Anglo-Welsh Cup

Current season or competition: 2011–12 LV Cup
Sport	Rugby union
Founded	1971
No. of teams	16
Country(ies)	England Wales
Most recent champion(s)	Leicester Tigers
Most titles	Bath Rugby
Official website	[1]

The Anglo-Welsh Cup, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the LV Cup (styled as the LV= Cup), is an English and Welsh rugby union knock-out cup competition featuring the twelve Aviva Premiership clubs and four Welsh Regions. The present sponsorship deal with the British insurance company LV, which runs for two seasons, was announced on 29 October 2009, just before the start of the 2009–10 competition.^[1] Between 2006 and 2009 the competition was sponsored by EDF's UK subsidiary and referred to as the EDF Energy Cup. Prior to the 2005–06 season, the competition was open to all English clubs. Bath have won the cup ten times, with Leicester Tigers the second most successful club with seven, including their wins over the Ospreys in the 2006–07 final and Northampton in the 2011-12 final, and Gloucester in third place with five titles.

History[link]

1971–2005[link]

Originally known as the R.F.U. Club Competition, for which no Cup was awarded nor sponsorship sought, it was renamed the John Player Cup in 1976, Gosforth beating Rosslyn Park in the Final, The first competition took place in 1972, and Gloucester were crowned inaugural champions, defeating Moseley in the final, 17 to 6. Coventry won two titles in succession in 1973 and 1974, and after Bedford's championship win in 1975, Gosforth also won two in succession, in 1976 and 1977. Gloucester won their second title in 1978. The competition was then dominated by Leicester, who won three championships in a row, until Gloucester won their third title in 1982. This was shared with Moseley after a 12–12 draw in extra time, and was the only time the cup was shared between two teams. Leicester were again in the final in 1983, but lost to Bristol. Leicester's record run was then broken by Bath from 1984–87, who won the John Player Cup four times in a row, until Harlequins won their first in 1988.

The name of the cup was changed to the Pilkington Cup for the 1989 tournament. Bath picked up from where they left off in the late 1980s, going onto win another six times from 1989 to 1996. Harlequins won their second title in 1991, and Leicester added to their three championships in 1993 and again in 1997. The cup changed its name again after Leicesters' 1997 victory, becoming the Tetley's Bitter Cup for the 1998 season. Saracens won their first title, defeating Wasps in 1998. Wasps were again in the final in 1999, and defeated Newcastle to claim their first championship. Wasps also won the 2000 competition.

In 2001 the name of the tournament was changed to the Powergen Cup. Newcastle won the first Powergen Cup, defeating the Harlequins 30–27. London Irish won it for their first time the following season, and Gloucester won it for the first time since 1982 in 2003. Newcastle won in 2004, and in 2005 the Leeds Tykes defeated Bath to win it for the first time.

2005–present: Anglo-Welsh Cup[link]

Starting in 2005–06, the cup featured a new format including only the twelve teams from the Guinness Premiership and the four regional Welsh clubs. Teams from the Championship (formerly National Division One) and below now play for the Powergen National Trophy, and from 2009–10 Championship teams also play in the British and Irish Cup.

In place of the knock-out format, the 16 clubs are placed in four pools with 3 English clubs and 1 Welsh club. The pool stages of the Anglo-Welsh Cup tournament feature one game against each team. The winners of each of the four groups progress to the semi-finals. The pools will stay as they are for the following season as well, with home and away fixtures reversed and the club relegated from the Aviva Premiership's place taken by the club promoted from the Championship.

In addition to increased TV revenue (the revised Powergen Cup had a new broadcasting agreement with BBC Sport) and a possible boost to matchday income, the Powergen Cup also offered its winner, if they were a Premiership club, qualification to the even more lucrative Heineken Cup competition. As base compensation all 16 Powergen clubs are guaranteed £250,000 each, with a prize fund of up to £200,000 available to the semi-finalists.^[2]

The Welsh clubs' inclusion initially caused them to be expelled from the Celtic League. Scottish and Irish officials were angered that the Welsh Clubs had apparently consented to Powergen Cup fixtures on the same weekend as Celtic League matches. The political fallout resulted in the purported expulsion of the Welsh clubs from the league. Eventually, a compromise was reached, and the Welsh clubs were readmitted.

The Scarlets playing Bath at the Millennium Stadium

Interest in the Powergen Cup was high during the first two rounds. Over 100,000 spectators attend matches, while the television audience peaked at 1.2 million on BBC2 for the Newcastle Falcons v. Llanelli Scarlets match.^[3] Overall, the 2005–06 cup drew a 12% attendance boost in the group stages over the previous year's competition.^[4]

However, Powergen decided to withdraw all of its rugby sponsorship after the conclusion of the 2005–06 cup competitions.^[5] The next sponsor of the Anglo-Welsh Cup was EDF Energy,^[6] in a deal that ran until 2009. The present deal with LV runs through the 2010–11 competition.^[1]

The pools (or groups) for the Powergen Cup were decided on a regional basis, consisting of three English sides geographically close to one another, and one Welsh club again divided as far as possible by their location.

List of winners[link]

• 1972 Gloucester 17–6 against Moseley
• 1973 Coventry 27–15 against Bristol
• 1974 Coventry 26–6 against London Scottish
• 1975 Bedford 28–12 against Rosslyn Park
• 1976 Gosforth 23–14 against Rosslyn Park
• 1977 Gosforth 27–11 against Waterloo
• 1978 Gloucester 6–3 against Leicester
• 1979 Leicester 15–12 against Moseley
• 1980 Leicester 21–9 against London Irish
• 1981 Leicester 22–15 against Gosforth
• 1982 Gloucester and Moseley (shared) 12–12
• 1983 Bristol 28–22 against Leicester
• 1984 Bath 10–9 against Bristol
• 1985 Bath 24–15 against London Welsh
• 1986 Bath 25–17 against Wasps FC
• 1987 Bath 19–12 against Wasps FC
• 1988 Harlequins 28–22 against Bristol
• 1989 Bath 10–6 against Leicester
• 1990 Bath 48–6 against Gloucester
• 1991 Harlequins 25–13 against Northampton
• 1992 Bath 15–12 against Harlequins
• 1993 Leicester 23–16 against Harlequins
• 1994 Bath 21–9 against Leicester
• 1995 Bath 36–16 against Wasps FC
• 1996 Bath 16–15 against Leicester
• 1997 Leicester 9–3 against Sale
• 1998 Saracens 48–18 against Wasps FC
• 1999 Wasps FC 29–19 against Newcastle
• 2000 London Wasps 31–23 against Northampton
• 2001 Newcastle 30–27 against Harlequins
• 2002 London Irish 38–7 against Northampton
• 2003 Gloucester 40–22 against Northampton
• 2004 Newcastle 37–33 against Sale
• 2005 Leeds 20–12 against Bath

Anglo-Welsh Cup[link]

• 2006 London Wasps 26–10 against Llanelli Scarlets
• 2007 Leicester Tigers 41–35 against Ospreys
• 2008 Ospreys 23–6 against Leicester Tigers
• 2009 Cardiff Blues 50–12 against Gloucester
• 2010 Northampton Saints 30–24 against Gloucester
• 2011 Gloucester 34-7 against Newcastle Falcons
• 2012 Leicester Tigers 26-14 against Northampton Saints

Success Record in Reaching the Knock Out Stage (Since 2006)[link]

Sponsorship[link]

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2007)

The Powergen Cup (centre) seen in the London Irish clubhouse at Sunbury in 2002. Photo by Paul Warrender

• 1972–75 – Rugby Football Union
• 1976–88 – John Player
• 1989–97 – Pilkington Glass
• 1998–2000 – Tetley's Bitter
• 2001–05 – Powergen
• 2006–09 – EDF Energy
• 2009–present – LV=

Media coverage[link]

In Australia the Anglo-Welsh Cup is broadcast on Setanta Sports. In New Zealand the Anglo-Welsh Cup is broadcast on The Rugby Channel.

See also[link]

• EDF Energy Trophy
• English Rugby Union teams
• Welsh Rugby Union Regions
• English Premiership
• Heineken Cup
• European Challenge Cup
• European Shield
• Pro 12

References[link]

External links[link]

• Anglo Welsh Cup website

This article is outdated. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. Please see the talk page for more information. (November 2010)

EDF Energy plc

100px
Type	Subsidiary
Industry	Energy
Founded	2002
Headquarters	London, England, UK
Key people	Vincent de Rivaz (CEO)
Products	Gas Electricity
Revenue	£4,030 million GBP
Employees	13,158
Parent	Électricité de France
Website	www.edfenergy.com

EDF Energy is an integrated energy company in the United Kingdom, with operations spanning electricity generation and the sale of gas and electricity to homes and businesses throughout the United Kingdom. It employs over 20,000 people and handles 5.7 million customer accounts.^[1][2]

EDF Energy Customers (trading as EDF Energy) is wholly owned by the French state-owned EDF SA^[3] (Électricité de France) and was formed in 2002 following the acquisition and mergers of SEEBOARD Plc (formerly the South Eastern Electricity Board), London Electricity Plc (formerly the London Electricity Board or LEB), SWEB Energy Plc (formerly the South Western Electricity Board) and two coal-fired power stations and a combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power station.

In 2009, EDF Energy took control of the UK nuclear generator, British Energy, buying share capital from the government. This made EDF Energy the UK's largest generator,^[2] as well as the largest distribution network operator.

History[link]

The Development Branch of EDF Energy was formed in April 2004, bringing together the separate infrastructure interests of what were LE Group, SEEBOARD and SWEB. The focus for the Branch is development activity through the participation in major new infrastructure projects, largely in the public sector through Public-private partnership (PPP) and Private Finance Initiative (PFI) type schemes. The Development Branch of EDF Energy was later dissolved in October 2006.

The electricity distribution networks formally known as EDF Energy Networks were sold to Cheung Kong Group (CKG) in Nov 2010 and are now operated as UK Power Networks.

Electricity generation[link]

Fossil fuel[link]

Cottam Power Station

EDF owns two 2,000 MW coal-fired power stations, Cottam and West Burton, both located near Retford in Nottinghamshire,^[4] giving EDF the highest coal-fired generational capacity of any energy company in the UK.^[5] It also owns the 790 MW Sutton Bridge CCGT power station,^[6] and is constructing a new 1,311 MW CCGT station at West Burton, expected to open in 2011.^[7]

Wind[link]

EDF also owns and operates 2 wind farms, at Kirkheaton in Northumberland and the High Hedley Hope wind farm near Tow Law in County Durham, and is developing the Teesside Offshore Wind near Redcar, Teesside.^[8]

Nuclear[link]

Following the acquisition of British Energy in 2009, the EDF Energy portfolio includes eight nuclear power stations. They are seven AGR power stations (Dungeness B; Hinkley Point B; Hunterston B; Hartlepool; Heysham 1; Heysham 2 & Torness) and one PWR power station (Sizewell B) and total nearly 9000MW of installed capacity.

In 2007 EDF announced its intention to construct up to 4 new EPR reactors;^[9] two at Hinkley Point C (possibly by 2018[1]) and two at Sizewell C. EDF plans to build and operate the new plants through its subsidiary NNB Generation Company (NNB GenCo).

Renewable energy[link]

The Ecologist magazine^[10] reported that in 2004 EDF Energy spent virtually nothing on the construction of new renewable energy generation. On their website EDF reports that it is currently investing GBP 2 million in Marine Current Turbines,^[11] which use tidal power to generate electricity; however, these turbines are still at the research and prototype phase and EDF expect them to be operational "within the next five years" dependent upon "a successful pilot."^[11] EDF also has several ongoing renewable developments in windfarms.^[12]

In 2007 EDF had an installed renewable energy generating capacity of 1.8MW, representing 0.08% of their total capacity of approximately 4,865MW.^[13]

In June 2008 EDF announced the formation of EDF Energy Renewables, a 50:50 joint venture with EDF Energies Nouvelles, with the stated intention of becoming a 'major force in the UK renewable energies market'.^[14]

In July 2009, Ecotricity started legal proceedings^[15] against EDF Energy for the alleged misuse of the Green Union Flag logo, used to promote the Team Green Britain campaign.

Carbon intensity[link]

Sponsorship[link]

EDF Energy has sponsored several ITV shows, including Soapstar Superstar and City Lights starring Robson Green. It also sponsored coverage of the 2006 World Cup in Germany (shared with Budweiser).

Since 2005, EDF Energy has been the main sponsor of the EDF Energy Cup – the Rugby Union domestic cup for the 12 English Premiership clubs and the 4 Welsh regions – also known as the Anglo-Welsh Cup.

In July 2007 EDF Energy was confirmed as another Level One sponsor for London 2012 with exclusive branding rights and Olympic team sponsorship for the 2008, 2010 and 2012 games as well as being the official energy provider.

In 2007 EDF sponsored Adam Smith^{[citation needed]}

In August 2008 EDF Energy formed a partnership with The British Red Cross to help vulnerable people to get support during power failures.^[16]

Marketing[link]

On 4 January 2008 EDF Energy began advertising on the television through ITV, Channel 4, Five and various Satellite channels. EDF Energy are using 'It's not easy being green' as their slogan to target a new greener eco-friendly image. [2] In 2009, with Euro RSCG London, EDF Energy created the Team Green Britain campaign, in which Olympic athletes encouraged Brits to be more environmentally aware.^[17]

See also[link]

Energy portal

• Energy policy of the United Kingdom
• Energy use and conservation in the United Kingdom
• Green electricity in the United Kingdom

References[link]

External links[link]

• EDF Energy
• EDF Energy's Fuel Mix for 2006
• EDF Energy's Fuel Mix for 2007
• [3] Link to EDF Energy Commercial

v t e Electricity generation in Greater London Companies and organisations Current EDF Energy First Utility Hardy Oil and Gas International Power Former The Energy Group Pre-nationalisation electric power companies London Electricity Board National Power Power stations Coal Closed Acton Lane Barking A, B + C Battersea Blackwall Point Brimsdown Brunswick Wharf Croydon A + B Deptford Fulham Greenwich Grosvenor Gallery Hackney Kingston Lots Road Neasden Stepney West Ham Woolwich Gas Active Barking Citigen Croydon Enfield Greenwich Taylors Lane Closed Bulls Bridge Future Barking Reach (extension) Incinerators/ Waste Active Crossness Edmonton SELCHP Closed Shoreditch Future Belvedere Oil Active Greenwich (co-fires) Closed Bankside Belvedere Brunswick Wharf (co-fired) Lots Road Wind Active Dagenham

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Resources · Wind Prospect Supply Ecotricity · ESB International · Firmus Energy · First Utility · Good Energy · Green Energy · Opus Energy · Ovo Energy · Phoenix Natural Gas · Telecom Plus Distribution Electricity  Electricity North West1 · Northern Powergrid1 · SP Energy Networks1 · SSE Power Distribution · UK Power Networks1 · Western Power Distribution1 Gas Firmus Energy · National Grid · Northern Gas Networks · Phoenix Natural Gas · Scotia Gas Networks · Wales & West Utilities1 Transmission Electricity  National Grid2 · Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission · SP Energy Networks1 Gas National Grid Other Aggreko · APX-ENDEX · Aquamarine Power · Ecogen · EnServe · Geothermal Engineering · Mark Group · Wavegen Companies with headquarters and/or registered office in the UK but no applicable energy operations within the country shown in italics 1Ultimate parent company is not UK-based 2Integrated in the United States, no generation or supply activities in the UK   Energy sources Coal Coal Authority · Coal-fired power stations · Coal mines · Coal mining regions · Confederation of UK Coal Producers · Greenhouse gas emissions · History (Miners' strike · National Coal Board) · Open-pit coal mining Electricity Association of Electricity Producers · BritNed · East–West Interconnector · Energy switching services · Economy 7 · Economy 10 · Electricity billing (Data collector · Meter operator · Meter Point Administration Number · Meter serial number) · Green electricity · GTMA · HVDC Cross-Channel · HVDC Moyle · HVDC Norway–UK · Isle of Man to England Interconnector · National Grid (Control of the National Grid · National Grid Reserve Service · Registered power zone · TV pickup) · New Electricity Trading Arrangements · Power stations · Timeline of the electricity supply industry Nuclear Advanced gas-cooled reactor · Franco–British Nuclear Forum · Magnox · National Nuclear Laboratory · Nuclear Decommissioning Authority · Nuclear Liabilities Fund · Nuclear power stations · Office for Nuclear Regulation · Sellafield · United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority Oil and gas BBL Pipeline · Dash for Gas · Forties pipeline system · Fuel protests · Gas infrastructure · Greenhouse gas emissions · Hydrocarbon oil duty · National Transmission System · Natural gas fields · Natural gas-fired power stations · North Sea oil · Oil & Gas UK · Oil fields · Oil-fired power stations · Oil infrastructure · Oil refineries · Petroleum revenue tax Renewables Biofuels Biodiesel · Biofuel power stations · National Non-Food Crops Centre · Renewable Fuels Agency · Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation Geothermal Geothermal power stations Hydroelectricity Hydroelectric power stations · Severn Barrage · Wave farms Solar power Wind power List of offshore wind farms · List of onshore wind farms · North Sea Offshore Grid · Wind power in Scotland   Government and regulation Organisations Carbon Trust · Cenex · Committee on Climate Change · Consumer Focus · Department of Energy and Climate Change · Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs · Energy Saving Trust · Environment Agency · Office of Gas and Electricity Markets · Sustainable Development Commission Legislation and initiatives Carbon Emission Reduction Target · Climate Change Act 2008 · Climate Change Agreement · Climate Change Levy · Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Act 2006 · CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme · Display Energy Certificate · Energy Performance Certificate · Fossil Fuel Levy · Low Carbon Building Programme · National Industrial Symbiosis Programme · Non-Fossil Fuel Obligation · Planning Act 2008 · Renewable Heat Incentive · Renewables Obligation · United Kingdom Climate Change Programme   Non-governmental organisations Charities and pressure groups Ashden Award · BioRegional · Campaign against Climate Change · Centre for Alternative Technology · National Energy Action · Stop Climate Chaos · Tyndall Centre Industry bodies Combined Heat and Power Association · Energy Institute · Energy Networks Association · Energy Retail Association · Green Power Forum · RenewableUK · Utilities Intermediaries Association Research Centre for Renewable Energy Systems Technology · Energy Technologies Institute · Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research · NaREC · Oil Depletion Analysis Centre · UK Energy Research Centre   Energy conservation Association for the Conservation of Energy · British Energy Efficiency Federation · Close the Door campaign · Code for Sustainable Homes · Double Glazing & Conservatory Ombudsman Scheme · EcoHomes · Energy efficiency in British housing · Energy Saving Trust (Energy Saving Trust Recommended) · Greenhouse gas emissions · HTB · National Home Energy Rating Category ·  Commons

v t e Nuclear power in the United Kingdom Energy in the United Kingdom · Nuclear power Companies Current EDF Energy · Magnox Ltd · Sellafield Ltd · Urenco New build Horizon Nuclear Power · NNB Generation Company · NuGeneration Defunct British Energy · British Nuclear Fuels · British Nuclear Group · Magnox Electric · Nuclear Electric · Scottish Nuclear Organisations Civil Nuclear Constabulary · National Nuclear Laboratory · Nuclear Decommissioning Authority · Nuclear Industry Association · Nuclear Institute · Nuclear Liabilities Fund · Office for Nuclear Regulation · United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority Reactors AGR Dungeness B · Hartlepool · Heysham 1 · Heysham 2 · Hinkley Point B · Hunterston B · Torness Magnox Active Wylfa Closed Berkeley · Bradwell · Calder Hall · Chapelcross · Dungeness A · Hinkley Point A · Hunterston A · Oldbury · Sizewell A · Trawsfynydd PWR | FBR Sizewell B  |  Dounreay Non-reactor sites Capenhurst (uranium enrichment) · Sellafield (reprocessing) · Springfields (fuel manufacture) · Winfrith (research and development) Other Anti-nuclear movement in the United Kingdom · Franco-British Nuclear Forum · Nuclear power in Scotland · Tier 1 – UK Nuclear Site Management & Licensing Category