The Blues will kick off their 2012-13 LV= Cup campaign against London Wasps in the opening round
There will be some familiar faces in the Wasps outfit with Nicky Robinson, T Rhys Thomas having joined the club from the Blues and former Director of Rugby David Young in charge of the London based outfit.
The Blues then travel to Llanelli in Round 2 and play Saracens away in round 3 before welcoming London Irish to Cardiff on the weekend of the Wales v Ireland match, February 1 to 3.
Title sponsors LV= continue their support of the competition which last year saw 10,000 supporters turn out for the final at Sixways.
Admission to watch the LV=Cup matches are included in the Cardiff Blues season ticket package which starts at £180 for a terrace ticket.
Pool 1
Harlequins
Exeter Chiefs
Gloucester Rugby
Newport Gwent Dragons
Pool 2
Leicester Tigers
Sale Sharks
Worcester Warriors
Cardiff Blues
Pool 3
Saracens
London Irish
London Wasps
Scarlets
Pool 4
Northampton Saints
Bath Rugby
London Welsh
Ospreys
2012-13 LV= Cup Fixtures
Round 1 –November 9-11
Northampton Saints v Harlequins
London Welsh v Exeter Chiefs (Sunday November 11, KO 1600. S4C)
Bath Rugby v Newport Gwent Dragons
Ospreys v Gloucester Rugby (Friday November 9, KO 1945. Sky Sports HD)
London Irish v Sale Sharks
Cardiff Blues v London Wasps
Worcester Warriors v Scarlets
Saracens v Leicester Tigers
Round 2 –November 16-18
Harlequins v Bath Rugby
Exeter v Ospreys
Newport Gwent Dragons v Northampton Saints
Gloucester Rugby v London Welsh
Sale Sharks v Saracens
Leicester Tigers v London Irish
Scarlets v Cardiff Blues (Saturday November 17, KO 1830. S4C)
London Wasps v Worcester Warriors
Round 3 – January 25-27
Harlequins v London Welsh
Bath Rugby v Exeter Chiefs
Newport Gwent Dragons v Ospreys
Northampton Saints v Gloucester Rugby
Sale Sharks v Scarlets
Leicester Tigers v London Wasps
Saracens v Cardiff Blues
London Irish v Worcester Warriors
Round 4 –February 1-3
London Welsh v Newport Gwent Dragons
Gloucester Rugby v Bath Rugby
Exeter Chiefs v Northampton Saints
Ospreys v Harlequins
London Wasps v Sale Sharks
Scarlets v Leicester Tigers
Worcester Warriors v Saracens
Cardiff Blues v London Irish
Semi Finals –March 8/9/10
Final - March 17 (venue tbc)
Competition format:
The LV= Cup is a 16-team competition involving the 12 Aviva Premiership Rugby clubs and 4 Welsh regions
- Played in four pools of four with three English clubs and one Welsh region in each pool
- English clubs have been allocated to the pools depending on their finish in last season's Aviva Premiership Rugby competition
- Welsh regions have been allocated to the pools to avoid repeating fixtures from the Heineken and Amlin Challenge cups where possible
- Teams in Pool 1 play teams in Pool 4 and teams in Pool 2 play teams in Pool 3
- Each team plays four pool matches - two home and two away - with the top team from each pool qualifying for the semi-finals.