Cup draw pairs Premiership giants with Cov

Midlands giants Leicester and Northampton have been drawn alongside Coventry Rugby and Nottingham in pool two of the 2024/25 Premiership Rugby Cup.

In a development from last season, the pool stages of this competition will be played on a home-and-away basis which means the Butts Park Arena will host the Tigers, the Saints and the Archers during the coming season.

Having broken the ground capacity record on Boxing Day 2023 when 5047 people watched Cov beat Nottingham in the Championship, it therefore seems likely that every ticket in the house will be taken on at least two further occasions within the 15 months that follow.

Following lengthy debate, this season’s cup has been structured as far as possible on a regional basis and this has generated some mouth-watering local derbies.

But given the history that exists between Coventry, Leicester and Northampton none have greater resonance than the series of games between the clubs which take place across two blocks in November and February.

Cov begin their campaign at Lady Bay on Friday November 1^st when they seek to reprise the fine display that delivered a comfortable league win when they last visited Nottingham in April. The return game takes place at the BPA on Saturday February 1^st.

The blue-and-whites’ first competitive meeting with Leicester since the 1997/8 season takes place at Welford Road on Saturday November 9^th with the return set for Saturday February 15^th.

According to Cov club historian John Butler, the clubs met in cup competitions on five previous occasions between 1977 and 97 with Tigers leading the sequence 3-2.

Perhaps the most notable of those games from a Cov perspective took place at Coundon Road in 1985. On that occasion the hosts progressed to the semi-finals through scoring more tries in a 10-all draw, but only after future England supremo Clive Woodward fell over inside the home 22 with the line at his mercy ten minutes from time.

Butts Park Arena fans will also potentially get the opportunity to welcome back 2023/24 players’ player-of-the-season Will Wand who signed for Leicester following a brilliantly successful two-year stint in Cov’s no.13 shirt.

Northampton make the short journey up the M45 in the competition’s third round on Saturday November 23^rd with the Franklin’s Gardens return scheduled for Saturday February 8^th.

Cov’s last meeting with Northampton took place in 2007/8 as the Saints responded to relegation by romping through the second tier to secure an immediate return to the top flight.

The clubs have met twice in cup rugby with Saints claiming a 17-26 home win in 1996/7 and leaving Coundon Road with a 7-31 success in 1991/2.

Coventry Rugby head coach Alex Rae said everyone at the club is thrilled by the draw and looking forward to building on a 2023/24 cup campaign that brought a memorable home win over Saracens, a draw at Harlequins and a narrow defeat at Gloucester.

He said: “We all really enjoyed it last year and now we have a chance to test ourselves against the Premiership champions and one of the biggest clubs in England so it’s very exciting.

“Throw Nottingham into the mix it makes for a brilliant group. As players and coaches you want to test yourself in these big arenas and for the fans local derbies are always great occasions so we can’t wait.”

Coventry’s Premiership Rugby Cup fixtures:

Fri Nov 1^st Nottingham (a) 7.45pm kick off

Sat Nov 9^th Leicester (a) 3.00pm kick off

Sat Nov 23^rd Northampton (h) 3.00pm kick off

Sat Feb 1^st Nottingham (h) 2.00pm kick off

Sat Feb 8^th Northampton (a) 2.45pm kick off

Sat Feb 15^th Leicester (h) 3.00pm kick off

Weekend of March 1^st – quarter-finals

Weekend of March 8^th – semi-finals

Weekend of March 15^th – final

Season memberships which include the Premiership Rugby Cup home games against Leicester, Northampton and Nottingham are available via this link: https://www.coventryrugby.co.uk/membership/