2013–14 LV Cup
| 2013–14 LV Cup | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Tournament details | |||
| Countries |
 England Wales
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| Tournament format(s) | Round-robin and knockout | ||
| Date | 9 November 2013 – 16 March 2014 | ||
| Tournament statistics | |||
| Teams | 16 | ||
| Matches played | 35 | ||
| Attendance | 282,621 (8,075 per match) | ||
| Tries scored | 168 (4.8 per match) | ||
| Final | |||
| Venue | Sandy Park, Exeter | ||
| Attendance | 10,744 | ||
| Champions | Exeter Chiefs (1st title) | ||
| Runner-up | Northampton Saints | ||
| Official website | www.lv.com | ||
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The 2013–14 LV Cup (styled as the LV= Cup) is the 43rd season of England's national rugby union cup competition, and the ninth to follow the Anglo-Welsh format.
The competition consists of the four Welsh Pro 12 teams and the twelve English Premiership clubs arranged into pools consisting of three English and one Welsh team. English clubs have been allocated to the pools depending on their finish in the 2012–13 Aviva Premiership. Welsh regions have been allocated to the pools to avoid repeating fixtures from the Heineken and Amlin Challenge Cups where possible. Teams are 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 will take place during the Autumn Internationals window and during the Six Nations thus allowing teams to develop their squad players.
Harlequins are defending champions this season after claiming the cup with a 32–14 victory over Sale Sharks in the final at Sixways Stadium in Worcester. It was the third victory for Harlequins in the competition, and the first since the current Anglo-Welsh format was adopted in 2005.
The points scoring system for the pool stages will be as follows:
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.
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