The trouble is, whatever the history, indifferent we remain. It seems somehow fitting that this competition has now found itself scheduled up against the autumn internationals. Deprived of the best players (England selections notwithstanding!), short of excitement, it will be played out in the shadow of much bigger matches. And even if there weren't much bigger matches taking place, it would still be in the shadow of something. A trip to the shops, perhaps. Or talking about the weather.

In the beginning, I'm sure it was all quite exciting. The RFU Cup was inaugurated in the 1971/2 season, and its very first winners were our friends down there in the west, Gloucester. Some of the great old names in English rugby have played in its finals: Moseley, Coventry, Waterloo, Rosslyn Park. The DNA of this competition is strong: throughout its years as the John Player Cup, the Pilkington Cup, The Tetley's Bitter Cup and the Powergen Cup, it retained a place at the heart of the English rugby season. Before the Premiership play-offs were introduced, the Cup was the big, show-piece, end-of-season club event at Twickenham.

But times have changed. In truth, the advent of both the play-offs and the Heineken Cup had diminished the domestic cup as an event well before it was revamped in 2005/6. It had become something like football's Carling Cup, way behind in the pecking order, an afterthought (if it was thought about at all). True, it did provide some variety in that you could be drawn against lower league teams, looking to do a spot of giant-killing. The trouble was, what with professionalism, the giants very rarely went down – Pertemps Bees remains vivid in the memory because of its uniqueness. Nevertheless, the fact that a Bees or a Manchester had the chance to meet a Wasps or a Leicester gave the cup a residual frisson, something to pique the interest. Perhaps the glamour had waned, but some matches could still make you turn your head.

Then some bright spark – or more likely, this being rugby union, a committee of bright sparks – decided to divorce the elite game from the rest, bring in the Welsh regions, and remould the cup into the competition we see today. You can appreciate the thinking. Bring in some cross-border needle, re-institute some of the old Anglo-Welsh club rivalries, and Bob's your uncle. It must have seemed like a fail-safe idea at the time. The problem was, we'd already re-established those old rivalries, and in a competition that was a lot more prestigious than the one we were now being offered. It was called the Heineken Cup, and it had teams from all over Europe competing in it. Why did we need to play the Welsh regions yet again?

Play them we did, however. The first year of the Anglo-Welsh Cup saw Wasps reach the final. In April 2006 they played Llanelli at Twickenham, in what I can honestly say is the flattest, most uninspiring cup final that I have ever seen Wasps take part in. The new format just didn't grab the imagination. Everyone watching knew that there were bigger, more sparkling gigs in town. And even though Wasps triumphed 26-10, it was still hard, as a spectator, to get excited. Maybe the weather had something to do with it. Or maybe it was the two extended stoppages for injury in the first half. Whatever the reasons, it just didn't compare with the two occasions on which Wasps had won the old Tetley's Bitter Cup.

Ah, the memories. As mentioned already, Wasps had lost four finals by the time they pitched up at Twickenham in the spring of 1999 to face Newcastle. The latest of those, against Saracens, had taken place just a year earlier, a thumping 48-18 defeat to Michael Lynagh, Philippe Sella and friends. The previous three finals Wasps had reached had all resulted in losses to Bath. 1999, however, saw Wasps break their duck. Alex King played a blinder that day, totally eclipsing his opposite number, the (at the time) wunderkind Jonny Wilkinson. In a match played in front of considerably less than a Twickenham full house, Kinga scored a brilliant solo try and a drop goal, Gareth Rees popped over four penalties and two conversions, and Josh Lewsey scored the match winning try having earlier hauled down rampaging man-mountain Va'aiga Tuigamala inches from our own line. The game finished 29-19 and the Cup monkey was firmly off Wasps back – so much so that they went and repeated the feat the next season, this time against Northampton.

But those were the old days. Now we have the Anglo-Welsh Cup, whether we like it or not. The coming weekends see the old wunderkind himself, Jonny Wilkinson, returning to the Twickenham turf, this time in England colours, and now very much as an elder statesman. Meanwhile, the first rounds of what is now called the LV= Cup will be getting under way. Wasps begin their campaign at London Irish and will host Gloucester next week in the second round.

The format has changed slightly this year. As if in recognition of the fact that many of the teams will be fielding weakened sides and half hoping to be knocked out in the first couple of weeks, the organisers have deviously concocted a pool stage in which even losing all your games won't necessarily spare you qualification for the semi-finals. This is because none of the teams in any one pool will play each other. Instead they will play all of the teams in another pool, and whichever team does best against all those other teams will qualify. Wasps are in pool 3 with Harlequins, Worcester and Cardiff Blues, and will play each of the teams in pool 2 (Scarlets and Newcastle, as well as London Irish and Gloucester). Pools 1 and 4 are likewise twinned.

After last weekend's dismal home defeat to Leeds, Wasps will be looking to bounce back with a much better performance, and in that respect the LV= Cup might have come round at just the right time. The question for the coaches is, are they interested in winning or would they rather rest a few players in preparation for the Premiership visit to Saracens on the 22^nd November? And if they want to mix things up a bit, which players from the A team are considered ready for elevation to the first team?

We have already played once at the Madejski Stadium this year, coming away with bruised bodies and egos after a fairly comprehensive 28-16 defeat. Losing again, and in the LV= Cup at that, wouldn't really mean much in the grand scheme of things. But a win – well, not only would that help heal some of the wounds inflicted by Leeds last week, it might also ignite a spark of self-confidence that leads all the way to Twickenham.

For the LV= Cup final, of course.

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