By Griff
July 7 2009

The Anglo Welsh Cup replaced the main knockout cup for English Rugby - it also gave the Welsh teams another competition to play in. It has been much maligned and now has been consigned to international weekends - with a new, slightly confusing format... London Irish will play Cardiff Blues, Harlequins and Worcester Warriors in the pool stage of this season’s Anglo-Welsh Cup. Despite not being in the same group as them... Confused ?

Full details of this season’s Anglo-Welsh Cup tournament were announced this afternoon. Cardiff Blues will kick off their Anglo-Welsh title defence with a re-run of this year's final against Gloucester Rugby. The Blues, who beat the Cherry and Whites 50-12 at Twickenham in April have been drawn at Kingsholm on the weekend of November 7.

The newly structured competition will see the 12 Guinness Premiership clubs and four Welsh Regions play over four weekends, followed by the semi-finals and finals. Each team will be guaranteed two home and two away inter-pool fixtures, with the top teams from each pool qualifying for the knockout stages.

Terry Burwell, Rugby Football Union Tournaments and Competitions Director, said: "We are delighted that together with Premier Rugby Ltd and the Welsh Rugby Union we have come up with a structure that will not only help players, coaches and officials develop but also provides more revenue potential for the Guinness Premiership clubs and the Welsh regions.

"We believe the new structure will give players, coaches and supporters an exciting tournament that embodies all that's best about cross-border knockout competition.

"We have a committed broadcaster in Sky Sports for the next five years and, together with PRL and the WRU, are actively seeking a title sponsor."

WRU Group Chief Executive Roger Lewis said: "There is a rich history and heritage surrounding Anglo-Welsh encounters stretching back many years. The Welsh Rugby Union is delighted that the RFU and PRL have secured the future of this great competition. We are all committed to seeing it flourish and grow from the strong base it has already created.

The Anglo-Welsh Cup is a 16-team competition involving the 12 Guinness Premiership clubs and 4 Welsh regions. It will be played in four pools of four with three Guinness Premiership clubs and one Welsh Region in each pool.

POOLS

Pool 1
Leicester Tigers
Sale Sharks
Saracens
Ospreys

Pool 2
London Irish
Gloucester Rugby
Newcastle Falcons
Scarlets

Pool 3
Harlequins
London Wasps
Worcester Warriors
Cardiff Blues

Pool 4
Bath Rugby
Northampton Saints
Leeds Carnegie
Dragons

The teams in Pool 1 play teams in Pool 4 and teams in Pool 2 play teams in Pool 3. Each team is guaranteed four pool matches - two home and two away - with the top teams from each pool qualifying for the semi-finals. 

Teams have been seeded depending on their finish in last season's Guinness Premiership and Magners League and best efforts have been made to avoid teams playing each other in back to back matches in various competitions. 

FIXTURES

Round 1 (weekend of November 7, 2009)
Leeds Carnegie v Leicester Tigers
Newport Gwent Dragons v Sale Sharks
Saracens v Bath Rugby
Ospreys v Northampton Saints
Gloucester Rugby v Blues
London Irish v London Wasps
Worcester Warriors v Newcastle Falcons
Harlequins v Scarlets

Round 2 (weekend of November 14, 2009)
Leicester Tigers v Newport Gwent Dragons
Sale Sharks v Leeds Carnegie
Bath Rugby v Ospreys
Northampton Saints v Saracens
Cardiff Blues v London Irish
London Wasps v Gloucester Rugby
Newcastle Falcons v Harlequins
Scarlets v Worcester Warriors

Round 3 (weekend of January 30, 2010)
Leicester Tigers v Bath Rugby
Sale Sharks v Northampton Saints
Newport Gwent Dragons v Ospreys
Leeds Carnegie v Saracens
London Wasps v Scarlets
Cardiff Blues v Newcastle Falcons
Gloucester Rugby v Worcester Warriors
London Irish v Harlequins

Round 4 (weekend of February 6, 2010)
Northampton Saints v Leicester Tigers
Bath Rugby v Sale Sharks
Ospreys v Leeds Carnegie
Saracens v Newport Gwent Dragons
Scarlets v Cardiff Blues
Newcastle Falcons v London Wasps
Worcester Warriors v London Irish
Harlequins v Gloucester

Semi finals (weekend of March 13, 2010, venue TBC)

Final (weekend of March 20, 2010, venue TBC)