A new season’s LV=Cup is on the horizon, in which four pools of teams contest for the Anglo-Welsh trophy. It is a unique tournament, because the teams in each pool don’t play each other, but instead play teams from the pool they are ‘partnered’ with. So Pool One teams play one match each against the teams from Pool Four, while Pool Two teams lock horns with teams from Pool Three. However the points they gain from their results accumulate against teams in their own pool. The winners of each pool contest semi-finals, and the winners of those compete for the right to lift the trophy.
I know, it’s complicated and almost ridiculous!
Unlike previous years, the winner of the LV= Cup (dubbed Little or Low-Value Cup by some fans) no longer secures a place in the top tier of European competition, having previously done so, so there is now even less incentive to actually win the tournament. To make matters worse, the matches take place in the international windows in November and February, so the paying public don’t get the chance to see the biggest names or stars. This results in a lower quality of rugby, and despondent crowds. The (rotten) cherry on the (mouldy) cake is that the final, which prior to 2010 took place at Twickenham, is now hosted by a small, club rugby stadium. This year’s showpiece takes place at Franklin’s Gardens, a venue where the capacity only marginally exceeds 13,000 seats.
Like all grey clouds, however, there is a silver lining, and this silver lining does explain why the tournament plays out during the international windows. A quote taken from the LV= Cup website states this:
‘The LV= Cup offers a fantastic platform for today’s club players to develop into tomorrow’s international players.’ In other words, it’s an opportunity for young players to get a taste of competitive, pressurised rugby, in a top-level club competition, and to grow and develop, because of this experience, into top quality players. Northampton Saints Director of Rugby Jim Mallinder recently told BBC Sport
“It’s a tournament we love playing in. We see it as a really good tournament for us.” Indeed, the LV= Cup has borne fruit. The LV= Breakthrough Player award, that is given out at the end of the tournament itself, rewards one young player who has performed particularly well in the tournament. Last year’s winner was Bath centre Ollie Devoto, who looks to have a promising future. Other winners have been Jonny May and Jack Nowell, who have since gone on to win international honours, while there have been nominations for Matt Kvesic, Jonathon Joseph, George Ford and Welshman Liam Williams also. This list, and the success they’ve had since, proves that the LV= Cup is a stepping-stone for young talent.
So, while it’s not the most supported competition, nor the most exciting or gripping, it certainly isn’t a waste of space. The opportunity that tomorrow’s internationals get is paramount to their development, while we fans get to witness the next generation of talent that will wear our club’s colours in more meaningful competitions in the future.
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