Premiership
Cup

The Latest News, Stats and Updates from the 2025-26 Premiership Cup 

Although it’s a relatively new competition, the Premiership Rugby Cup (officially known as the PREM Rugby Cup) is one of the finest rugby union competitions in the UK. It showcases the Premiership’s hottest up-and-coming talent and has been a breeding ground for future test players.

Read on to learn even more about this year’s Premiership Rugby Cup. You can read all the latest news and see upcoming Premiership Rugby Cup fixtures right here on RugbyPass.

Premiership Rugby Cup History

The Premiership Rugby Cup began in 2018, when it replaced the Anglo-Welsh Cup after the Welsh regions withdrew from the competition and started their own under-23s competition. This move followed all four of the Welsh regions finishing bottom of their pools in the 2017-18 version of the Anglo-Welsh Cup.

As a result, (aside from two seasons when RFU Championship sides also competed) since 2018-19, the Premiership Rugby Cup has only been contested by clubs who compete in the English Premiership.

Although Premiership Cup rugby is fiercely competitive, it’s geared towards younger English Premiership players. The competition aims to ensure these players get an opportunity to compete at Premiership stadia in front of large crowds and big television audiences. This was also the case with the Anglo-Welsh Cup, where test players such as Owen Farrell, George Ford and Maro Itoje all made their senior debuts.

Premiership Rugby Cup Format

All 10 teams in the Premiership compete in the rugby Premiership Cup. The teams are grouped into two pools that each contain five teams. Each team plays eight games (four at home and four away) over 10 rounds. The Premiership Rugby Cup fixtures are usually played during the end-of-year rugby union internationals or Rugby World Cup and Six Nations Championship weekends. This is because the absence of international stars means more places in the starting line-up are available for up-and-coming players.

At the end of the pool stage, the top two teams from each pool progress to the semi-finals. The winning teams then face each other in the final, which takes place the week after.