2004–05 Powergen Cup

2004–05 Powergen Cup
Tournament details
Countries  England
Tournament format(s) knockout
Date September 2004 - 16 April 2005
Tournament statistics
Teams 132
Matches played 131
Final
Venue Twickenham Stadium, London
Attendance 60,300
Champions Leeds Tykes (1st title)
Runner-up Bath
← 2003–04 (Previous) (Next) 2005–06

The 2004-05 Powergen Cup was the 34th annual rugby union cup competition in England. Leeds Tykes (now named Yorkshire Carnegie) won the competition for the first time in their history.

This was the last season in which the competition was confined to English teams only; from the 2005-06 season, the Welsh regional teams joined to form the Anglo-Welsh Cup. This season also marked the last time that teams outside of the English Premiership were permitted to enter.

Earlier Rounds

Earlier rounds of the competition were run on a seeded system. Earlier rounds included Clubs which were lower in the RFU league structure, clubs higher in the leagues joined at later rounds.

The Qualifier Round consisted of 64 Clubs nominated by the Constituent Bodies (CB). Each CB nominated 2 Clubs, or 3 for the larger CBs such as Middlesex and Lancashire. These teams were usually selected through the previous season's County Cup (CB Cup) competitions. All were Level 5 or below. This Round produced 32 teams for the next round.

The Preliminary Round consisted of the 32 winning teams from the Qualifier Round and produced 16 teams for the 1st Round proper.

In the 1st Round, the 16 teams that won their Preliminary Round matches were joined by 14 National League 3 North and 14 National League 3 South clubs. National 3 was Level 4 of the RFU league structure; these leagues have since been renamed as National League 2 North and South. A total of 44 teams meant that this round consisted of 22 matches.

For the 2nd Round, the 22 teams that won their 1st Round matches were joined by 14 National League 2 clubs. National 2 was Level 3 of the RFU league structure; this league have since been renamed as National League 1. A total of 36 teams meant that this round consisted of 18 matches.

In the 3rd Round, the 18 teams that won their 2nd Round matches were joined by 14 National League 1 clubs. National 1 was Level 2 of the RFU league structure; this league have since been renamed as the RFU Championship. A total of 32 teams meant that this round consisted of 16 matches.

The 4th and 5th Rounds reduced the 16 teams that won their 3rd Round matches to 4 teams to advance to the 6th Round.

The 6th Round consisted of the 4 teams that won their 5th Round matches, joined by 12 Premiership clubs. The Premiership is, and remains, Level 1 of the RFU league structure, the highest level. A total of 16 teams meant that this round consisted of 8 matches.

Subsequent rounds were a standard knockout format of Quarter-finals, Semi-finals and a Final to produce an outright Cup winner.

Tablular form

Round Qualified from
previous round
Joined by Total teams Matches /
Qualify for
next round
Notes
Qualifier n/a 64 CB nominated clubs 64 32 2 or 3 per CB, clubs from Level 5 and below
Preliminary 32 n/a 32 16
1st Round 16 14 National League 3 North and
14 National League 3 South clubs
44 22 Level 4 clubs join
2nd Round 22 14 National League 2 clubs 36 18 Level 3 Clubs join
3rd Round 18 14 National League 1 clubs 32 16 Level 2 clubs join
4th Round 16 n/a 16 8
5th Round 8 n/a 8 4
6th Round 4 12 Premiership clubs 16 8 Level 1 clubs join
Quarter-finals 8 n/a 8 4
Semi-finals 4 n/a 4 2
Final 2 n/a 2 1

Later Rounds

The 12 Premiership teams joined the 4 qualifiers from Round 5 to make up the draw for Round 6.

Round 6 Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
                           
18 December 2004            
  Northampton Saints   41
22 January 2005
  Bedford Blues   8  
  Northampton Saints   19
19 December 2004
    Leeds Tykes   24  
  Leeds Tykes   81
6 March 2005
  Pertemps Bees   17  
  Leeds Tykes   15
19 December 2004
    London Irish   6  
  Saracens   22
23 January 2005
  Newcastle Falcons   20  
  Saracens   15
18 December 2004
    London Irish   21  
  Worcester   7
16 April 2005
  London Irish   9  
  Leeds Tykes   20
18 December 2004
    Bath   12
  Leicester Tigers   13
22 January 2005
  Gloucester   20  
  Gloucester   21
19 December 2004
    Bristol   0  
  Bristol   33
6 March 2005
  London Wasps1   43  
  Gloucester   19
19 December 2004
    Bath   24  
  Sale Sharks   38
21 January 2005
  Plymouth Albion   18  
  Sale Sharks   23
18 December 2004
    Bath   24  
  Bath   33
  Harlequins   7  

1 London Wasps disqualified for fielding an ineligible player

Final

16 April 2005
14:30
Leeds Tykes 20 - 12 Bath
Try: Chris Bell
Andre Snyman
Con: Gordon Ross (2)
Pen: Gordon Ross (2)
Score Pen: Chris Malone (4)
Twickenham Stadium, London
Attendance: 60,300
Referee: Dave Pearson

See also

References