Top 5 Most Dominant PREM Cup Teams in History as 2026/27 fixtures revealed (1971-2026)

The revamped tournament once again sees 10 clubs split into two pools of five, with teams playing each opponent home and away before the semi-finals in March and the final a week later. Leicester will be aiming to retain the trophy after lifting their first Prem Rugby Cup title with victory over Exeter Chiefs in last season's final, while the opening weekend also sees Bristol Bears host Gloucester Rugby and Sale Sharks welcome Bath.

The competition may now be known as the Prem Rugby Cup, but its history stretches back through previous incarnations as the Anglo-Welsh Cup, LV= Cup, EDF Energy Cup and Powergen Cup, producing some of English rugby's most memorable knockout campaigns.

Over the years, a handful of clubs have made the competition their own, using it to develop future internationals while also building impressive trophy collections. With another campaign about to begin, we look back at the five most dominant teams in the history of the Premiership's secondary cup competition, ranking the clubs that have enjoyed the greatest success in history.

We kick things off with Wasps, who boast three domestic cup titles earned during one of the club's most successful periods. With Lawrence Dallaglio as captain, Wasps won the 1999 Tetley's Bitter Cup before successfully defending their crown in the 2000 Powergen Cup.

More than a decade later, Wasps lifted the 2015 Anglo-Welsh Cup, defeating Exeter Chiefs to claim their third title. Featuring stars such as Joe Worsley, Tom Rees and later Elliot Daly along with the former England skipper Dallaglio across successful generations, Wasps left a definite sting on the competition despite the club's eventual financial collapse.

Newcastle Falcons remain one of the competition's most successful clubs with four domestic cup triumphs. Harkening back to to when the modern day Red Bulls competed as Gosforth, the Northern side won back-to-back RFU Knock-Out Cups in the mid 1970s, before their breakthrough as Newcastle Falcons came in the 2001 Tetley's Bitter Cup.

Newcastle enjoyed a nice spell in the Anglo-Welsh Cup, lifting the trophy in 2004, 2011 and 2014. Although league fortunes have fluctuated over the years, the domestic cup has consistently brought out the best in the North East club, whose four titles place them among England's elite knockout sides.

Gloucester have long enjoyed a reputation as knockout rugby specialists on home soil, winning six domestic cup titles across multiple eras. Their first triumph was one for the purists, when Gloucester defeated Leicester 6-3 in the 1978 John Player Cup aty Twickenham, before further victories followed in the 1982 John Player Cup and 1989 Pilkington Cup expanded the cabinet.

The Cherry and Whites flourished in the early professional era, lifting back-to-back Powergen Cups in 2003 and 2004 before adding the 2006 EDF Energy Cup to the locker. Gloucester bagged the Premiership Rugby Cup in 2024, in what was the latest piece of silverware to be added to the Kingsholm trophy shelf.

Ever-present in the two-horse race against Bath back in yester-year, Leicester Tigers have collected nine domestic cup titles, making them the second-most successful side in the competition's history. Like the blue, black and whites, Leicester's success spans almost every era of the tournament, beginning with victories in the John Player Cup before adding further triumphs during the Pilkington Cup, Tetley's Bitter Cup and Powergen Cup years.

Their most recent success came in the latest PREM Rugby Cup final, when a youthful Tigers side defeated Exeter Chiefs in this past season's final. Few clubs have matched Leicester's consistency across five decades, with generations of internationals helping establish them as one of English rugby's true cup specialists.

No club has dominated England's domestic cup competition quite like Bath, whose remarkable haul of 12 titles remains the benchmark. Their golden era came throughout the 1980s and 1990s, when they swept aside rivals in the John Player Cup, Pilkington Cup and Tetley's Bitter Cup, winning ten trophies between 1984 and 1996. That period cemented Bath as one of two leading English rugby's powerhouses, with legends such as Stuart Barnes, Jeremy Guscott, Gareth Chilcott, Phil de Glanville and Andy Robinson leading the way.

Nearly three decades after their period of sustained dominance, Bath added to their illustrious cup history by winning the 2024-25 Premiership Rugby Cup, defeating Exeter Chiefs 48-14 in the final. The victory took Bath's overall tally to a record 12 domestic cup triumphs, underlining the club's enduring status as England's greatest knockout side.