Can you get enough of the Anglo-Welsh Cup? © Getty Images

The Rugby Football Union and the Welsh Rugby Union must be praised for finding a title sponsor for this event that is as attractive a timeshare in Helmand Province to the average rugby fan. Sadly commercial binds do not allow me to reward the generosity of the sponsors with an extra plug here but they are arguably better off not being associated with rugby's poor cousin.

It is clearly being used as a development tool by many if not all of the clubs and regions involved and fans are likely to do their talking at the turnstiles.

A case in point are injury-ravaged Leicester who find themselves juggling all sorts of demands on their squad this week with the Anglo-Welsh Cup coming off worst. With five players - Tom Croft, Lewis Moody, Jordan Crane, Louis Deacon and Dan Hipkiss - slated to feature for England it is an under strength Tigers side that will take on the touring Springboks at Welford Road on Friday night in a game that doubles as the official opening of the re-vamped stadium.

Some familiar names will be playing their part in what is a showpiece game:
15 Scott Hamilton; 14 Lucas Amorosino, 13 Andy Forsyth, 12 Manu Tuilagi, 11 Johne Murphy; 10 Aaron Mauger (c), 9 Ben Youngs; 1 Marcos Ayerza, 2 Mefin Davies, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 4 Calum Green, 5 Ben Kay, 6 Geoff Parling, 7 Ben Pienaar, 8 Brett Deacon

As a result the side that will tackle Leeds Carnegie on Sunday in a competitive yet low-key Anglo-Welsh Cup fixture has a distinctly unfamiliar look to it:
15 Lucas Amorosino; 14 Alex Lewington, 13 Greig Tonks, 12 Joe Cobden, 11 Will Hurrell; 10 George Ford, 9 James Grindal (c); 1 Robbie Harris, 2 Tom Youngs, 3 Dan Cole, 4 Sam Raven, 5 Dan Hemingway, 6 Craig Hammond, 7 Matt Everard, 8 Tom Armes

The schedule for this season's competition is also a key point for fans and tournament organisers who claimed earlier this year that, "best efforts have been made to avoid teams playing each other in back to back matches in various competitions."

Newcastle battled to a 14-3 victory over Worcester only last weekend in the Premiership but guess which two sides will be going up against each other at Sixways this weekend? You're one step ahead of me aren't you? The Warriors and the Falcons.

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. Teams from Pool One will face their rivals from Pool Four, while Pools Two and Three will also battle it out against each other - are you keeping up?

There is no doubt that the Anglo Welsh Cup Final at Twickenham or the Millennium Stadium is an attractive proposition for fans and the promise of Heineken Cup qualification for the winners is a powerful lure for the English sides but that carrot is not even there for the Welsh regions.

But can the tournament be profitable in a commercial sense over the qualifying stages? Are under-strength sides going to bring the fans in especially when their is international rugby on offer elsewhere be it in person or from the comfort of their armchair? Organisers cited the 'revenue potential' of the tournament but the clubs are better being concerned with the playing potential of their next generation of stars.

I am not privy to the accounts of the UK's leading clubs but I'm sure the Anglo-Welsh Cup is not a money-making exercise - even if you add in their slice of sponsorship and Sky Sports' TV deal which forms part of their wider support of the game in general. They are better off not charging to see these games and using them as a marketing ploy to find new fans and sow the seeds of long-term support.