2009–10 LV Cup explained

2009–10 LV Cup
Countries:
Tournament Format:Round-robin and knockout
Date:November 2009 - March 2010
Teams:16
Matches:35
Venue:Sixways Stadium
Attendance2:12,024
Champions: Northampton Saints
Count:1
Runner-Up: Gloucester
Previous Year:2008–09
Previous Tournament:2008–09 EDF Energy Cup
Next Year:2010–11
Next Tournament:2010–11 LV Cup

The 2009–10 LV Cup (styled as the LV= Cup) was the 39th season of England's national rugby union cup competition, and the fifth to follow the Anglo-Welsh format.

Northampton Saints were crowned champions after beating Gloucester in the final at Worcester's Sixways Stadium.

The structure of the competition was altered from previous years. The competition continued to consist of the four Welsh Celtic League teams and the twelve Guinness Premiership clubs, arranged into pools consisting of three English teams and one Welsh. However, the new format saw teams guaranteed two home and two away pool matches, with teams in Pools 1 and 4 playing each other and teams in Pools 2 and 3 playing each other.[1] The competition took place on international fixture dates during the Autumn Internationals and Six Nations, with the aim of allowing teams to develop their squad players.[2]

On 29 October 2009, little more than a week before the start of this season's competition, British insurer LV was unveiled as the new sponsor.[3]

Pool stage

Points system

The points scoring system for the pool stage was as follows:[4]

The ranking criteria were:

Pool 1 v Pool 4

Round 1

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Round 2

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Round 3

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Round 4

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Pool 2 v Pool 3

Round 1

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Round 2

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Round 3

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Round 4

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Knockout stage

Qualification criteria

The top teams from each pool qualify for the knockout stage. The pool winners were decided by the following criteria:

1. The pool winner will be the club with the highest number of match points in each pool. The pool winners will be ranked 1 to 4 by reference to the number of match points earned in the pools.

2. If two or more clubs in the same pool end the pool stage equal on match points, then the order in which they have finished will be determined by:

i. the greater number of matches won by the club and

ii. if the number of matches won is equal, the club with the greater total number of tries scored and

iii. if the total number of tries scored is equal, the club with the greater points difference (points scored for, less points scored against) and

iv. if the points difference is equal, the club with the fewer number of red cards and

v. if the number of red cards is the same, by the toss a coin.

Each of the four qualifying clubs shall be ranked as above and shall play each other as follows:

Semi-final 1 - 1st ranked club v 4th ranked club

Semi-final 2 - 2nd ranked club v 3rd ranked clubThe first club listed in each of the semi-final matches shall be the home club.

Semi-finals

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Final

FB 15 Shane Geraghty
RW 14 Bruce Reihana
OC 13 Jon Clarke
IC 12 James Downey
LW 11 Paul Diggin
FH 10 Stephen Myler
SH 9 Lee Dickson
N8 8 Roger Wilson
OF 7 Neil Best
BF 6 Phil Dowson (c)
RL 5 Juandré Kruger
LL 4 Courtney Lawes
TP 3 Brian Mujati
HK 2 Brett Sharman
LP 1 Soane Tongaʻuiha
Replacements:
HK 16 Andy Long
PR 17 Regardt Dreyer
PR 18 Jon Vickers
FL 19 Mark Hopley
N8 20 Mark Easter
SH 21 Alan Dickens
FH 22 Barry Everitt
CE 23 Joe Ansbro
Coach:
Jim Mallinder
FB 15 Freddie Burns
RW 14 James Simpson-Daniel
OC 13 Tim Molenaar
IC 12 Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu
LW 11 Lesley Vainikolo
FH 10 Nicky Robinson
SH 9 Rory Lawson
N8 8 Adam Eustace
OF 7 Akapusi Qera
BF 6 Peter Buxton (c)
RL 5 Alex Brown
LL 4 Will James
TP 3 Pierre Capdevielle
HK 2 Olivier Azam
LP 1 Nick Wood
Replacements:
HK 16 Darren Dawidiuk
PR 17 Yann Thomas
PR 18 Rupert Harden
FL 19 Apolosi Satala
FL 20 Andy Hazell
SH 21 Dave Lewis
WG 22 Tom Voyce
WG 23 Charlie Sharples
Coach:
Bryan Redpath

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Anglo-Welsh Cup fixtures revealed . BBC Sport . British Broadcasting Corporation . 6 July 2009 . 9 July 2009 .
  2. News: Anglo-Welsh Cup set to carry on . BBC Sport . British Broadcasting Corporation . 6 May 2009 . 9 July 2009 .
  3. LV= sponsors rugby's Anglo-Welsh Tournament . Rugby Football Union . 2009-10-29 . 2009-10-30 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120404091030/http://www.rfu.com/News/2009/October/News%20Articles/291009_LV_Cup_announcement.aspx . 2012-04-04 .
  4. Web site: About the LV= Cup. LV=. 24 July 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120825232224/http://www.lv.com/aboutus/sponsorship/rugby-sponsorship/lv-cup/. 25 August 2012. dead. dmy-all.