The 2009–10 LV Cup was the 39th season of England's nationalrugby unioncup competition, and the fifth to follow the recently adopted Anglo-Welsh format. Northampton Saints were crowned champions after beating Gloucester in the final at Worcester'sSixways Stadium. The structure of the competition has been altered from previous years. The competition will continue to consist of the four Welsh Celtic Leagueteams and the twelve Guinness Premiership clubs arranged into pools consisting of three English and one Welsh team. However, the new format will see teams 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 is set to take place on international fixture dates during the Autumn Internationals and Six Nations, thus allowing teams to develop their squad players. On 29October 2009, little more than a week before the start of this season's competition, British insurer LV was unveiled as the new sponsor. The deal runs through the 2010–11 season.
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 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
Round 1
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Round 2
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Round 3
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Round 4
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Pool 2 v Pool 3
Round 1
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Round 2
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Round 3
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Round 4
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Knockout stage
Qualification criteria
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.
