Northumberland Senior Cup (rugby union)
The Northumberland Senior Cup is an annual rugby union competition held between the clubs of the Northumberland RFU which was first played in 1882. It is the senior county cup for the Northumberland Rugby Union, which includes Newcastle upon Tyne, North Tyneside, and Northumberland. The current holders are Morpeth who defeated Alnwick in the 2020 cup final. Most finals were held at the Northumberland County Ground from 1932 up until 1988; before and after the County Ground's existence Senior Cup Finals have been played at various venues in the county.
| Sport | Rugby Union |
|---|---|
| Instituted | 1882 |
| Number of teams | 8 |
| Country |  England |
| Holders | Morpeth (5th title) (2019-20) |
| Most titles | Gosforth (Newcastle Falcons) (30 titles) |
| Website | Northumberland RFU |
The Senior Cup is currently the premier county cup competition for club sides affiliated to the Northumberland Rugby Football Union typically based at level 5 (North Premier) and level 6 (North 1 East) of the English rugby union system, although the 2nd XV of Tynedale (who play in level 4 National League 2 North), Berwick (who play in the Scottish Regional League) and the two university's in Newcastle (who play in the BUCS) have taken part in the competition. The format is as a knock-out cup with a quarter-final, semi-final and final, which is to be played at a neutral ground in April on Easter Saturday.[1]
Past winners
Clubs now defunct*
By number of wins (clubs)
| Team | Wins (outright wins/shared titles) |
Years (* title was shared) |
|---|---|---|
| Gosforth (Newcastle Falcons) | 30 (29/1) | 1928, 1956, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993*, 1994 |
| Tynedale | 24 (23/1) | 1887, 1906, 1911, 1914, 1927, 1933, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1948, 1988, 1992, 1993*, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2014 |
| Percy Park | 22 | 1886, 1897, 1899, 1907, 1908, 1910, 1913, 1921, 1924, 1938, 1939, 1947, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1954, 1957, 1958, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2018 |
| Northern | 17 | 1882, 1884, 1888, 1891, 1903, 1904, 1912, 1926, 1931, 1937, 1955, 1959, 1961, 1970, 1989, 1995 |
| Rockcliff | 13 | 1890, 1892, 1893, 1894, 1895, 1896, 1900, 1901, 1902, 1905, 1920 |
| Morpeth | 5 | 1998, 2002, 2007, 2016, 2020 |
| Medicals | 4 | 1922, 1923, 1952, 1953 |
| Seghill | 4 | 1925, 1929, 1930, 1932 |
| Alnwick | 3 | 1984, 2017, 2019 |
| Tynemouth | 2 | 1883, 1885 |
| Berwick | 1 | 1997 |
| Newcastle University | 1 | 1965 |
| Northumbria University | 1 | 2015 |
Northumberland Senior Plate
With the advent of professionalism, the gap between some clubs became too great in the county. In 2002 the Northumberland Senior Plate was inaugurated as a competition for clubs outside of the top 8 Northumberland clubs every season.
References
- "CUP DRAWS FOR SEASON 2016-17 (Word doc)". Northumberland RFU. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
"Senior Cup". northumberlandrugbyunion.com. 27 August 2014. Retrieved 15 March 2011.