The 2011–12 LV Cup (styled as the LV= Cup) was the 41st season of England's national rugby union cup competition, and the seventh to follow the Anglo-Welsh format.

2011–12 LV Cup
Tournament details
Countries England
 Wales
Tournament format(s)Round-robin and knockout
Date15 October 2011 – 18 March 2012
Tournament statistics
Teams16
Matches played35
Attendance273,097 (7,803 per match)
Tries scored179 (5.11 per match)
Final
VenueSixways Stadium
Attendance11,895
ChampionsLeicester Tigers (7th title)
Runners-upNorthampton Saints
← 2010–11 (Previous)
(Next) 2012–13 →

The competition consisted of the four Welsh Pro12 teams and the 12 English Premiership clubs arranged into pools consisting of three English and one Welsh team. Teams were 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, with the top team from each pool qualifying for the semi-finals.[1] The competition took place during the autumn soon after the World Cup and on international fixture dates during the Six Nations, thus allowing teams to develop their squad players.

The defending champions were Gloucester, who this season failed to progress from the pool stage.

Pool stages

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Points system

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The points scoring system for the pool stages will be as follows:[2]

  • 4 points for a win
  • 2 points for a draw
  • 1 bonus point for scoring four or more tries in a match (TB)
  • 1 bonus point for a loss by seven points or less (LB)

Pool 1 v Pool 4

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Tables

Pool 1
Team P W D L PF PA PD TF TB LB Pts
  Bath 4 4 0 0 169 46 123 24 4 0 20
  Saracens 4 2 1 1 90 70 20 9 2 0 12
  Ospreys 4 1 0 3 71 112 −41 7 1 0 5
  London Wasps 4 0 0 4 74 137 −63 8 1 2 3
Pool 4
Team P W D L PF PA PD TF TB LB Pts
  Northampton Saints 4 3 0 1 139 84 55 18 3 0 15
  Exeter Chiefs 4 2 0 2 88 99 −11 9 1 0 9
  Worcester Warriors 4 2 0 2 71 120 −49 8 0 0 8
  Newport Gwent Dragons 4 1 1 2 67 101 −34 5 0 1 7

Round 1

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15 October 2011
14:30
Newport Gwent Dragons  16–46  Bath
Report
Rodney Parade
Attendance: 4,646

15 October 2011
15:00
Northampton Saints  36–6  Saracens
Report
Franklin's Gardens
Attendance: 11,513

15 October 2011
15:00
Worcester Warriors  20–19  London Wasps
Report
Sixways Stadium
Attendance: 6,250
Referee: Tim Wigglesworth (RFU)

15 October 2011
19:45
Exeter Chiefs  35–9  Ospreys
Report
Sandy Park
Attendance: 6,368

Round 2

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22 October 2011
14:15
Bath  46–13  Worcester Warriors
Report
Recreation Ground
Attendance: 11,576

22 October 2011
18:00
Ospreys  22–32  Northampton Saints
Report
Brewery Field
Attendance: 4,463

22 October 2011
19:45
London Wasps  29–30  Newport Gwent Dragons
Report
Adams Park
Attendance: 4,492

23 October 2011
15:00
Saracens  43–20  Exeter Chiefs
Report
Vicarage Road
Attendance: 4,507
Referee: Andrew Small (RFU)

Round 3

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27 January 2012
19:00
Ospreys  26–21  Newport Gwent Dragons
Report
Brewery Field
Attendance: 4,896
Referee: Greg Garner (RFU)

28 January 2012
14:30
Bath  46–14  Northampton Saints
Report
Recreation Ground
Attendance: 11,994
Referee: Sean Davey (RFU)

28 January 2012
15:00
London Wasps  16–30  Exeter Chiefs
Report
Adams Park
Attendance: 4,877
Referee: Tim Wigglesworth (RFU)

29 January 2012
15:00
Saracens  41–14  Worcester Warriors
Report
Vicarage Road
Attendance: 4,970

Round 4

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This match was postponed due to a frozen pitch at Rodney Parade.[3] The LV= Organising Committee subsequently awarded the match to Saracens by 20 points to nil (a bonus point win). Dragons were also fined £10,000 (suspended) for their failure under LV= Cup Regulation 6.7 (that the pitch was unplayable and no suitable alternative arrangements were in place).[4] Dragons appealed this decision and their appeal was upheld. The decision was quashed, with the match instead being recorded as a 0–0 draw and the suspended fine reduced from £10,000 to £5,000.[5]


4 February 2012
15:00
Northampton Saints  57–10  London Wasps
Report
Franklin's Gardens
Attendance: 12,128
Referee: Dean Richards (RFU)

4 February 2012
15:00
Worcester Warriors  24–14  Ospreys
Report
Sixways Stadium
Attendance: 5,856

5 February 2012
17:00
Exeter Chiefs  3–31  Bath
Report
Sandy Park
Attendance: 5,557

Pool 2 v Pool 3

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Tables

Pool 2
Team P W D L PF PA PD TF TB LB Pts
  Leicester Tigers 4 3 0 1 86 67 19 9 1 0 13
  London Irish 4 2 0 2 100 91 9 7 1 1 10
  Cardiff Blues 4 1 0 3 54 143 −89 6 1 0 5
  Sale Sharks 4 1 0 3 78 146 −68 8 0 0 4
Pool 3
Team P W D L PF PA PD TF TB LB Pts
  Scarlets 4 3 0 1 102 44 58 13 2 1 15
  Harlequins 4 2 0 2 112 108 4 12 2 1 11
  Gloucester 4 2 0 2 127 93 34 16 2 0 10
  Newcastle Falcons 4 2 0 2 106 73 33 13 2 0 10

Round 1

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15 October 2011
15:00
Gloucester  58–27  Sale Sharks
Report
Kingsholm
Attendance: 9,934

15 October 2011
15:00
Harlequins  26–19  London Irish
Report
The Stoop
Attendance: 10,500
Referee: Llyr ApGeraint-Roberts (RFU)

15 October 2011
18:00
Scarlets  31–3  Leicester Tigers
Report
Parc y Scarlets
Attendance: 6,314
Referee: Sean Davey (RFU)

15 October 2011
18:30
Newcastle Falcons  33–3  Cardiff Blues
Report
Kingston Park
Attendance: 3,176
Referee: Andrew Small (RFU)

Round 2

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21 October 2011
19:45
Leicester Tigers  40–14  Gloucester
Report
Welford Road
Attendance: 16,408
Referee: James Jones (WRU)

21 October 2011
19:45
Sale Sharks  25–37  Harlequins
Report
Edgeley Park
Attendance: 4,629
Referee: Tim Wigglesworth (RFU)

23 October 2011
14:30
Cardiff Blues  3–30  Scarlets
Report
Cardiff City Stadium
Attendance: 6,913
Referee: Greg Garner (RFU)

23 October 2011
15:00
London Irish  39–23  Newcastle Falcons
Report
Madejski Stadium
Attendance: 5,469
Referee: Dean Richards (RFU)

Round 3

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28 January 2012
15:00
Gloucester  40–3  Cardiff Blues
Report
Kingsholm
Attendance: 13,099
Referee: Llyr ApGeraint-Roberts (RFU)

28 January 2012
15:00
Harlequins  9–19  Leicester Tigers
Report
The Stoop
Attendance: 13,780

28 January 2012
18:30
Scarlets  27–19  London Irish
Report
Parc y Scarlets
Attendance: 8,117
Referee: Nigel Owens (WRU)

29 January 2012
15:30
Newcastle Falcons  37–7  Sale Sharks
Report
Kingston Park
Attendance: 4,095

Round 4

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4 February 2012
15:00
Leicester Tigers  24–13  Newcastle Falcons
Report
Welford Road
Attendance: 19,767

4 February 2012
15:00
London Irish  23–15  Gloucester
Report
Madejski Stadium
Attendance: 9,221
Referee: Sean Davey (RFU)

4 February 2012
15:00
Sale Sharks  19–14  Scarlets
Report
Edgeley Park
Attendance: 3,012

5 February 2012
13:00
Cardiff Blues  45–40  Harlequins
Report
Cardiff City Stadium
Attendance: 2,093
Referee: James Jones (WRU)

Knockout stage

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Semi-finalsFinal
 
      
 
9 March 2012 – Recreation Ground
 
 
  Bath16
 
18 March 2012 – Sixways Stadium
 
  Leicester Tigers17
 
  Leicester Tigers26
 
11 March 2012 – Franklin's Gardens
 
  Northampton Saints14
 
  Northampton Saints27
 
 
  Scarlets12
 

Qualification criteria

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The top teams from each pool qualify for the knockout stages. The pool winners will be decided by the following criteria:[2]

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 club

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

Qualifiers
Rank Team P W D L PF PA PD TF TB LB Pts
1   Bath 4 4 0 0 169 46 123 24 4 0 20
2   Northampton Saints 4 3 0 1 139 84 55 18 3 0 15
3   Scarlets 4 3 0 1 102 44 58 13 2 1 15
4   Leicester Tigers 4 3 0 1 86 67 19 9 1 0 13

Semi-finals

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9 March 2012
19:30
Bath  16–17  Leicester Tigers
Try: Mears 31' c
Con: Heathcote (1/1) 31
Pen: Heathcote 24', 51', 60'
ReportTry: Kitchener 21' m
Pen: Ford (4/4) 18', 49', 53', 72'
Recreation Ground, Bath
Attendance: 10,205
Referee: Dave Pearson (RFU)

11 March 2012
13:00
Northampton Saints  27–12  Scarlets
Try: Waller 15' c
Armstrong 47' m
Con: Myler (1/2) 15'
Pen: Myler (4/4) 21', 35', 48', 62'
Lamb (1/1) 76'
ReportPen: S. Jones (4/4) 23', 36', 42', 53'
Franklin's Gardens, Northampton
Attendance: 10,377
Referee: Dean Richards (RFU)

Final

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18 March 2012
15:00
Leicester Tigers  26–14  Northampton Saints
Try: Mafi 25' c
Hamilton 49' c
Con: Ford (2/2) 25', 49'
Pen: Ford (4/4) 14', 18', 24', 45'
ReportTry: Day 74' m
Pen: Myler (3/3) 5', 11', 21'
Sixways Stadium, Worcester
Attendance: 11,895
Referee: JP Doyle (RFU)
FB 15   Geordan Murphy (c)
RW 14   Horacio Agulla
OC 13   Matt Smith
IC 12   Billy Twelvetrees
LW 11   Scott Hamilton
FH 10   George Ford
SH 9   James Grindal
N8 8   Thomas Waldrom
OF 7   Craig Newby
BF 6   Steve Mafi
RL 5   Graham Kitchener
LL 4   George Skivington
TP 3   Logovi'i Mulipola
HK 2   Rob Hawkins
LP 1   Boris Stankovich
Replacements:
HK 16   Tom Youngs
PR 17   Marcos Ayerza
PR 18   Julian White
LK 19   Calum Green
FL 20   Julian Salvi
SH 21   Scott Steele
FH 22   Toby Flood
CE 23   Andy Forsyth
Coach:
  Richard Cockerill
FB 15   Paul Diggin
RW 14   Vasily Artemyev
OC 13   George Pisi
IC 12   James Downey
LW 11   Scott Armstrong
FH 10   Stephen Myler
SH 9   Martin Roberts
N8 8   Roger Wilson
OF 7   Tom Wood
BF 6   Calum Clark (c)
RL 5   Christian Day
LL 4   James Craig
TP 3   Paul Doran-Jones
HK 2   Andy Long
LP 1   Soane Tongaʻuiha
Replacements:
HK 16   Ross McMillan
PR 17   Alex Waller
PR 18   Brian Mujati
LK 19   Mark Sorenson
FL 20   Ben Nutley
SH 21   Ryan Glynn
FH 22   Ryan Lamb
CE 23   Tom May
Coach:
  Jim Mallinder

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Home". lv.com.
  2. ^ a b "About the LV= Cup". LV=. Archived from the original on 25 August 2012. Retrieved 24 July 2012.
  3. ^ "LV= Cup: Newport Gwent Dragons P-P Saracens (Fri)". BBC. 3 February 2012. Retrieved 24 July 2012.
  4. ^ "Dragons hit with £10,000 fine and forfeit". 8 February 2012.
  5. ^ "Dragons appeal over LV= Cup clash with Saracens upheld". WalesOnline. 21 February 2012. Retrieved 24 July 2012.