British and Irish Cup

The British and Irish Cup was an annual rugby union competition for second tier, semi-professional clubs and the reserves or developing teams from professional clubs from Great Britain and Ireland. It took place for the first time in the 2009–10 season, and ran for 9 seasons.

British and Irish Cup
SportRugby union
Instituted2009 (2009)
Inaugural season2009–10
Ceased2018 (2018)
Number of teams20–32
Nations England
Ireland
 Scotland
 Wales
Holders Ealing Trailfinders (2017-18)
Most titles Leinster A
Munster A (2 titles)
Related competitionRFU Championship
Pro14

After clubs from the English Championship decided to withdraw from the 2018-19 season, the competition was abolished. The Welsh and Irish rugby unions thereafter reinstituted the Celtic Cup competition for its development sides.[1]

Leinster A and Munster A were the most successful sides in the competition, winning the trophy twice each. Five English clubs shared the remaining competition wins.

Format

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 varied slightly in each season. For the 2012–13 season, the competition was expanded to 32 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 24, with the Welsh entrants reduced from twelve to four, and the following season the competition was reduced to twenty teams with the withdrawal of the Scottish clubs.[2]


From the 2015–16 season to its end in 2018, Wales was represented by regional Premiership Select sides from the four Welsh regions.[3]

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
2016–17 Munster A 29 – 28 Jersey Reds Irish Independent Park, Cork 983
2017–18 Ealing Trailfinders 22 – 7 Leinster A Trailfinders Sports Ground, London 1,386

Teams
CountryTeam2009-102010-112011-122012-132013-142014-152015-162016-172017-18
Bedford Blues YYYYYYYYY
Birmingham & Solihull YY
Bristol YYYYYYYY
Cornish Pirates YYYYYYYYY
Coventry Y
Doncaster Knights YYYYYYYY
Ealing Trailfinders YYYY
Esher YY
Exeter Chiefs Y
Jersey Reds[lower-alpha 1] YYYYYY
Yorkshire Carnegie YYYYYYY
London Irish Y
London Scottish YYYYYYY
London Welsh YYYYYY
Moseley YYYYYYY
Newcastle Falcons Y
Nottingham Rugby YYYYYYYYY
Plymouth Albion YYYYYY
Richmond YY
Rotherham Titans YYYYYYYYY
Worcester Warriors YY
Aberavon YYYYY
Cardiff YY
Llanelli YYYYY
Neath YYYY
Newport YYY
Pontypridd YYYYYY
Llandovery YY
Swansea YYY
Cross Keys YYYY
Bedwas Y
Bridgend Ravens Y
Carmarthen Quins YY
Cardiff Blues Premiership Select YYY
Dragons Premiership Select YYY
Ospreys Premiership Select YYY
Scarlets Premiership Select YYY
Ayr YYYY
Gael Force Y
Heriot's FP Y
Currie YY
Melrose YYY
Dundee HSFP Y
Gala YY
Stirling County YY
Edinburgh Academicals Y
Connacht Eagles YYYYYY
Leinster A YYYYYYYYY
Munster A YYYYYYYYY
Ulster A YYYYYYYYY

History

2009–10 Competition
Main article: 2009–10 British and Irish Cup

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.[4][5]

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-finalsFinal
 
      
 
 25 April 2010 - Camborne
 
 
 Cornish Pirates 43
 
 16 May 2010 - Camborne
 
 Doncaster 5
 
 Cornish Pirates 23
 
 24 April 2010 - Thomond Park
 
 Munster A 14
 
 Munster A 27
 
 
 Ulster Ravens 3
 

2010–11 Competition
Main article: 2010–11 British and Irish Cup

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-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
 
          
 
5 March 2011 - Sardis Road
 
 
 Pontypridd12
 
23 April 2011 - Sardis Road
 
 Llanelli10
 
 Pontypridd25
 
6 March 2011 - Memorial Stadium
 
 Bristol36
 
 Bristol29
 
7 May 2011 - Memorial Stadium
 
 Ayr19
 
 Bristol17
 
5 March 2011 - Goldington Road
 
 Bedford Blues14
 
 Bedford Blues50
 
23 April 2011 - Goldington Road
 
 Leinster A15
 
 Bedford Blues43
 
5 March 2011 - Sixways Stadium
 
 Worcester Warriors27
 
 Worcester Warriors57
 
 
 Moseley15
 

2011–12 Competition
Main article: 2011–12 British and Irish Cup

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.[6][7]

 
Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
 
          
 
22 January 2012 – Donnybrook
 
 
 Leinster A32
 
6 April 2012 – RDS
 
 Pontypridd0
 
 Leinster A29
 
20 January 2012 – Ravenhill
 
 Munster A36
 
 Ulster Ravens9
 
27 April 2012 – Musgrave Park
 
 Munster A20
 
 Munster A31
 
21 January 2012 – Pandy Park
 
 Cross Keys12
 
 Cross Keys32
 
7 April 2012 – Pandy Park
 
 Llanelli8
 
 Cross Keys20
 
22 January 2012 – Mennaye Field
 
 Cornish Pirates16
 
 Cornish Pirates33
 
 
 Nottingham3
 

2012–13 Competition
Main article: 2012–13 British and Irish Cup

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.[8]

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-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
 
          
 
 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
Main article: 2013–14 British and Irish Cup

The number of teams playing in the fifth competition was reduced from 32 to 24, 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.[9] 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.[10]

The draw for the knockout stage was carried out on 27 January 2014.[11] The top four seeds (Leinster A, Leeds Carnegie, Cornish Pirates and Bristol) had home advantage in the quarter-finals.[12] 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.[13] This game ended as a 22 all draw after extra time; Leinster won on tries scored (3 – 1).[14] 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.[15][16]

 
Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
 
          
 
 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 Rugby Stadium
 
 Leeds Carnegie 30
 
 Leeds Carnegie 41
 
 
 Plymouth Albion 21
 
  1. Leinster won on number of tries scored.[14]

    2014–15 Competition
    Main article: 2014–15 British and Irish Cup

    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.[2]

     
    		Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
     
    		          
     
    		 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 22
     
    		 Bristol 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
    Main article: 2015–16 British and Irish Cup

    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.

     
    		Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
     
    		          
     
    		 11 March 2016 – Goldington Road
     
     
    		 Bedford Blues 15
     
    		 19 March 2016 – Old Deer Park
     
    		 Jersey 19
     
    		 London Welsh 36
     
    		 12 March 2016 – Donnybrook
     
    		 Cornish Pirates 15
     
    		 Leinster A 39
     
    		 10 April 2016 – Headingley Rugby Stadium
     
    		 London Welsh 45
     
    		 Yorkshire Carnegie 10
     
    		 13 March 2016 – Mennaye Field
     
    		 London Welsh 33
     
    		 Cornish Pirates 38
     
    		 20 March 2016 – Headingley Rugby Stadium
     
    		 Doncaster Knights 19
     
    		 Yorkshire Carnegie 33
     
    		 13 March 2016 – Headingley Rugby Stadium
     
    		 Jersey 32
     
    		 Yorkshire Carnegie 50
     
     
    		 Moseley 3
     

    Notes
    1. Jersey Reds are listed in the English section because they play in the English RFU Championship.

    References
    1. "British & Irish Cup to be scrapped". BBC Sport. BBC.
    2. "Scots pull out of B&I Cup". The RUGBYPaper. Greenways Publishing. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
    3. "British & Irish Cup: Revamped Welsh teams' rivals revealed". 15 July 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2018 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
    4. "New British & Irish Cup announced". RTÉ Sport. 6 May 2009. Archived from the original on 9 May 2009. Retrieved 7 May 2009.
    5. "Home unions devise British & Irish Cup". The Daily Telegraph. 6 May 2009. Retrieved 7 May 2009.
    6. "Welsh clubs discover British and Irish Cup opponents". WalesOnline. 20 June 2011. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
    7. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 18 October 2011. Retrieved 3 July 2011.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
    8. "B&I Cup set to arrive in Connacht". 11 May 2012. Archived from the original on 7 January 2013. Retrieved 5 July 2012.
    9. "British & Irish Cup undergoes restructure ahead of new season". RFU. Archived from the original on 24 May 2013. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
    10. "Seeding Criteria For The Quarter-Finals Draw 2014". Cornish Pirates. Archived from the original on 16 January 2014. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
    11. "Pirates Get Ponty At Home". Cornish Pirates. 27 January 2014. Archived from the original on 27 January 2014. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
    12. "Pirates Sure Of Home Quarter Final Tie In Cup". Cornish Pirates. 18 January 2014. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
    13. "Winners of Pontypridd v Leinster A to host BIC Final". Pontypridd RFC. 14 April 2014. Archived from the original on 16 April 2014. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
    14. "Pontypridd 22 - 22 Leinster". BBC. Archived from the original on 29 April 2014. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
    15. "Leinster 'A' 44 v 17 Leeds Carnegie". Leinster Rugby. 23 May 2014. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
    16. Daly, Phil (23 May 2014). "Leinster A 44 Leeds Carnegie 17". Leeds Carnegie. Archived from the original on 25 May 2014. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
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