Every player wants to win silverware: Lewis Moody
The 2012/13 LV= Cup kicks off this weekend and with a spot in the Heineken Cup up for grabs for the eventually winners.
"Every player wants to win silverware" says World Cup winner and former England skipper Lewis Moody, who believes the competition holds an important place in the calendar
"It's just a great competition. I think now, more than ever, it brings the guys through that don't often get the chance to play," said Moody.
"The LV=Cup's during the international period so the young guys get to step up. Last year we saw Jonathan Joseph, Matt Kvesic and Jonny May come through."
"It's about some young men that the public might not have heard of, maybe the academy coaches have seen; they want to know - can they step up and play? That's what makes the sport so great, guys getting the opportunity, being put in that scenario, the sink or swim mentality.
"The fans get behind them because they love seeing people that want to play the game and that's why we see so many tries scored in the LV=Cup."
With four Welsh regions and twelve English Premiership clubs taking part, the competition takes place over four pool rounds before the semis and final in March.
With another two months to go from that point until the end of the season, it's an early point to lay claim to a trophy, which Moody believes is of huge importance.
"It's a great opportunity to win silverware, foremost - every player wants to win and wants to win silverware," he said.
In addition, for the English clubs, there is an added incentive as Moody explains: "There's a Heineken Cup spot at the end of it. For guys that are languishing further down the table, for clubs that are maybe losing that sixth place finish that they were looking for, it gives them another opportunity."
Having played in the Six Nations year after year, the chance for a spot of national rivalry is not lost on Moody either.
"When I first started playing in 1996, the English and Welsh clubs' games and battles that took place were ferocious so to have them playing in the LV= is great and there are some good young players coming through in Wales too," said Moody.
That rivalry is rekindled on the opening night of fixtures when Wasps head to Cardiff and the Ospreys host Gloucester - the club responsible for the rise of Jonny May, who won the LV=Breakthrough Player of the Year award last season.
So is such an award a distraction or a valuable merit to a player? Moody is in no doubt, "If you win the LV=Breakthrough Player award it puts you at the top of a pile of young players and it shows that you've had the attributes - the skill, the attitude and the commitment, to come ahead of the rest of them and that's why the award element is so interesting."
The 2012/13 LV=Cup gets underway on Friday November 9th with live updates on Twitter at www.twitter.com/lvrugby plus live games featuring over the weekend on Sky Sports HD and S4C.
For more information and tickets visit www.lv.com/rugby
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