The 1971–72 National KO Competition was the first rugby union cup competition (for clubs) in England.

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

won the competition defeating

Moseley Moseley is a suburb of south Birmingham, England, south of the city centre. The area is a popular cosmopolitan residential location and leisure destination, with a number of bars and restaurants. The area also has a number of boutiques and ot ...

in the final. In the final the Moseley lock Nigel Horton floored Dick Smith (the Gloucester openside) with a punch during the second scrum of the game and was sent off by Ron Lewis the referee. Moseley ended the game with just twelve men after their two flankers, Tim Smith and Ian Pringle, were both carried off injured. The

RFU The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the national governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby (WR) in 1886. It pro ...

introduced this new challenge cup which quickly emerged as England's premier Rugby Union club competition event. The final was held at

Twickenham Stadium Twickenham Stadium () in Twickenham, south-west London, England, is a rugby union stadium owned by the Rugby Football Union (RFU), English rugby union governing body, which has its headquarters there. The England national rugby union team play ...

. The principal event for Rugby Union club players at this time had been the

County Championship The County Championship (referred to as the LV= Insurance County Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales and is organised by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). It bec ...

because there was no official league table for clubs.

Draw and results

First round

Second round

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

Final

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1971-72 John Player Cup

John Player Cup The Anglo-Welsh Cup (), was a cross-border rugby union knock-out cup competition that featured the 12 Premiership Rugby clubs and the four Welsh regions. It was a created as a replacement for the RFU Knockout Cup, which featured only English clubs ...

RFU Knockout Cup