2011–12 LV Cup
| 2011–12 LV Cup | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Tournament details | |||
| Countries |
 England Wales
|
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| Tournament format(s) | Round-robin and knockout | ||
| Date | 15 October 2011 – 18 March 2012 | ||
| Tournament statistics | |||
| Teams | 16 | ||
| Matches played | 35 | ||
| Attendance | 273,097 (7,803 per match) | ||
| Tries scored | 179 (5.11 per match) | ||
| Final | |||
| Venue | Sixways Stadium | ||
| Attendance | 11,895 | ||
| Champions | Leicester Tigers (7th title) | ||
| Runner-up | Northampton Saints | ||
| Official website | www.lv.com | ||
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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.
The competition consisted of the four Welsh Pro 12 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. 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.
The points scoring system for the pool stages will be as follows:
This match was postponed due to a frozen pitch at Rodney Parade. 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). 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.
The top teams from each pool qualify for the knockout stages. The pool winners will be decided by the following criteria:
Each of the four qualifying clubs shall be ranked as above and shall play each other as follows:
The first club listed in each of the semi-final matches shall be the home club.
Touch judges: Peter Huckle (RFU) Stuart Terheege (RFU)
Television match official: Geoff Warren (RFU)
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