The North Midlands Cup is an annual rugby union knock-out cup club competition organised by the North Midlands Rugby Football Union and was first contested during the 1971–72 season with the inaugural cup being won by the now defunct Birmingham Police, who beat Evesham at the final held at The Reddings in Birmingham (formerly home of Moseley RFC). It is currently open for clubs ranked in tier 5-6 of the English rugby union system that fall under the North Midlands RFU umbrella, including sides based in Birmingham and the West Midlands, Herefordshire, Shropshire and Worcestershire. Originally the North Midlands Cup was the sole cup competition in the region but in 2001 and 2005, the North Midlands Shield and North Midlands Vase competitions were introduced for lower ranked clubs. A further change in 2014 saw the introduction of a 'Plate' competition for sides eliminated in the early stages of the cup, although it was not played for during the 2018-19 competition.
The current format is as a knock-out cup with a preliminary round, quarter-final, semi-final and final which is held at a neutral venue in March. Due to the disjointed numbers of teams several teams have to play in the preliminary round.
North Midlands Cup winners North Midlands Cup winners Season Cup Winner Score Cup Runners–up Plate Winner Score Plate Runners–up Venue 1971-72 Birmingham City Police 10-4 Evesham The Reddings, Birmingham, West Midlands 1972-73 Evesham 9-4 Old Edwardians The Reddings, Birmingham, West Midlands 1973-74 Old Edwardians Old Dixonians 1974-75 Old Dixonians 21-3 Luctonians The Reddings, Birmingham, West Midlands 1975-76 Old Dixonians 21-9 Stourbridge The Reddings, Birmingham, West Midlands 1976-77 Dudley Kingswinford 13-10 Worcester 1977-78 Worcester 9-0 Camp Hill 1978-79 Dudley Kingswinford 11-0 Stourbridge The Reddings, Birmingham, West Midlands 1979-80 Camp Hill 19-15 Hereford The Reddings, Birmingham, West Midlands 1980-81 Stourbridge 7-3 Dudley Kingswinford Sixways, Worcester, Worcestershire 1981-82 Bromsgrove 12-6 Worcester 1982-83 Stourbridge 7-0 Dudley Kingswinford 1983-84 Stourbridge 10-0 Bromsgrove 1984-85 Stourbridge 15-3 Evesham 1985-86 Stourbridge 10-6 Old Dixonians 1986-87 Old Dixonians 26-0 Droitwich The Reddings, Birmingham, West Midlands 1987-88 Hereford 1988-89 Dudley Kingswinford 11-6 Old Yardleians The Reddings, Birmingham, West Midlands 1989-90 Hereford 22-9 Old Yardleians The Reddings, Birmingham, West Midlands 1990-91 Stourbridge 1991-92 Hereford 1992-93 Birmingham & Solihull 35-0 Hereford The Reddings, Birmingham, West Midlands 1993-94 Camp Hill 17-11 Worcester 1994-95 Stourbridge Selly Oak The Reddings, Birmingham, West Midlands 1995-96 Worcester 1996-97 Whitchurch Worcester 1997-98 Worcester 60-7 Stourbridge Sixways, Worcester, Worcestershire 1998-99 Whitchurch 19-15 Stourbridge Sixways, Worcester, Worcestershire 1999-00 Dudley Kingswinford 15-13 Hereford Stourton Park, Stourbridge, West Midlands 2000-01 Bromsgrove 34-10 Newport (Salop) Stourton Park, Stourbridge, West Midlands 2001-02 Malvern 47-8 Aston Old Edwardians Stourton Park, Stourbridge, West Midlands 2002-03 Aston Old Edwardians 24-12 Luctonians Stourton Park, Stourbridge, West Midlands 2003-04 Aston Old Edwardians 12-9 Malvern Heathbrook, Kingswinford, West Midlands 2004-05 Luctonians 14-13 Whitchurch Stourton Park, Stourbridge, West Midlands 2005-06 Luctonians 10-9 Dudley Kingswinford Stourton Park, Stourbridge, West Midlands 2006-07 Solihull 27-3 Malvern Stourton Park, Stourbridge, West Midlands 2007-08 Luctonians 20-3 Hereford Stourton Park, Stourbridge, West Midlands 2008-09 Luctonians 35-19 Dudley Kingswinford Stourton Park, Stourbridge, West Midlands 2009-10 Bromsgrove 25-18 Bournville Stourton Park, Stourbridge, West Midlands 2010-11 Newport (Salop) 25-12 Bromsgrove Stourton Park, Stourbridge, West Midlands 2011-12 Dudley Kingswinford 26-20 Newport (Salop) Heathbrook, Kingswinford, West Midlands 2012-134 Bournville 14-13 Worcester Wanderers Heathbrook, Kingswinford, West Midlands 2013-14 Newport (Salop) 20-18 Worcester Wanderers Heathbrook, Kingswinford, West Midlands 2014-15 Old Halesonians 52 - 6 Whitchurch Bromsgrove 29-17 Dudley Kingswinford Heathbrook, Kingswinford, West Midlands 2015-16 Birmingham & Solihull 20-20 Newport (Salop) Whitchurch 24-22 Bromsgrove Heathbrook, Kingswinford, West Midlands 2016-17 Bournville 25-25 Old Halesonians Bridgnorth 32-0 Hereford Heathbrook, Kingswinford, West Midlands 2017-18 Newport (Salop) 40-16 Bromsgrove Bridgnorth 47-7 Old Halesonians Heathbrook, Kingswinford, West Midlands 2018-19 Bridgnorth 20-17 Dudley Kingswinford Stourton Park, Stourbridge, West Midlands
Number of wins
Cup Stourbridge (7) Dudley Kingswinford (5) Luctonians (4) Bromsgrove (3) Old Dixonians (3) Hereford (3) Newport (Salop) (3) Worcester (3) Aston Old Edwardians (2) Birmingham & Solihull (2) Bournville (2) Camp Hill (2) Whitchurch (2) Birmingham City Police (1) Bridgnorth (1) Evesham (1) Malvern (1) Old Edwardians (1) Old Halesonians (1) Solihull (1)
Plate Bridgnorth (2) Bromsgrove (1) Whitchurch (1)
Notes
See also North Midlands RFU North Midlands Shield North Midlands Vase English rugby union system Rugby union in England
References
External links North Midlands RFU