Could this be LV Cup Draw?

The 2013/14 LV Cup draw has not formally been announced however being the ever interesting chap I am, and this being the off season with not much on, I can reveal that the LV Cup groups aren't really drawn at all.

Possible 2013/14 Draw

Or rather it is a structured draw.  Since the competition moved to its current format in 2009/10 the draw has always seen the English and Welsh sides distributed in the same way.  

The English sides are distributed in a strict pattern depending on their finishing position in the previous year's Premiership.

The Premiership Champions joined in Pool 1 by the sides that finished 5th and 9th in the Premiership; this year that means Tigers are joined by Gloucester and London Irish. 

The Premiership Finalist is seeded in Pool 2 alongside the clubs that finished 6th and 10th, namely Northampton joined by Exeter and Sale. 

Pool 3 is made up of the highest placed losing Premiership semi-finalist, this year that is table toppers Saracens, and the sides that came 7th and 11th, Bath and Worcester respectively.

Pool 4 contains the lowest placed Play Off Semi finalist, Harlequins, alongside the promoted club, Newcastle, and the side that finished the Premiership in 8th which was Wasps.

The Welsh sides aren't quite drawn in such a proscriptive manner, as repeats of any Heineken or Amlin Cup fixtures are avoided.  This means that Pool 3 won't contain Cardiff or the Ospreys as they are due to play Heineken Cup games with Exeter and Northampton; Pool 2 won't contain Newport as they face Bath in the Amlin Cup whilst Pool 1 won't contain Llanelli who are in Harlequins' Heineken Cup group.  

Where possible the top Welsh side from the previous year's RaboDirect Pro12 faces the side which finished lowest, whilst the middle two sides will usually play off.  The only time this was not the draw was in 2010/11.

In the LV Cup, of course, you don't actually play the sides in your own pool you play all 4 sides in another, and much like the composition of the pools this is also always structured the same way.  Pool 1 always plays Pool 4 and Pool 2 always plays Pool 3.

So using a little bit of guesswork we can  see that the Tigers are likely to face Newport Gwent-Dragons alongside Quins, Wasps and Newcastle in the 2013/14 LV Cup group stages.