# 2010–11 LV Cup

The 2010–11 LV Cup (styled as the LV= Cup) was the 40th season of England's national rugby union cup competition, and the sixth to follow the Anglo-Welsh format.
The competition consisted of the four Welsh Magners League teams and the twelve Aviva 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. The competition took place on international fixture dates during the Autumn Internationals and Six Nations, thus allowing teams to develop their squad players.
The competition made history this season when London Wasps announced that their Round 3 match against Harlequins would be played in Abu Dhabi on January 30, 2011 – making it the first competitive game between two English clubs to take place abroad.
Gloucester claimed the cup with a comprehensive 34–7 victory over Newcastle Falcons in the final at Franklin's Gardens in Northampton. It was the fifth victory for Gloucester in the competition (including one shared title), and the first since the current Anglo-Welsh format was adopted in 2005.

## Pool stages
### Points system

The points scoring system for the pool stages will be as follows:
* 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)
The ranking criteria were:
* 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.

### Pool 1 v Pool 4

Pool 1 :
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | T | TB | LB | Pts |
| Newcastle Falcons | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 61 | 59 | +2 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 9 |
| London Wasps | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 50 | 101 | −51 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Cardiff Blues | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 56 | 104 | −48 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Leicester Tigers | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 60 | 141 | −81 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
* ↑ London Wasps were deducted 1 competition point for fielding an ineligible player.
Pool 4 :
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | T | TB | LB | Pts |
| Harlequins | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 123 | 65 | +58 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 17 |
| Bath | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 110 | 51 | +59 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 14 |
| Ospreys | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 82 | 55 | +27 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 14 |
| Exeter Chiefs | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 90 | 56 | +34 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 11 |

#### Round 1

* 5 November 2010 19:30
| Leicester Tigers | 25–34 | Harlequins |
| | Report | |
* Welford Road Attendance: 16,197 Referee: Dave Pearson (England)
* 5 November 2010 19:45
| Bath | 29–19 | Cardiff Blues |
| | Report | |
* Recreation Ground Attendance: 11,911 Referee: Greg Garner (England)
* 6 November 2010 15:00
| Exeter Chiefs | 29–6 | London Wasps |
| | Report | |
* Sandy Park Attendance: 7,799 Referee: Neil Paterson (Scotland)
* 6 November 2010 18:30
| Newcastle Falcons | 18–17 | Ospreys |
| | Report | |
* Kingston Park Attendance: 3,307 Referee: Tim Wigglesworth (England)

#### Round 2

* 12 November 2010 19:30
| Cardiff Blues | 23–23 | Exeter Chiefs |
| | Report | |
* Cardiff City Stadium Attendance: 7,018 Referee: David Jones (Wales)
* 12 November 2010 19:45
| Ospreys | 46–13 | Leicester Tigers |
| | Report | |
* Brewery Field Attendance: 6,632 Referee: Leighton Hodges (Wales)
* 14 November 2010 15:00
| Harlequins | 28–20 | Newcastle Falcons |
| | Report | |
* The Stoop Attendance: 9,450 Referee: David Rose (England)
* 14 November 2010 15:00
| London Wasps | 18–16 | Bath |
| | Report | |
* Adams Park Attendance: 6,518 Referee: Martin Fox (England)

#### Round 3

* 29 January 2011 14:15
| Bath | 11–6 | Newcastle Falcons |
| | Report | |
* Recreation Ground Attendance: 11,631 Referee: Rob Debney (England)
* 29 January 2011 15:00
| Exeter Chiefs | 35–10 | Leicester Tigers |
| | Report | |
* Sandy Park Attendance: 7,445 Referee: Tim Hayes (Wales)
* 29 January 2011 18:30
| Cardiff Blues | 7–29 | Ospreys |
| | Report | |
* Cardiff City Stadium Attendance: 10,320 Referee: Dave Pearson (England)
* 30 January 2011 19:15 GST
| London Wasps | 13–38 | Harlequins |
| | Report | |
* Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi Attendance: 4,856 Referee: Martin Fox (England)

#### Round 4

* 4 February 2011 19:30
| Leicester Tigers | 12–26 | Bath |
| | Report | |
* Welford Road Attendance: 13,156 Referee: James Jones (Wales)
* 6 February 2011 15:00
| Newcastle Falcons | 17–3 | Exeter Chiefs |
| | Report | |
* Kingston Park Attendance: 3,863 Referee: Chris White (England)
* 6 February 2011 15:15
| Harlequins | 23–7 | Cardiff Blues |
| | Report | |
* The Stoop Attendance: 8,723 Referee: David Rose (England)
* 6 February 2011 15:00
| Ospreys | 18–13 | London Wasps |
| | Report | |
* Brewery Field Attendance: 4,800 Referee: Dean Richards (England)

### Pool 2 v Pool 3

Pool 2 :
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | T | TB | LB | Pts |
| Newport Gwent Dragons | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 75 | 69 | +6 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Saracens | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 116 | 72 | +44 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 11 |
| London Irish | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 75 | 125 | −50 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| Leeds Carnegie | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 70 | 143 | −73 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
* ↑ 15:15 GMT
* ↑ Saracens were deducted 1 competition point for fielding an ineligible player.
Pool 3 :
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | T | TB | LB | Pts |
| Gloucester | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 119 | 52 | +67 | 18 | 3 | 1 | 16 |
| Northampton Saints | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 108 | 86 | +22 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 11 |
| Scarlets | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 93 | 89 | +4 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 9 |
| Sale Sharks | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 89 | 109 | −20 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 9 |

#### Round 1

* 4 November 2010 19:35
| Newport Gwent Dragons | 18–12 | Gloucester |
| | Report | |
* Rodney Parade Attendance: 5,244 Referee: James Jones (Wales)
* 5 November 2010 19:45
| Sale Sharks | 39–14 | London Irish |
| | Report | |
* Edgeley Park Attendance: 5,106 Referee: Llyr Ap Geraint-Roberts (England)
* 6 November 2010 12:00
| Scarlets | 52–13 | Leeds Carnegie |
| | Report | |
* Parc y Scarlets Attendance: 5,013 Referee: Tim Hayes (Wales)
* 7 November 2010 15:00
| Saracens | 22–22 | Northampton Saints |
| | Report | |
* Vicarage Road Attendance: 6,015 Referee: Chris White (England)

#### Round 2

* 12 November 2010 19:45
| Northampton Saints | 28–3 | Newport Gwent Dragons |
| | Report | |
* Franklin's Gardens Attendance: 12,209 Referee: Sean Davey (England)
* 13 November 2010 13:00
| Gloucester | 36–10 | Saracens |
| | Report | |
* Kingsholm Stadium Attendance: 10,120 Referee: C Hayes (England)
* 14 November 2010 14:30
| London Irish | 16–25 | Scarlets |
| | Report | |
* Madejski Stadium Attendance: 9,795 Referee: Greg Garner (England)
* 14 November 2010 15:00
| Leeds Carnegie | 17–23 | Sale Sharks |
| | Report | |
* Headingley Stadium Attendance: 3,184 Referee: Tim Wigglesworth (England)

#### Round 3

* 28 January 2011 19:45
| Sale Sharks | 20–28 | Newport Gwent Dragons |
| | Report | |
* Edgeley Park Attendance: 5,126 Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
* 29 January 2011 15:00
| Scarlets | 7–34 | Saracens |
| | Report | |
* Parc y Scarlets Attendance: 6,610 Referee: Llyr Ap Geraint-Roberts (England)
* 30 January 2011 15:00
| Leeds Carnegie | 16–30 | Gloucester |
| | Report | |
* Headingley Stadium Attendance: 1,498 Referee: Leighton Hodges (Wales)
* 30 January 2011 15:00
| London Irish | 37–20 | Northampton Saints |
| | Report | |
* Madejski Stadium Attendance: 8,636 Referee: James Jones (Wales)

#### Round 4

* 3 February 2011 19:15
| Newport Gwent Dragons | 26–9 | Scarlets |
| | Report | |
* Rodney Parade Attendance: 4,628 Referee: Greg Garner (England)
* 5 February 2011 15:00
| Gloucester | 41–8 | London Irish |
| | Report | |
* Kingsholm Stadium Attendance: 10,686 Referee: Gwyn Morris (Wales)
* 5 February 2011 15:00
| Northampton Saints | 38–24 | Leeds Carnegie |
| | Report | |
* Franklin's Gardens Attendance: 13,456 Referee: Sean Davey (England)
* 6 February 2011 15:00
| Saracens | 50–7 | Sale Sharks |
| | Report | |
* Vicarage Road Attendance: 5,014 Referee: Leighton Hodges (Wales)

## Knock–out stage

| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final |
| 13 March 2011 – Kingsholm | 13 March 2011 – Kingsholm |
| Gloucester | 45 |
| Gloucester | 45 | 20 March 2011 – Franklin's Gardens | 20 March 2011 – Franklin's Gardens |
| Newport Gwent Dragons | 17 | 20 March 2011 – Franklin's Gardens | 20 March 2011 – Franklin's Gardens |
| Newport Gwent Dragons | 17 | Gloucester | 34 |
| 11 March 2011 – The Stoop | 11 March 2011 – The Stoop | | Gloucester | 34 |
| 11 March 2011 – The Stoop | 11 March 2011 – The Stoop | Newcastle Falcons | 7 |
| Harlequins | 20 | Newcastle Falcons | 7 |
| Newcastle Falcons | 21 | | |

### Qualification criteria

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 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 :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | T | TB | LB | Pts |
| 1 | Harlequins | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 123 | 65 | +58 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 17 |
| 2 | Gloucester | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 119 | 52 | +67 | 18 | 3 | 1 | 16 |
| 3 | Newport Gwent Dragons | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 75 | 69 | +6 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 4 | Newcastle Falcons | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 61 | 59 | +2 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 9 |

### Semi-finals

* 11 March 2011 20:00
| Harlequins | 20–21 | Newcastle Falcons |
| Try: Dickson 1' c Brown 70' c Con: Clegg (2/2) Pen: Clegg (2/2) 5', 22' | Report | Try: Gopperth 56' c Tuʻipulotu 80' m Con: Gopperth (1/2) Pen: Gopperth (3/3) 6', 36', 64' |
* The Stoop, London Attendance: 6,555 Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
* 13 March 2011 13:00
| Gloucester | 45–17 | Newport Gwent Dragons |
| Try: Hazell 3' m Fuimaono-Sapolu 11' c Robinson 32' m Sharples (4) 44' c, 53' c, 56' c, 64' c Con: Robinson (5/7) 11', 44', 53', 56', 64' | Report | Try: A. Jones 50' m Brew 71' m Groves 78' c Con: Tovey (1/3) 78' |
* Kingsholm Stadium, Gloucester Attendance: 12,533 Referee: Christophe Berdos (France)

### Final

* 20 March 2011 15:30
| Gloucester | 34–7 | Newcastle Falcons |
| Try: Voyce 6' c Fuimaono-Sapolu 57' c Sharples 66' c Dawidiuk 80' c Con: Robinson (4/4) 6', 57', 66', 80' Pen: Robinson (2/2) 20', 51' | Report | Try: Eves 74' c Con: Gopperth (1/1) 74' |
* Franklin's Gardens, Northampton Attendance: 6,848 Referee: Dave Pearson (England)
| FB | 15 | Olly Morgan |
| RW | 14 | Charlie Sharples |
| OC | 13 | Tim Molenaar |
| IC | 12 | Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu |
| LW | 11 | Tom Voyce |
| FH | 10 | Nicky Robinson |
| SH | 9 | Jordi Pasqualin |
| N8 | 8 | Luke Narraway (c) |
| OF | 7 | Andy Hazell |
| BF | 6 | Akapusi Qera |
| RL | 5 | Alex Brown |
| LL | 4 | Jim Hamilton |
| TP | 3 | Rupert Harden |
| HK | 2 | Olivier Azam |
| LP | 1 | Nick Wood |
| Replacements: ||
| HK | 16 | Darren Dawidiuk |
| PR | 17 | Yann Thomas |
| PR | 18 | Shaun Knight |
| LK | 19 | Will James |
| FL | 20 | Matt Cox |
| FH | 21 | Tim Taylor |
| FB | 22 | Freddie Burns |
| CE | 23 | Henry Trinder |
| Coach: ||
| Bryan Redpath ||
| FB | 15 | Alex Tait |
| RW | 14 | Luke Fielden |
| OC | 13 | Tane Tuʻipulotu |
| IC | 12 | James Fitzpatrick |
| LW | 11 | Luke Eves |
| FH | 10 | Jimmy Gopperth |
| SH | 9 | Micky Young |
| N8 | 8 | Ally Hogg |
| OF | 7 | Brent Wilson |
| BF | 6 | Tim Swinson |
| RL | 5 | Andrew van der Heijden |
| LL | 4 | James Hudson (c) |
| TP | 3 | Kieran Brookes |
| HK | 2 | Matt Thompson |
| LP | 1 | Jon Golding |
| Replacements: ||
| HK | 16 | Rob Vickers |
| PR | 17 | Grant Shiells |
| PR | 18 | James Hall |
| LK | 19 | Filipo Levi |
| FL | 20 | Mark Wilson |
| SH | 21 | Hall Charlton |
| CE | 22 | Gcobani Bobo |
| FB | 23 | Tom Catterick |
| Coach: ||
| Alan Tait ||
Touch judges: Wayne Barnes (England) Paul Dix (England)