The 1987–88 John Player Special Cup was the 17th edition of England's premier rugby union cup competition. Harlequins won the competition, for the first time, defeating Bristol in the final at Twickenham Stadium.^[1] The competition was sponsored by John Player cigarettes.^[2]

Quick Facts Countries, Champions ...

1987–88 John Player Special Cup
Countries	England
Champions	Harlequins
Runners-up	Bristol
Highest attendance	37,000 Harlequins v Bristol at Twickenham
← 1986–87 1988–89 →

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Notes

30 April 1988

Harlequins	28–22	Bristol
Try: Carling 2 Harriman Con: Thresher Salmon Pen: Thresher Salmon 3		Try: Duggan Penalty Try Con: Webb Pen: Webb 3 Drop: Knibbs

Twickenham Stadium, London Attendance: 37,000 (record for competition) Referee: Fred Howard (Liverpool)

Harlequins

Bristol

^{[p 1]}

Notes

• The attendance for the final of 37,000 was highest in the competition's history
• Bath's unbeaten sequence of 22 matches ended when Moseley beat them in a quarter-final at The Reddings

^[1]

The competition was sponsored, for the last time, by John Player and the prize money was £125,000 (an increase of £15,000). Both finalists received £3,750 each and in thirteen years of sponsorship over £1 million has been provided.^[1]