cup format, teams were not seeded however with the introduction of leagues the top division side such as Leicester joined the competition in later rounds, and ran until 2005 when it was replaced by the Anglo-Welsh Cup. Tigers played in 10 finals, winning 5.

  Win   Loss

15 April 1978 Gloucester 6–3 Leicester Twickenham, London  
Try: Mogg
Con: Butler
 Pen: Hare
 Attendance: 24,000
Referee: Roger Quittenton (London)
21 April 1979 Leicester 15–12 Moseley Twickenham, London  
Try: Kenney
Con: Hare
Pen: Hare (2)
Drop: Hare
 "Report". Try: Laird
Con: Akenhead
Pen: Akenhead
Drop: Cooper
 Attendance: 18,000
Referee: Alan Welsby (Lancashire)
19 April 1980 Leicester 21–9 London Irish Twickenham, London  
Pen: Hare (4)
Drop: Hare
Cusworth (2)
 Try: Smythe
Con: Meanwell
Pen: Meanwell
 Attendance: 27,000
Referee: Colin High (Manchester/Cumbria)
2 May 1981 Leicester 22–15 Gosforth Twickenham, London  
Try: Kenney
Barnwell
Hare
Con: Hare (2)
Pen: Hare (3)
 Try: Cunningham
Con: Johnson
Pen: Johnson (2)
Patrick
 Attendance: 24,000
Referee: Roger Quittenton (London & Sussex Societies)
30 April 1983 Bristol 28–22 Leicester Twickenham, London  
Try: Carr (2)
Hogg
Hesford
Con: Barnes (3)
Pen: Barnes (2)
 Try: Evans
Smith
Con: Cusworth
Pen: Cusworth (4)
 Attendance: 34,000
Referee: Roger Quittenton (London)
29 April 1989 Bath 10–6 Leicester Twickenham, London  
Try: Barnes
Pen: Barnes (2)
 Pen: Hare (2)
 Attendance: 59,300
Referee: Fred Howard (Liverpool)
1 May 1993 Leicester 23–16 Harlequins Twickenham, London  
Try: Potter
Johnson
Con: Liley (2)
Pen: Liley (2)
Drop: Harris
 Try: Glenister
Con: Challinor
Pen: Challinor (3)
 Attendance: 54,000
Referee: Tony Spreadbury (Bath)
7 May 1994 Bath 21–9 Leicester Twickenham, London  
Try: Swift
Catt
Con: Callard
Pen: Callard (3)
 Pen: Harris (3)
 Attendance: 68,000
Referee: Ed Morrison (Bristol)
4 May 1996 Bath 16–15 Leicester Twickenham, London  
Try: Penalty try
Con: Callard
Pen: Callard (2)
Drop: Catt
 Try: Malone
Poole
Con: Liley
Pen: Liley
 Attendance: 75,000 (World Record)
Referee: Steve Lander (Liverpool)
10 May 1997 Leicester 9–3 Sale Twickenham, London  
Pen: Joel Stransky 3
 Pen: Simon Mannix
 Attendance: 75,000
Referee: Brian Campsall (Yorkshire)

Anglo-Welsh Cup[edit]

Launched in 2005 to replace the knock-out cup the Anglo-Welsh Cup is played with a group stage consisting of the 12 Premiership Rugby clubs and the 4 Welsh regions from the Pro12 then a knock out round between the group winners. Tigers have played in 4 finals, winning 3.

  Win   Loss

15 April 2007 Leicester Tigers 41–35 Wales Ospreys Twickenham, London  
14:30 Try: Varndell (2) 13' c, 63' c
Croft 15' c
Kay 26' c
Tuilagi 30' c
Con: Burke (4) 13', 15', 26', 30'
Goode 63'
Pen: Goode 54', 70'
 "Report". Try: Byrne 44' c
S. Williams (2) 49' m, 57' c
Walker 74' c
Con: Hook (3) 44', 57', 74'
Pen: Hook (3) 2', 11', 37'
 Attendance: 43,312
Referee: Alan Lewis (Ireland)
12 April 2008 Leicester Tigers 6–23 Wales Ospreys Twickenham, London  
14:30 Pen: Goode (1/3) 6'
Drop: Goode 17'
 "Report". Try: A. Bishop 23' c
A. W. Jones 48' c
Con: Hook (2) 23', 48'
Pen: Hook (3/5) 58', 73', 76'
 Attendance: 65,756
Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland)
18 March 2012 Leicester Tigers 26–14 England Northampton Saints Sixways Stadium, Worcester  
15:00 Try: Mafi 25' c
Hamilton 49' c
Con: Ford (2/2) 25', 49'
Pen: Ford (4/4) 14', 18', 24', 45'
 "Report". Try: Day 74' m
Pen: Myler (3/3) 5', 11', 21'
 Attendance: 11,895
Referee: JP Doyle (England)
19 March 2017 Exeter Chiefs England 12–16 Leicester Tigers Twickenham Stoop, London  
15:00 Try: Short 15' m
S. Simmonds 77' c
Con: Hooley 77'
 "Report". Try: Brady 18' c
Con: Burns (1/1) 19'
Pen: Freddie Burns 12', 25', 40+1'
 Attendance: 6,834
Referee: Tom Foley

Premiership Rugby Cup[edit]

Created in 2018 the Premiership Rugby Cup replaced the Anglo-Welsh Cup when the Welsh sides withdrew. Contested as a group stage followed by a knockout rounds Tigers have contested one final, losing to Gloucester.

  Win   Loss

15 March 2024 Gloucester 23–13 Leicester Tigers Kingsholm, Gloucester  
19:45 Try: S.Atkinson 47', Jordan 50'
Con: Barton 48', 51'
Pen: Evans 41', Barton 55', 65'
 "Report". Try: Liebenberg 74'
Con: Pollard 75'
Pen: Pollard (2) 24', 30'
 Referee: Jack Makepeace

Premiership Final[edit]

Zurich Championship[edit]

A precursor to the Premiership playoffs it was contested as a stand-alone tournament in 2001 and 2002.

  Win   Loss

13 May 2001 Leicester Tigers 22–10 Bath Twickenham, London  
Try: M.Johnson, Healey, Stanley
Con: Stimpson (2)
Pen: Stimpson
 Report 1 Try: Thirlby
Con: Perry
Pen: Perry
 Attendance: 33,500
Referee: Steve Lander

Premiership Final[edit]

Since 2003 the Champion of Premiership Rugby has been decided by a playoff system between the top sides after the 22 games regular season. Tigers have played in 10 finals, winning 5.

14 May 2005 Leicester Tigers 14–39 London Wasps Twickenham, London  
15:30 Try: Bemand
Pen: Goode (3)
 Report 1
Report 2 		Try: Hoadley
Van Gisbergen
Voyce
Con: Van Gisbergen (3)
Pen: Van Gisbergen (5)
Drop: King
 Attendance: 60,762
Referee: Chris White
27 May 2006 Sale Sharks 45–20 Leicester Tigers Twickenham, London  
16:00 Tries: Cueto 8' m
Lund 17' m
Oriol Ripol 40' c
Mayor 80' c
Con: Hodgson (1/3)
Courrent (1/1)
Pen: Hodgson (6) 3', 31', 45', 49', 64', 78'
DG: Hodgson 71' 		Report 1
Report 2 		Tries: Moody 10' c
Hamilton 70' c
Con: Goode (2/2)
Pen: Goode (2) 35', 43' 		Attendance: 58,000
Referee: Dave Pearson
12 May 2007 Gloucester 16 – 44 Leicester Tigers Twickenham, London  
14:30 Try: Lamb c
Con: Walker (1/1)
Pen: Walker (3)
 Report 1
Report 2 		Try: F.Murphy
Tuilagi (2)
Corry
Goode
Jennings
Moody
Con: Goode (3/7)
Pen: Goode
 Attendance: 59,400
Referee: Dave Pearson
31 May 2008 London Wasps 26–16 Leicester Tigers Twickenham, London  
15:00 Try: Rees 12' c
Lewsey 37' c
Con: Van Gisbergen (2/2)
Pen: Van Gisbergen (4) 6', 24', 35', 72'
 Report 1
Report 2 		Try: Varndell 56'
Ellis 62'
Pen: Goode (2) 9', 29'
 Attendance: 81,600
Referee: Wayne Barnes
16 May 2009 Leicester Tigers 10–9 London Irish Twickenham, London  
17:30 Try: Crane 61' c
Con: Dupuy (1/1)
Pen: Dupuy 17'
 Report
Report 2 		Pen: D. Armitage 48', 71'
Drop: Hewat 1'
 Attendance: 81,601
Referee: Wayne Barnes