About the LV= Cup

Last year, we announced LV= would continue to sponsor the competition for a further four years.

The last three seasons of our sponsorship have seen some great matches, and the competition gives players a great chance to compete for silverware. The LV= Cup offers a fantastic platform for today's club players to develop into tomorrow's international players.

We work in partnership with the Rugby Football Union (RFU) and Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) along with Premiership Rugby and Regional Rugby Wales to bring a great addition to the rugby calendar.

The FAQs below will tell you everything you need to know about the LV= Cup, but if we haven’t answered your question, please contact us – we'd be happy to help. For media enquiries only, please contact Juliet Cooper at Brand Rapport on 020 7932 5816. For all other enquiries, please email feedback@LV.com

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Who competes in the LV= Cup?

The 12 English Aviva Premiership Rugby clubs and four Welsh regional teams from the RaboDirect Pro12 compete for the coveted title of the LV= Cup.

How are the teams split into pools?

The teams competing for the LV= Cup are split into four pools of four clubs, with three English clubs and one Welsh region in each pool.

English clubs have been allocated to pools depending on their finish in last season's Aviva Premiership Rugby competition.

Welsh regions have been allocated to the pools in a way that avoids repeating fixtures from the Heineken and Amlin Challenge Cups where possible.

Which teams do each pool play?

How does the points scoring work for the pool stage?

The points scoring system for the pool stages will be as follows:

Four match points for a win
Two match points for a draw
A bonus match point for scoring four tries or more
A bonus match point for losing by a margin of seven points or less

What happens in the event of a tie at full-time, in the semi-finals or final?

If this happens, the winner will be determined by:

i. extra-time of 20 minutes (10 minutes each way); then

ii if the scores are tied after extra-time, then the team that has scored the most tries in the match (including extra time) shall be deemed the winner; then

iii if the teams have scored the same number of tries in the match (including extra-time), then the winner will be determined by a placekick competition.

Can I watch the LV= Cup on TV?

You can watch the LV= Cup on Sky Sports and on S4C in Wales, the games will also feature in a highlights show on ITV4. The fixture list shows which matches will be televised this season.

How are the semi-final matches agreed?

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 club

The first club listed in each of the semi-final matches shall be the home club.

How do teams qualify for the knockout stages?

The top teams from each pool qualify for the knockout stages.

The pool winners will be 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 of a coin.

How is discipline managed in the LV= Cup

Players dismissed from the field of play will be required to attend a hearing before a disciplinary panel organized by the Rugby Football Union Disciplinary Manager comprising members appointed by RFU in consultation with Welsh Rugby Union at Bristol (unless some other venue is agreed between RFU, WRU and the club of which the player is a member) on the Tuesday following the match.

Citing Officers will be appointed and they alone shall have the power and responsibility to cite a player where the citing officer believes the independent video shows that player to have committed an act of foul play whether or not it has been detected by the match officials. Such citing, to be effective, must be made in writing to be received by the RFU Disciplinary Manager at Twickenham within thirty six hours of the receipt by the citing officer of the independent video or within seven days of the conclusion of the match, whichever shall be the earlier.

A club may within forty eight hours of the conclusion of that match notify the RFU Disciplinary Manager of any incidents which it wishes the citing officer to consider. The RFU Disciplinary Manager will immediately notify the citing officer of that club’s concerns.