British & Irish Cup Draw Is Revealed

The draw has been made for the third ever British & Irish Cup. There is a change in format for the 2011/12 campaign, with a cross-pool fixture list which guarantees two home fixtures for each team.

Leinster, who reached the quarter-finals this past season, join Aberavon, Bedford Blues and London Scottish in Pool 3.

Colin McEntee’s men will start the competition with a home game against Melrose, and clashes with Llanelli, Esher and London Welsh are also on their schedule.

Munster have reigning champions Bristol, Cross Keys and Plymouth Albion for company in Pool 2, and face matches against Neath, Ayr, Cornish Pirates and Moseley.

Ulster Ravens, meanwhile, will hope to finish ahead of Leeds Carnegie, who were recently relegated from the Aviva Premiership, Nottingham and Swansea in Pool 6.

Gary Longwell’s side are due to make trips to Currie and Rotherham Titans over the course of the pool stages, and they will also host Pontypridd and Doncaster Knights.

Next season’s British & Irish Cup will begin on Wednesday, September 21, with all-English ties being played in midweek to ease potential weekend fixture congestion. The Irish provinces will get their runs underway on Saturday, November 19.

2010/11 BRITISH & IRISH CUP:

TEAMS –

* 12 English RFU Championship clubs (Bedford Blues, Bristol, Cornish Pirates, Doncaster Knights, Esher, Leeds Carnegie, London Scottish, London Welsh, Moseley, Nottingham Rugby, Plymouth Albion, Rotherham Titans)
* 6 Welsh Principality Premiership clubs (Aberavon, Cross Keys, Llanelli, Neath, Pontypridd, Swansea)
* 3 Irish provinces – Munster, Leinster, Ulster Ravens
* 3 Scottish teams – Top three finishers in Premier 1 (Ayr, Currie, Melrose)

POOLS –

Pool 1: Ayr, Cornish Pirates, Moseley, Neath
Pool 2: Bristol, Cross Keys, Plymouth Albion, Munster
Pool 3: Aberavon, Bedford Blues, Leinster, London Scottish
Pool 4: Esher, Llanelli, London Welsh, Melrose
Pool 5: Currie, Doncaster Knights, Rotherham Titans, Pontypridd
Pool 6: Leeds Carnegie, Nottingham, Swansea, Ulster Ravens

Pool Stages:
* 6 pools of 4 playing cross pool (4 matches/rounds, 2 home, 2 away) – Pool 1 v Pool 2, Pool 3 v Pool 4, Pool 5 v Pool 6
* 4 points for a win, 2 for a draw, 1 bonus point for either a) scoring 4 or more tries or b) losing by 7 points or less

FIXTURES –

Round 1 (Wednesday, September 21): Cornish Pirates v Bristol, Moseley v Plymouth, London Scottish v London Welsh, Bedford Blues v Esher, Nottingham v Doncaster Knights, Leeds Carnegie v Rotherham Titans. (Saturday, November 19): Neath v Munster, Ayr v Cross Keys, Aberavon v Llanelli, Leinster v Melrose, Currie v Ulster, Pontypridd v Swansea

Round 2 (Wednesday, October 12): Plymouth v Cornish Pirates, Bristol v Moseley, Esher v London Scottish, London Welsh v Bedford Blues, Doncaster Knights v Leeds Carnegie, Rotherham Titans v Nottingham. (Saturday, December 10): Munster v Ayr, Llanelli v Leinster, Ulster v Pontypridd, Cross Keys v Neath, Melrose v Aberavon, Swansea v Currie

Round 3 (Saturday, November 12): Cross Keys v Moseley, Munster v Cornish Pirates, Bristol v Neath, Plymouth v Ayr, Melrose v Bedford Blues, Llanelli v London Scottish, London Welsh v Aberavon, Esher v Leinster, Swansea v Rotherham Titans, Ulster v Doncaster Knights, Leeds Carnegie v Currie, Nottingham v Pontypridd

Round 4 (Saturday, December 17): Moseley v Munster, Cornish Pirates v Cross Keys, Neath v Plymouth, Ayr v Bristol, Bedford Blues v Llanelli, London Scottish v Melrose, Aberavon v Esher, Leinster v London Welsh, Rotherham Titans v Ulster, Doncaster Knights v Swansea, Currie v Nottingham, Pontypridd v Leeds Carnegie

Quarter-Finals: Saturday, January 21

* 6 pool winners plus 2 best runners-up progress to the quarter-finals
* Teams seeded based on pool performance with top four having home advantage

Semi-Finals: Saturday, April 7

* Four winning quarter-finalists progress to semi-final draw

Final: Saturday, April 28