"So Close, Yet So Far" Top 5 Teams With The WORST Records in Cup Finals

These teams have certainly come close to winning the illusive silverware on multiple occasions, but more often than not they have come away with the unwanted silver medals. These medals will not be found in any trophy room or club museum, as these sides try and move on from repeated defeats in the all-important finals.

This list will count down the teams that have the worst performance ratio when it comes to cup finals. So, sides like eleven-time Premiership champions Leicester Tigers will not be considered, despite the Tigers having an additional seven Premiership runners-up medals. We will also only be counting out-and-out single match cup finals, so two-legged finals will not be included.

What rugby club or nation has performed the worst in cup finals? Here is RUCK's rundown.

It's staggering to think that a brand as instantly recognisable as the Sharks, have never lifted a major rugby title in the professional era. Today going by the sponsored tongue-twisting name of the Cell C Sharks, the Durban side take part in the United Rugby Championship, and were previously a Super Rugby mainstay.

The Sharks have reached the Super Rugby Final on four occasions, yet they have failed to come away victorious on each attempt, earning them the worst finals record in Super Rugby. The South African side made it to the final of the inaugural Super Rugby season in 1996, with Jonah Lomu's Auckland Blues running rampant with a 45-21 victory. The Sharks returned to the final in 2001 as the 'Coastal Sharks', and took a heavy 36-6 loss to the Brumbies.

In 2007, the Sharks were just edged out by the Bulls, in an all-South African final that saw Bryan Habana take centre stage for a 20-19 win. The Sharks' last trip to any competition final was in 2012, which saw the Hamilton based Chiefs secure their first Super Rugby title, with an emphatic 37-6 win.

Additionally in 2021, the Sharks participated in the first invitational Toyota Challenge, and finished as runners up to the competition's hosts, the Toyota Cheetahs. However, this round-robin competition was without an out-an-out final, so doesn't make the cut. Since joining the expanded URC and Heineken Champions Cup, the Sharks' best performance has been the quarter-final stages of both European based competitions.

If a phoenix team rises London Irish up from the ashes, the Exiles could well soon be collecting bountiful winners medals, as they climb their way back up the leagues. London Welsh have proven that this is possible, as eight years on from their Premiership liquidation, 'Project Re-start' has seen London Welsh bounce up the divisions with consecutive league titles.

Excluding a pair of two-legged RFU Championship play-offs in 2017 and 2019, the Exiles have lost five out of their six appearances in out-and-out 'cup finals'. The last two defeats came in a mirror-image style, as Irish lost back-to-back Premiership Rugby Cup Finals in extra time, with both fixtures taking place at their previous home, the G-Tech Community Stadium.

The 2021/22 final was decided in irregular circumstances, as Worcester Warriors back-rower Kyle Hatherell scored an 80th minute equalising try, to take the match beyond the full-time whistle. After a 20 minute stalemate, the score-line remained level at 25-25, with Worcester awarded the title on 'tries scored' (3-2). In an eery sense of Deja Vu the following season, the Exiles found themselves on the losing side of a 24-20 score-line, with Exeter Chiefs lifting the Premiership Rugby Cup trophy in an extra-time triumph.

London Irish's singular cup final triumph came in the very same competition, yet it was under the former name of the Powergen Cup. The Exiles put in a blistering performance to seal the 2001/02 Powergen Cup at Twickenham Stadium, as they put the sword to Northampton Saints with a 38-7 landslide win.

Irish's additional cup final defeats came against Gloucester in the 2005/06 European Challenge Cup Final, which goes down as Irish's best run on the continent. The Exiles followed this up by reaching their one and only Premiership Final in 2009, which saw them take a narrow 10-9 defeat to Leicester Tigers. This is recorded as Irish's best ever league performance. The 1979/80 Anglo-Welsh Cup final defeat again to Leicester wraps up the Exiles' history of cup finals for now.

France have taken away silver medals on six separate occasions, which is a record for an international men's rugby side. Les Bleus have had their heart broken in the Rugby World Cup Final three times, which is an unfortunate accolade they share with England. France were the runners-up of the first ever Rugby World Cup in 1987, as they suffered a 29-9 defeat to the All Blacks. The 20-point score margin is also a winning record for any RWC Final, matched only by the 2019 final.

France also lost the 1999 final against the Wallabies, and then the 2011 final provided an unwanted sense of Deja vu, with another defeat to New Zealand with the Web Ellis Trophy on the line. France added their latest silver medal after the 2020 Autumn Nations Cup Final, as England hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie grabbed an 80th minute equalising try, before Owen Farrell's conversion took the match to extra time for a dramatic England win.

The final two silver medals in France's hidden trophy cabinet came in the 1920s. This took some researching, yet Les Bleus actually entered their officially recognised team into the 1920 and 1924 Olympic Games. This may seem like an impressive accolade, yet in 1920 the only other entrants were Team USA, with the duo joined by Romania four years later.

Rugby 15s was pulled from the Olympics after 1924, with Rugby Sevens making its debut in Rio 2016. Unfortunately for Les Bleus, their all six of their Six Nations titles come without the specified 'final', and have no impact upon their successes for this list.

4. Otago (7x Runners-Up / 1 Finals Victories)

Otago have not had the most fortuitous time in the New Zealand National Provincial Championship. The Dunedin side have reached the NPC Final on seven separate occasions, yet have only once come away with winners medals. Otago's victorious trip to the NPC Final came in 1998, when the South Islanders recorded a 49-20 victory over Hamilton based Waikato.

Otago do in fact boast a history of two NPC titles, however their first triumph came in 1991, which was the last year that the NPC was formatted with top spot automatically awarded the trophy, without a need for a play-off final. The following year, Otago reached history's first NPC Final, yet they were defeated by Waikato, who ran in one-way traffic for a 40-5 victory.

The Dunedin club returned for the 1993 and 1995 finals, with both matches ending in defeats to North Island side Auckland. Otago hit a slump during the late 90s, and were unable to return to the play-off final until their comeback year in 2001. However, this underdog story did not end in success, as Canterbury ran out a decisive 30-19 score-line, to extend Otago's wait for the title.

Otago's last visit to the traditional NPC Final came in 2005, with Auckland completing their trifecta of triumphs over the South Island side. This 39-11 victory at Eden Park saw Auckland run in six tries, with the likes of former All Blacks hooker and two-time Rugby World Cup Winner Kevin Mealamu involved on Auckland's score-sheet.

Following the NPC's format re-vamp, Otago battled to the final once more. Reaching the culmination of the 2021 Bunnings NPC Championship Division, Otago took on Taranaki, with the New Plymouth side securing the 32-19 win.

5. ASM Clermont Auvergne (24x Runners-Up / 9 Finals Victories)

The final addition to this list is ASM Clermont Auvergne. There is no denying the success that Clermont have seen throughout the years, they are three-time European Challenge Cup winners, and have clinched the French Top 14 on two occasions. However, they have also been runners-up a staggering 24 times during their history, with their silver medals heavily outweighing their gold on display.

Clermont hold the unwanted accolade of being the joint-most unsuccessful team in Champions Cup Finals with three defeats and no wins. Clermont begrudgingly share this title with fellow French side Racing 92. Despite their trio of Challenge Cup titles, Clermont have also tasted defeat in European Rugby's secondary division, as they ended the 2003/04 campaign as Runners-Up, after a bitterly close 27-16 defeat to Harlequins.

Clermont have been eager participants in the French first division, yet have only ever come away with two league titles (2010 and 2017). They have fallen in the competition's Grand Final on 12 occasions, giving them the worst final win-loss ratio of any side from the four elite club leagues (Top 14, Premiership, Super Rugby and United Rugby Championship).

Every iteration of the French top division has featured a play-off stage and eventual final. This is a factor as to why Clermont's silver medal tally is so high, as their first trip to the final was as far back as 1936. The Premiership and United Rugby Championship (or Celtic League) have only used play-off stages to decide the champions since the 2001/02 season. Super Rugby's first final came in the aforementioned 1996 debut season, however no side from the top four elite rugby club leagues come close to Clermont's collection of silver medals.

Clermont have also accrued numerous silver medals from France's domestic club competitions. The equivalent of the historic Anglo-Welsh Cup on the British Isles, Clermont are six-time runners up (and three-time winners) of the Challenge Yves du Manoir. Also, the side formally known as AS Montferrand, are two-time Coupe de France runners-up, with the matches taking place in 1945 and 1947, following WWII.