Nottingham Rugby Football Club (1st team) have competed in the following cup competitions:
- 1886-1920 – Midland Counties Cup (Divisional)
- 1971-1982 – John Player Cup (National)
- 1982-1988 – John Player Special Cup (National)
- 1988-1997 – Pilkington Cup (National)
- 1997-2001 – Tetley’s Bitter Cup (National)
- 2001-2005 – Powergen Cup (National)
- 2005-2006 – Powergen National Trophy (National)
- 2006-2009 – EDF Energy National Trophy (National)
- 2009-2018 – British & Irish Cup (Cross Border)
- 2018-2023 – Championship Cup (National)
- 2023-2024 – Premiership Cup (National)
Use the links below to view the listings:
National Cups – 1971-2009 and 2018-2025
Divisional Cups – 1885-1920
Cross-Border Cups – 2009-2018
Notes
- Up to and including the 2024-2025 season so far (1st November 2024)
- The introduction of the Midland Merit Table in 1972-1973 resulted in the top 5 teams automatically qualifying for the following seasons National Cup. The bottom 4 clubs along with 4 additional Midland Clubs to qualify attempted for the 6th and final place through a knock-out competition.
- The Midland Merit Table consisted of 9 Clubs:
- Bedford
- Birmingham
- Coventry
- Leicester
- Moseley
- Northampton
- Nottingham
- Nuneaton
- Rugby
Key
- * Lost after extra time
- # Lost on ‘away’ rule, scores still level after extra time
National Cups
| Season | Competition | Progress | Opponents |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971-1972 | John Player Cup | Round 2 | Leicester Coventry |
| 1972-1973 | John Player Cup | Round 1 | Coventry |
| 1973-1974 | John Player Cup | Round 1 | Saracens |
| 1974-1975 | John Player Cup | Round 1 | Sale |
| 1975-1976 | John Player Cup | Round 1 | Moseley |
| 1975-1976 | John Player Cup – Qualifying | Quarter-final | Leicester |
| 1976-1977 | John Player Cup | Did not qualify | |
| 1976-1977 | John Player Cup – Qualifying | Qualified for 1977-1978 competition | Rugby Kettering Birmingham |
| 1977-1978 | John Player Cup | Round 3 | Wakefield |
| 1977-1978 | John Player Cup – Qualifying | Final | Birmingham Loughborough Colleges Walsall |
| 1978-1979 | John Player Cup | Did not qualify | |
| 1979-1980 | John Player Cup | Round 4 | Northampton Harlequins |
| 1980-1981 | John Player Cup | Quarter-final | Birmingham Derby Camp Hill Bath Gosforth |
| 1981-1982 | John Player Cup | Round 3 | Sale |
| 1982-1983 | John Player Special Cup | Quarter-final | Liverpool St Ives Coventry |
| 1983-1984 | John Player Special Cup | Semi-final | Solihull Newark Stourbridge Moseley London Scottish Bath |
| 1984-1985 | John Player Special Cup | Round 4 | Northampton London Welsh |
| 1985-1986 | John Player Special Cup | Quarter-final | Southend Wakefield #Wasps |
| 1986-1987 | John Player Special Cup | Round 4 | Lydney Wasps |
| 1987-1988 | John Player Special Cup | Round 3 | Waterloo |
| 1988-1989 | Pilkington Cup | Quarter-final | Bedford Richmond Harlequins |
| 1989-1990 | Pilkington Cup | Quarter-final | Rosslyn Park Orrell Gloucester |
| 1990-1991 | Pilkington Cup | Semi-final | London Scottish Richmond London Irish *Harlequins |
| 1991-1992 | Pilkington Cup | Round 3 | Bath |
| 1992-1993 | Pilkington Cup | Round 4 | Worcester Coventry Leicester |
| 1993-1994 | Pilkington Cup | Round 4 | Gloucester |
| 1994-1995 | Pilkington Cup | Round 4 | Bristol |
| 1995-1996 | Pilkington Cup | Round 5 | London Scottish Gloucester |
| 1996-1997 | Pilkington Cup | Round 5 | London Scottish |
| 1997-1998 | Tetleys Bitter Cup | Round 2 | Doncaster |
| 1998-1999 | Tetleys Bitter Cup | Round 4 | Preston Grasshoppers Wharfedale Exeter |
| 1999-2000 | Tetleys Bitter Cup | Round 4 | Stourbridge Redruth Manchester |
| 2000-2001 | Tetleys Bitter Cup | Round 2 | Morley |
| 2001-2002 | Powergen Cup | Round 2 | Dudley Kingswinford |
| 2002-2003 | Powergen Cup | Round 4 | Cleckheaton Barking London Welsh |
| 2003-2004 | Powergen Cup | Round 2 | Fylde |
| 2004-2005 | Powergen Cup | Round 4 | Newbury Bristol |
| 2005-2006 | Powergen National Trophy | Semi-final | Lydney Blaydon London Welsh Harlequins |
| 2006-2007 | EDF Energy National Trophy | Round 5 | Sedgley Park Coventry |
| 2007-2008 | EDF Energy National Trophy | Semi-final | Newbury London Welsh Launceston Exeter |
| 2008-2009 | EDF Energy National Trophy | Semi-final | Blaydon Cornish Pirates Mounts Bay Leeds |
| 2018-2019 | Championship Cup | Group stage 3rd Quarter-final | Coventry Doncaster Yorkshire ‘Leeds’ Ealing |
| 2019-2020 | Championship Cup | Group stage 1st Quarter-final Semi-final (Cancelled – COVID-19) | Cornish Pirates London Scottish Yorkshire ‘Leeds’ Doncaster Ealing |
| 2020-2021 | Championship Cup | No competition – COVID-19 | |
| 2021-2022 | Championship Cup | Round 1 | Bedford |
| 2022-2023 | Championship Cup | Group stage 4th | Ealing Jersey Hartpury University |
| 2023-2024 | Premiership Cup | Group stage 5th | Coventry Gloucester Harlequins Hartpury University Saracens |
| 2024-2025 | Premiership Cup | Coventry Leicester Northampton |