2004–05 Powergen Cup

The 2004–05 Powergen Cup was the 34th annual rugby union cup competition in England. Leeds Tykes won the competition for the first time in their history.[1][2] The event was sponsored by Powergen and the final was held at Twickenham Stadium.[3]

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)
Runners-up	Bath

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

First Round

Team One	Team Two	Score
Blackburn	Blaydon	0-39
Bradford & Bingley	Bedford Athletic	54-7
Chester	Macclesfield	28-23
Cleckheaton	Darlington Mowden Park	13-21
Dudley Kingswinford	West Park St Helens	13-21
Halifax	New Brighton	34-20
Hull	Tynedale	26-20
Kendal	Longton	34-12
Reading	Scunthorpe	33-29
Rugby	Darlington	62-3
Whitchurch	Fylde	9-15
Cambridge	North Walsham	6-22
Ealing	Weston-super-Mare	20-25
Haywards Heath	Penryn	37-29
Hertford	Bridgwater & Albion	35-0
London Scottish	Worthing	9-10
Maidenhead	Barking	12-24
Old Patesians	Havant	31-30
Redruth	Berry Hill	?
Southend	Richmond	20-22
Tabard	Dings Crusaders	21-19
Westcombe Park	Lydney	40-35

Second Round

Team One	Team Two	Score
Blaydon	Wharfedale	16-14
Cleckheaton	Hull	16-15
Halifax	Fylde	31-15
Harrogate	Bradford & Bingley	28-29
Kendal	Reading	36-31
Manchester	Chester	40-13
Nuneaton	Doncaster	13-16
Waterloo	Rugby	47-24
West Park St Helens	Moseley	20-35
Blackheath	Newbury	27-34
Esher	Weston-super-Mare	21-17
Haywards Heath	Tabard	16-28
Old Patesians	Launceston	12-19
Redruth	Worthing	30-23
Richmond	Hertford	31-7
Rosslyn Park	Bracknell	13-40
Stourbridge	North Walsham	11-21
Westcombe Park	Barking	33-10

Third Round

Team One	Team Two	Score
Bedford	Tabard	52-13
Bracknell	Otley	27-31
Doncaster	Pertemps Bees	21-30
Launceston	Halifax	5-9
London Welsh	Exeter	19-67
Manchester	Sedgley Park	44-20
Moseley	Henley Hawks	24-20
Newbury	Nottingham	23-38
Orrell	Blaydon	38-0
Penzance/Newlyn	Esher	64-0
Redruth	Waterloo	8-20
Richmond	Kendal	13-18
Rotherham	Plymouth Albion	16-17
Stourbridge	Coventry	11-29
Westcombe Park	Cleckheaton	24-19
Bristol	Bradford & Bingley	32-6

Fourth Round

Team One	Team Two	Score
Bedford	Halifax	40-10
Coventry	Penzance/Newlyn	31-23
Exeter	Manchester	78-0
Kendal	Waterloo	16-22
Otley	Westcombe Park	45-16
Pertemps Bees	Orrell	30-7
Plymouth Albion	Moseley	76-6
Bristol	Nottingham	61-14

Fifth Round

Team One	Team Two	Score
Bedford	Exeter	23-18
Coventry	Pertemps Bees	23-28
Plymouth Albion	Otley	23-15
Waterloo	Bristol	3-57

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 Shoguns

0

Bristol Shoguns

33

6 March 2005

London Wasps^1

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 André Snyman Con: Gordon Ross (2) Pen: Gordon Ross (2)	Score	Pen: Chris Malone (4)

Twickenham Stadium, London Attendance: 60,300 Referee: Dave Pearson

15 Iain Balshaw (c) 14 André Snyman 13 Phil Christophers 12 Chris Bell 11 Tom Biggs 10 Gordon Ross 9 Alan Dickens 8 Alix Popham 7 Richard Parks 6 Scott Morgan 5 Tom Palmer 4 Stuart Hooper 3 Gavin Kerr 2 Mark Regan 1 Mike Shelley Replacements: 16 Matt Holt 17 Rob Rawlinson 18 Jon Dunbar 19 Dan Hyde 20 Mark McMillan 21 Craig McMullen 22 Diego Albanese Coach: Jon Callard

15 Matt Perry 14 Joe Maddock 13 Andrew Higgins 12 Olly Barkley 11 Frikkie Welsh 10 Chris Malone 9 Nick Walshe 8 Isaac Fe'aunati 7 James Scaysbrook 6 Geirant Lewis 5 Danny Grewcock (c) 4 Rob Fidler 3 Duncan Bell 2 Lee Mears 1 Matt Stevens Replacements: 16 Jonathan Humphreys 17 David Flatman 18 Gareth Delve 19 Brendon Daniel 20 Martyn Wood 21 Ryan Davis Coach: John Connolly

See also

• 2004–05 English Premiership (rugby union)

References

1. "Bath 12-20 Leeds". BBC Sport.
2. "Perverse rule may turn Leeds silver to dust". The Guardian.
3. "Times Archives". Oxfordshire Libraries.