| Current season or competition: 2009–10 LV Cup |
|
| Sport | Rugby union |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1971 |
| No. of teams | 16 |
| Country(ies) |  England Wales |
| Most recent champion(s) | Cardiff Blues |
The Anglo-Welsh Cup, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the LV Cup (officially styled as LV= per the sponsor's branding), is an English and Welsh rugby union knock-out cup competition featuring the twelve Guinness Premiership clubs and four Welsh Regions. The present sponsorship deal with the British insurance company LV, which runs for two seasons, was announced on 29 October 2009, just before the start of the 2009–10 competition.[1] Between 2006 and 2009 the competition was sponsored by EDF's UK subsidiary and referred to as the EDF Energy Cup. Prior to the 2005-06 season, the competition was open to all English clubs. Bath have won the cup ten times, with Leicester Tigers the second most successful club with six, including their win over the Ospreys in the 2006-07 final.
Contents |
History
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This article or section may be slanted towards recent events. Please try to keep recent events in historical perspective. (September 2009) |
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1971-2005
Originally known as the R.F.U. Club Competition, for which no Cup was awarded nor sponsorship sought, it was renamed the John Player Cup in 1976, Gosforth beating Rosslyn Park in the Final, The first competition took place in 1972, and Gloucester were crowned inaugural champions, defeating Moseley in the final, 17 to 6. Coventry won two titles in succession in 1973 and 1974, and after Bedford's championship win in 1975, Gosforth also won two in succession, in 1976 and 1977. Gloucester won their second title in 1978. The competition was then dominated by Leicester, who won three championships in a row, until Gloucester won their third title in 1982. This was shared with Moseley after a 12-12 draw in extra time, and was the only time the cup was shared between two teams. Leicester were again in the final in 1983, but lost to Bristol. Leicester's record run was then broken by Bath from 1984-87, who won the John Player Cup four times in a row, until Harlequins won their first in 1988.
The name of the cup was changed to the Pilkington Cup for the 1989 tournament. Bath picked up from where they left off in the late 1980s, going onto win another six times from 1989-1996. Harlequins won their second title in 1991, and Leicester added to their three championships in 1993 and again in 1997. The cup changed its name again after Leicesters' 1997 victory, becoming the Tetley's Bitter Cup for the 1998 season. Saracens won their first title, defeating Wasps FC in 1998. Wasps were again in the final in 1999, and defeated Newcastle to claim their first championship. Wasps also won the 2000 competition.
In 2001 the name of the tournament was changed to the Powergen Cup. Newcastle won the first Powergen Cup, defeating the Harlequins 30-27. London Irish won it for their first time the following season, and Gloucester won it for the first time since 1982. Newcastle won in 2004, and in 2005 the Leeds Tykes defeated Bath to win it for the first time.
2005-present: Anglo-Welsh Cup
Starting in 2005-06, the cup featured a new format including only the twelve teams from the Guinness Premiership and the four regional Welsh clubs. Teams from the Championship (formerly National Division One) and below now play for the Powergen National Trophy, and from 2009–10 Championship teams also play in the British and Irish Cup.
In place of the knock-out format, the 16 clubs are placed in four pools with 3 English clubs and 1 Welsh club. The pool stages of the Anglo-Welsh Cup tournament feature one game against each team. The winners of each of the four groups progress to the semi-finals. The pools will stay as they are for the following season as well, with home and away fixtures reversed and the club relegated from the Guinness Premiership's place taken by the club promoted from the Championship.
In addition to increased TV revenue (the revised Powergen Cup has already inked a handsome new broadcasting agreement with the BBC) and a possible boost to matchday income, the Powergen Cup will also offer its winner qualification to the even more lucrative Heineken Cup club competition. As base compensation all 16 Powergen clubs are guaranteed £250,000 each, with a prize fund of up to £200,000 available to the semi-finalists.[2]
The Welsh clubs' inclusion initially caused them to be expelled from the Celtic League. Scottish and Irish officials were angered that the Welsh Clubs had apparently consented to Powergen Cup fixtures on the same weekend as Celtic League matches. The political fallout resulted in the purported expulsion of the Welsh clubs from the league. Eventually, a compromise was reached, and the Welsh clubs were readmitted.
Many rugby union commentators see the Powergen Cup as a boon to Wales as it reinforces their regional club structure begun in 2003 when Wales began the regional structure common to southern hemisphere powers such as Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. (See the Observer, "Fine for the Welsh, but at what cost to England?", 25 September 2005). The benefits are less apparent to the English clubs, especially as the breakdown between Twickenham and the Guinness Premiership clubs intensifies: while the Cup now attracts greater revenue and crowds than before the Welsh sides were admitted, it still lags behind the Premiership.
Interest in the Powergen Cup was high during the first two rounds. Over 100,000 spectators attend matches, while the television audience peaked at 1.2 million on BBC2 for the Newcastle Falcons v. Llanelli Scarlets match.[1] Overall, the 2005-2006 cup drew a 12% attendance boost in the group stages over the previous year's competition.[3]
However, Powergen decided to withdraw all of its rugby sponsorship after the conclusion of the 2005-2006 cup competitions.[4] The next sponsor of the Anglo-Welsh Cup was EDF Energy,[5] in a deal that ran until 2009. The present deal with LV= runs through the 2010–11 competition.[1]
The pools (or groups) for the Powergen Cup were decided on a regional basis, comprising of three English sides geographically close to one another, and one Welsh club again divided as far as possible by their location.
List of winners
- 1972 Gloucester 17 - 6 against Moseley
- 1973 Coventry 27 - 15 against Bristol
- 1974 Coventry 26 - 6 against London Scottish
- 1975 Bedford 28 - 12 against Rosslyn Park
- 1976 Gosforth 23 - 14 against Rosslyn Park
- 1977 Gosforth 27 - 11 against Waterloo
- 1978 Gloucester RFC 6 - 3 against Leicester
- 1979 Leicester 15 - 12 against Moseley
- 1980 Leicester 21 - 9 against London Irish
- 1981 Leicester 22 - 15 against Gosforth
- 1982 Gloucester RFC and Moseley (shared) 12 - 12
- 1983 Bristol 28 - 22 against Leicester
- 1984 Bath 10 - 9 against Bristol
- 1985 Bath 24 - 15 against London Welsh
- 1986 Bath 25 - 17 against Wasps FC
- 1987 Bath 19 - 12 against Wasps FC
- 1988 Harlequins 28 - 22 against Bristol
- 1989 Bath 10 - 6 against Leicester
- 1990 Bath 48 - 6 against Gloucester RFC
- 1991 Harlequins 25 - 13 against Northampton
- 1992 Bath 15 - 12 against Harlequins
- 1993 Leicester 23 - 16 against Harlequins
- 1994 Bath 21 - 9 against Leicester
- 1995 Bath 36 - 16 against Wasps FC
- 1996 Bath 16 - 15 against Leicester
- 1997 Leicester 9 - 3 against Sale
- 1998 Saracens 48 - 18 against Wasps FC
- 1999 Wasps FC 29 - 19 against Newcastle
- 2000 London Wasps 31 - 23 against Northampton
- 2001 Newcastle 30 - 27 against Harlequins
- 2002 London Irish 38 - 7 against Northampton
- 2003 Gloucester RFC 40 - 22 against Northampton
- 2004 Newcastle 37 - 33 against Sale
- 2005 Leeds 20 - 12 against Bath
- 2006 London Wasps 26 - 10 against Llanelli Scarlets
- 2007 Leicester Tigers 41 - 35 against Ospreys
- 2008 Ospreys 23 - 6 against Leicester Tigers
- 2009 Cardiff Blues 50 - 12 against Gloucester
By number won
| Position | Club | Times won |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bath | 10 |
| 2 | Leicester | 6 |
| 3= | Gloucester RFC | 4 |
| 3= | Gosforth/Newcastle | 4 |
| 5 | Wasps | 3 |
| 6= | Coventry | 2 |
| 6= | Harlequins | 2 |
| 8= | Bedford | 1 |
| 8= | Bristol | 1 |
| 8= | Leeds | 1 |
| 8= | London Irish | 1 |
| 8= | Moseley | 1 |
| 8= | Ospreys | 1 |
| 8= | Saracens | 1 |
| 8= | Cardiff Blues | 1 |
Sponsorship
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This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2007) |
- 1972–75 – Rugby Football Union
- 1976–88 – John Player
- 1989–97 – Pilkington Glass
- 1998–2000 – Tetley's Bitter
- 2001–05 – Powergen
- 2006–09 – EDF Energy
- 2009–present – LV=
See also
- Powergen National Trophy
- English Rugby Union teams
- Guinness Premiership
- Heineken Cup
- European Challenge Cup
- European Shield
References
- ^ a b Rugby Football Union (2009-10-29). "LV= sponsors rugby's Anglo-Welsh Tournament". Press release. http://www.rfu.com/News/2009/October/News%20Articles/291009_LV_Cup_announcement.aspx. Retrieved 2009-10-30.
- ^ "Cup resurrects Anglo-Welsh contests of old days". The Times. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,377-1799287,00.html. Retrieved 30 September 2006.
- ^ "EDF Energy to sponsor UK’s premier cup competition". Rugby Football Union. http://www.rfu.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/RFUHome.News_Detail/StoryID/14369. Retrieved 30 September 2006.
- ^ "Powergen to end cup sponsorships". BBC. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/front_page/4721658.stm. Retrieved 30 September 2006.
- ^ "Anglo-Welsh Cup gets new sponsor". BBC. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/5234516.stm. Retrieved 30 September 2006.
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