British and Irish Cup
| British and Irish Cup | |
|---|---|
Current season or competition: 2015–16 British and Irish Cup |
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Competition logo
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| Sport | Rugby union |
| Instituted | 2009 |
| Inaugural season | 2009–10 |
| Number of teams | 20 |
| Nations |  England Ireland Scotland (except 2014–16) Wales |
| Holders | London Welsh (2015–16) |
| Most titles | Leinster A (2 titles) |
The British and Irish Cup is an annual rugby union competition for second tier, semi-professional clubs and the reserves or developing teams from professional clubs from Britain and Ireland. It took place for the first time in the 2009–10 season and the sixth competition took place in the 2014–15 season.
A total of twenty-four teams from England (twelve), Ireland (three), Scotland (three) and Wales (six) competed in the inaugural competition. This remained the case for the first three seasons, though the format has varied slightly in each season. For the 2012–13 season, the competition was expanded to thirty-two teams; England (twelve), Ireland (four), Scotland (four), and Wales (twelve) and for the first time, pool stage games were played on a "home and away" basis. For the 2013–14 season the number of teams competing was reduced to twenty-four, with the Welsh entrants reduced from twelve to four, and this season the competition has been reduced to twenty teams with the withdrawal of the Scottish clubs.[1]
Six different clubs have won the competition to date: Cornish Pirates, Bristol, Worcester Warriors and London Welsh from England, and Munster A and Leinster A from Ireland. Leinster A beat Leeds Carnegie 44 – 17 in the 2013–14 final and retained the cup they won in the previous season – the first team to win the cup for a second time. Worcester Warriors are the current holders after they beat Doncaster Knights 35 – 5 in the latest final on 3 April 2015.
There have been six different runners-up: Munster A from Ireland, Bedford Blues, Newcastle Falcons, Yorkshire Carnegie and Doncaster Knights from England, and Cross Keys from Wales. Ayr are the only rugby club from Scotland to reach the quarter-finals stage.
As of the 2015-16 season, Welsh teams will be represented by regional Premiership Select sides from the four Welsh regions[2]
Contents
Finals
| Year | Winner | Score | Runner-up | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009–10 | Cornish Pirates |
23 – 14 | Munster A |
Recreation Ground, Camborne | 4,240 |
| 2010–11 | Bristol |
17 – 14 | Bedford Blues |
Memorial Ground, Bristol | 4,375 |
| 2011–12 | Munster A |
31 – 12 | Cross Keys |
Musgrave Park, Cork | 3,000 |
| 2012–13 | Leinster A |
18 – 17 | Newcastle Falcons |
Kingston Park, Newcastle | 3,838 |
| 2013–14 | Leinster A |
44 – 17 | Leeds Carnegie |
Donnybrook, Dublin | 2,024 |
| 2014–15 | Worcester Warriors |
35 – 5 | Doncaster Knights |
Castle Park, Doncaster | 3,115 |
| 2015–16 | London Welsh |
33 - 10 | Yorkshire Carnegie |
Headingley Stadium, Leeds | 3,107 |
Seasons
2009–10 Competition
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The inaugural competition was contested by 24 teams:
- 12 teams from the RFU Championship, the second tier of English rugby
- 3 Irish provinces represented by 'A' teams
- 3 Scottish sides, 2 top clubs from the Scottish Premiership and Gael Force, a side made up of a combination of National Academy players
- 6 top clubs from the Principality Premiership, the second tier of Welsh rugby.
The teams were divided into four pools of six, playing over five weekends during the Autumn International and Six Nations windows, with semi-finals on 24 and 25 April and the final on 16 May.[3][4]
Each team played each of the other five teams in its pool once (home or away). Two English teams (Cornish Pirates and Doncaster) and two Irish teams (Munster A and Ulster Ravens) topped their respective pools leading to an all-English semi-final and an all-Irish semi-final. Cornish Pirates defeated Munster A in the inaugural final.
| Semi-finals | Final | ||||||
| 25 April 2010 - Camborne | |||||||
| Cornish Pirates |
43 | ||||||
| Doncaster |
5 | ||||||
| 16 May 2010 - Camborne | |||||||
| Cornish Pirates |
23 | ||||||
| Munster A |
14 | ||||||
| 24 April 2010 - Thomond Park | |||||||
| Munster A |
27 | ||||||
| Ulster Ravens |
3 | ||||||
2010–11 Competition
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The allocation of teams for the second season was very similar to that of the first:
- 12 teams from the RFU Championship, the second tier of English rugby
- 3 Irish provinces represented by 'A' teams
- 3 top clubs from the Scottish Premiership, the second tier of Scottish rugby
- 6 top clubs from the Principality Premiership, the second tier of Welsh rugby.
The format closely mirrored that of the first season, the only difference being the introduction of a quarter final stage
The teams were divided into four pools of six, playing over five weekends during the Autumn International and Six Nations windows, with quarter-finals on 5 or 6 March, semi-finals on 23 April and the final on 7 May. Each team played each of the other five teams in its pool once (home or away), with the top two teams in each pool qualifying for the knock-out stages:
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| 5 March 2011 - Sardis Road | ||||||||||
| Pontypridd |
12 | |||||||||
| 23 April 2011 - Sardis Road | ||||||||||
| Llanelli |
10 | |||||||||
| Pontypridd |
25 | |||||||||
| 6 March 2011 - Memorial Stadium | ||||||||||
| Bristol |
36 | |||||||||
| Bristol |
29 | |||||||||
| 7 May 2011 - Memorial Stadium | ||||||||||
| Ayr |
19 | |||||||||
| Bristol |
17 | |||||||||
| 5 March 2011 - Goldington Road | ||||||||||
| Bedford Blues |
14 | |||||||||
| Bedford Blues |
50 | |||||||||
| 23 April 2011 - Goldington Road | ||||||||||
| Leinster A |
15 | |||||||||
| Bedford Blues |
43 | |||||||||
| 5 March 2011 - Sixways Stadium | ||||||||||
| Worcester Warriors |
27 | |||||||||
| Worcester Warriors |
57 | |||||||||
| Moseley |
15 | |||||||||
2011–12 Competition
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The allocation of teams for the third season was identical to that of the second season:
- 12 teams from the RFU Championship, the second tier of English rugby
- 3 Irish provinces represented by 'A' teams
- 3 top clubs from the Scottish Premiership, the second tier of Scottish rugby
- 6 top clubs from the Principality Premiership, the second tier of Welsh rugby.
The pool stage saw a change in format and consisted of six pools of four teams playing cross-pool matches, giving each team two home and two away matches. Matches between English teams were played mid-week. Pool matches took place from 21 September to 18 December. The top team from each pool qualified for the quarter-finals, together with the two runners–up with the best records.[5][6]
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| 22 January 2012 – Donnybrook | ||||||||||
| Leinster A |
32 | |||||||||
| 6 April 2012 – RDS | ||||||||||
| Pontypridd |
0 | |||||||||
| Leinster A |
29 | |||||||||
| 20 January 2012 – Ravenhill | ||||||||||
| Munster A |
36 | |||||||||
| Ulster Ravens |
9 | |||||||||
| 27 April 2012 – Musgrave Park | ||||||||||
| Munster A |
20 | |||||||||
| Munster A |
31 | |||||||||
| 21 January 2012 – Pandy Park | ||||||||||
| Cross Keys |
12 | |||||||||
| Cross Keys |
32 | |||||||||
| 7 April 2012 – Pandy Park | ||||||||||
| Llanelli |
8 | |||||||||
| Cross Keys |
20 | |||||||||
| 22 January 2012 – Mennaye Field | ||||||||||
| Cornish Pirates |
16 | |||||||||
| Cornish Pirates |
33 | |||||||||
| Nottingham |
3 | |||||||||
2012–13 Competition
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The competition was considerably revamped, with expansion from 24 to 32 teams playing each other home and away in the pool stages (previously, pool matches were played home or away). The allocation of teams for the fourth season was therefore:
- 12 teams from the RFU Championship, the second tier of English rugby
- 4 Irish provinces represented by 'A' teams
- 4 top clubs from the Scottish Premiership, the second tier of Scottish rugby
- 12 clubs from the Principality Premiership, the second tier of Welsh rugby.
The pool stage saw a considerable change in format and consisted of eight pools of four teams, giving each team three home and three away matches. Pool matches took place on the same weekends as the Heineken and Amlin Cups. The top team from each pool qualified for the quarter-finals.[7]
The final round of pool matches, due to be played on the weekend of 18/19/20 January, was considerably disrupted. Of 16 matches, 7 were postponed: Connacht Eagles v Newport was not played until 27 April, the weekend of the semi-finals.
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| 6 April 2013 - Goldington Road | ||||||||||
| Bedford Blues |
32 | |||||||||
| 27 April 2013 - Goldington Road | ||||||||||
| Llanelli |
18 | |||||||||
| Bedford Blues |
15 | |||||||||
| 5 April 2013 - Kingston Park | ||||||||||
| Newcastle Falcons |
18 | |||||||||
| Newcastle Falcons |
72 | |||||||||
| 17 May 2013 – Kingston Park | ||||||||||
| Nottingham |
17 | |||||||||
| Newcastle Falcons |
17 | |||||||||
| 7 April 2013 - Mennaye Field | ||||||||||
| Leinster A |
18 | |||||||||
| Cornish Pirates |
9 | |||||||||
| 26 April 2013 - Garryowen FC | ||||||||||
| Munster A |
10 | |||||||||
| Munster A |
15 | |||||||||
| 7 April 2013 - Memorial Stadium | ||||||||||
| Leinster A |
17 | |||||||||
| Bristol |
26 | |||||||||
| Leinster A |
30 | |||||||||
2013–14 Competition
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The number of teams playing in the fifth competition was reduced from thirty-two to twenty-four, with a reduction of Welsh teams from twelve to four:
- 12 teams from the RFU Championship, the second tier of English rugby
- 4 Irish provinces represented by 'A' teams
- 4 top clubs from the Scottish Premiership, the second tier of Scottish rugby
- 4 clubs from the Principality Premiership, the second tier of Welsh rugby.
The twelve Principality Premiership Teams participated in regional play-offs which saw Aberavon, Cross Keys, Llanelli, and Pontypridd qualify for the competition proper.
The pool stage consisted of six pools of four teams, giving each team three home and three away matches. The top team from each group qualified for the quarter-finals, along with two runners-up with the best playing records.[8] The ranking criteria of the quarter finalists has been altered slightly from earlier seasons. Previously, the six pool winners were seeded 1-6 and the two runners up as 7 and 8. This meant that the best runners-up were automatically ranked 7 and 8 even if they had a better playing record than some of the teams ranked 1-6. This is no longer the case.[9]
The draw for the knockout stage was carried out on 27 January 2014.[10] The top four seeds (Leinster A, Leeds Carnegie, Cornish Pirates and Bristol) had home advantage in the quarter-finals.[11] On 14 April, it was announced that the final would be played at the home of the winner of the Pontypridd / Leinster A semi-final.[12] This game ended as a 22 all draw after extra time; Leinster won on tries scored (3 – 1).[13] Leinster A beat Leeds Carnegie 44 – 17 in the final and retained the cup they won in the previous season – the first team to win the cup for a second time.[14][15]
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| 5 April 2014 – Mennaye Field | ||||||||||
| Cornish Pirates |
14 | |||||||||
| 26 April 2014 – Sardis Road[n 1] | ||||||||||
| Pontypridd |
16 | |||||||||
| Pontypridd |
22 | |||||||||
| 4 April 2014 – Donnybrook | ||||||||||
| Leinster A |
22 | |||||||||
| Leinster A |
47 | |||||||||
| 23 May 2014 – Donnybrook | ||||||||||
| Munster A |
15 | |||||||||
| Leinster A |
44 | |||||||||
| 4 April 2014 – Memorial Stadium | ||||||||||
| Leeds Carnegie |
17 | |||||||||
| Bristol |
39 | |||||||||
| 4 May 2014 – Memorial Stadium | ||||||||||
| Rotherham Titans |
24 | |||||||||
| Bristol |
25 | |||||||||
| 4 April 2014 – Headingley Stadium | ||||||||||
| Leeds Carnegie |
30 | |||||||||
| Leeds Carnegie |
41 | |||||||||
| Plymouth Albion |
21 | |||||||||
2014–15 Competition
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The number of teams playing in the sixth competition is reduced from twenty-four to twenty with the withdrawal of the Scottish teams:
- 12 teams from the RFU Championship, the second tier of English rugby
- 4 Irish provinces represented by 'A' teams
- 4 clubs from the Principality Premiership, the second tier of Welsh rugby.
The twelve Principality Premiership Teams participating in regional play-offs which saw Aberavon, Carmarthen Quins, Cross Keys and Pontypridd qualify for the competition proper. The Scottish clubs withdrew because of an increase in the number of the pool matches before Christmas, from four to six. Scottish Rugby felt that Scottish teams would not be able to compete fully in both the British and Irish cup and the BT Premiership; the premier competition for clubs in Scotland.[1]
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| 24 January 2015 – Castle Park | ||||||||||
| Doncaster Knights |
38 | |||||||||
| 14 March 2015 – Castle Park | ||||||||||
| Munster A |
17 | |||||||||
| Doncaster Knights |
27 | |||||||||
| 23 January 2015 – Ashton Gate | ||||||||||
| Bristol Rugby |
22 | |||||||||
| Bristol Rugby |
41 | |||||||||
| 3 April 2015 – Castle Park | ||||||||||
| Yorkshire Carnegie |
28 | |||||||||
| Doncaster Knights |
5 | |||||||||
| 24 January 2015 – Sixways Stadium | ||||||||||
| Worcester Warriors |
35 | |||||||||
| Worcester Warriors |
24 | |||||||||
| 13 March 2015 – Sixways Stadium | ||||||||||
| Pontypridd |
10 | |||||||||
| Worcester Warriors |
15 | |||||||||
| 24 January 2015 – Clifton Lane | ||||||||||
| Leinster A |
13 | |||||||||
| Rotherham Titans |
32 | |||||||||
| Leinster A |
51 | |||||||||
2015–16 Competition
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Remaining with 20 teams.
- – twelve clubs from RFU Championship
- – four Irish provinces represented by 'A' teams
- – four Welsh regions represented by Premiership Select teams.
Five pools of 4 teams, with the pool winners and the top three runners up going through to the knockout competition.
Teams
| England |
2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | 2013-14 | 2014-15 | 2015-16 | Ireland |
2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | 2013-14 | 2014-15 | 2015-16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bedford Blues | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | Leinster A | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
| Birmingham & Solihull | • | • | Munster A | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | |||||
| Bristol | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | Ulster Ravens | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
| Cornish Pirates | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | Connacht Eagles | • | • | • | • | |||
| Coventry | • | ||||||||||||||
| Doncaster Knights | • | • | • | • | • | • | |||||||||
| Exeter Chiefs | • | ||||||||||||||
| London Welsh | • | • | • | • | • | ||||||||||
| Moseley | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | ||||||||
| Nottingham Rugby | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | ||||||||
| Plymouth Albion | • | • | • | • | • | • | |||||||||
| Rotherham Titans | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | ||||||||
| Esher | • | • | |||||||||||||
| Worcester Warriors | • | • | |||||||||||||
| Yorkshire Carnegie | • | • | • | • | • | ||||||||||
| London Scottish | • | • | • | • | • | ||||||||||
| Jersey[lower-alpha 1] | • | • | • | • | |||||||||||
| Newcastle Falcons | • | ||||||||||||||
| Ealing Trailfinders | • | • |
| Scotland |
2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | 2013-14 | 2014-15 | 2015-16 | Wales |
2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | 2013-14 | 2014-15 | 2015-16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ayr | • | • | • | • | Aberavon | • | • | • | • | • | |||||
| Gael Force | • | Cardiff | • | • | |||||||||||
| Heriot's FP | • | Llanelli | • | • | • | • | • | ||||||||
| Currie | • | • | Neath | • | • | • | • | ||||||||
| Melrose | • | • | • | Newport | • | • | • | ||||||||
| Dundee HSFP | • | Pontypridd | • | • | • | • | • | • | |||||||
| Gala | • | • | Llandovery | • | • | ||||||||||
| Stirling County | • | • | Swansea | • | • | • | |||||||||
| Edinburgh Academicals | • | Cross Keys | • | • | • | • | |||||||||
| Bedwas | • | ||||||||||||||
| Bridgend Ravens | • | ||||||||||||||
| Carmarthen Quins | • | • | |||||||||||||
| Cardiff Blues Premiership Select | • | ||||||||||||||
| Newport Gwent Dragons Premiership Select | • | ||||||||||||||
| Ospreys Premiership Select | • | ||||||||||||||
| Scarlets Premiership Select | • | ||||||||||||||
Geography
Current season participants in bold.
Notes
- ↑ Jersey is listed in the English section because they play in the English RFU Championship.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/33524500
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ http://cornish-pirates.com/rugby/fixtures-and-results/british-irish-cup/
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
