Draw Made For 2014/15 British & Irish Cup
Following confirmation of the new 20-team tournament structure, the 2014/15 British & Irish Cup fixtures have been unveiled today.
Played across five pools, each with four teams, the Irish, English and Welsh teams making up this coming season’s British & Irish Cup will begin the new campaign during the second weekend of October.
Drawn in Pool 5, current cup holders Leinster ‘A’ will travel to Brickfields for their opening game, facing English Championship side Plymouth Albion.
Girvan Dempsey’s men are the only team to have successfully defended their title, securing a win over Leeds Carnegie at Donnybrook last month (full replay below) to retain the trophy after claiming it for the first time in May 2013.
Connacht Eagles will have London Scottish, the Wales 2 qualifiers and Bristol, who lifted the cup in 2011, for company in Pool 1.
2012 champions Munster ‘A’ have been drawn in Pool 3 along with Worcester Warriors who were relegated from the Aviva Premiership last month. In addition, the men in red will have trips to Moseley and Nottingham, a club they beat home and away in the 2013/14 pool stages.
Meanwhile, Ulster Ravens, who failed to make the quarter-finals last season, will be aiming to get the better of 2013/14 runners-up Leeds Carnegie, Rotherham Titans and the Wales 4 qualifiers in Pool 2.
A local derby awaits Leeds as they host Rotherham in their first round fixture at Headingley. While both sides were knocked out of the Championship play-offs, each impressed across the board last season.
James Lowes’ charges showed commitment to playing with ball in hand, scoring 91 tries in the process while Rotherham captivated Championship followers, progressing to the knockout stages for the first time following a seventh place finish in the previous season.
The Welsh participants in the British & Irish Cup will be based on regional play-offs at the start of the season, with final positions in last season’s Principality Premiership giving teams ‘home advantage’.
Pontypridd represented the Welsh contingent in last year’s knockout stages, narrowly losing out to eventual winners Leinster ‘A’ in a thrilling encounter at Sardis Road.
After discussion among all four Unions, four Principality Premiership teams will continue to represent Wales in the competition, joining the 12 clubs of the Greene King IPA Championship as well as four provincial teams from Ireland.
Due to changes in the competition dates, Scottish clubs will not participate in the 2014/15 competition meaning that this coming season’s tournament will move from 24 teams to 20, playing in five pools of four.
2014/15 BRITISH & IRISH CUP POOLS:
POOL 1: London Scottish, Wales 2, Bristol, CONNACHT EAGLES
POOL 2: Rotherham Titans, Leeds Carnegie, ULSTER RAVENS, Wales 4
POOL 3: Worcester Warriors, Nottingham, Moseley, MUNSTER ‘A’
POOL 4: Wales 1, Cornish Pirates, Doncaster Knights, Bedford Blues
POOL 5: LEINSTER ‘A’, Plymouth Albion, Wales 3, Jersey
2014/15 BRITISH & IRISH CUP STRUCTURE:
Teams
– 12 Greene King IPA Championship clubs
– 4 Welsh Principality Premiership clubs
– 4 Irish provinces (Connacht Eagles, Leinster ‘A’, Munster ‘A’ and Ulster Ravens)
Pool Stages
– Taking place on October 11, 18 and 25, November 29 and December 6 and 13, 2014
– 5 pools of 4 playing home and away
– 4 points for a win, 2 for a draw, 1 bonus point for a) scoring 4 or more tries and/or b) losing by 7 points or less
Quarter-Finals
– Taking place on January 24, 2015
– Top side in each pool progress to knockout stages, plus three best runners-up
– 8 quarter-finalists ranked with teams ranked 1-4 having home advantage
Semi-Finals & Final
– Four winning quarter finalists progress to semi-final draw which takes place on weekend of March 13/14/15, 2015
– Winning semi-finalists progress to final to take place on weekend of April 3/4/5, 2015
2014/15 BRITISH & IRISH CUP – POOL FIXTURES:
Round 1 – October 10/11/12
Pool 1
Wales 2 v London Scottish
Bristol v Connacht Eagles
Pool 2
Leeds Carnegie v Rotherham Titans
Wales 4 v Ulster Ravens
Pool 3
Nottingham v Worcester Warriors
Munster ‘A’ v Moseley
Pool 4
Cornish Pirates v Bedford Blues
Wales 1 v Doncaster Knights
Pool 5
Plymouth Albion v Leinster ‘A’
Jersey v Wales 3
Round 2 – October 17/18/19
Pool 1
London Scottish v Bristol
Connacht Eagles v Wales 2
Pool 2
Rotherham Titans v Wales 4
Ulster Ravens v Leeds Carnegie
Pool 3
Worcester Warriors v Munster ‘A’
Moseley v Nottingham
Pool 4
Bedford Blues v Wales 1
Doncaster Knights v Cornish Pirates
Pool 5
Leinster ‘A’ v Jersey
Wales 3 v Plymouth Albion
Round 3 – October 24/25/26
Pool 1
Connacht Eagles v London Scottish
Bristol v Wales 2
Pool 2
Ulster Ravens v Rotherham Titans
Leeds Carnegie v Wales 4
Pool 3
Moseley v Worcester Warriors
Nottingham v Munster ‘A’
Pool 4
Doncaster Knights v Bedford Blues
Cornish Pirates v Wales 1
Pool 5
Wales 3 v Leinster ‘A’
Plymouth Albion v Jersey
Round 4 – November 28/29/30
Pool 1
London Scottish v Connacht Eagles
Bristol v Wales 2
Pool 2
Rotherham Titans v Ulster Ravens
Wales 4 v Leeds Carnegie
Pool 3
Worcester Warriors v Moseley
Munster ‘A’ v Nottingham
Pool 4
Bedford Blues v Doncaster Knights
Wales 1 v Cornish Pirates
Pool 5
Leinster ‘A’ v Wales 3
Jersey v Plymouth Albion
Round 5 – December 5/6/7
Pool 1
Wales 2 v Connacht Eagles
Bristol v London Scottish
Pool 2
Leeds Carnegie v Ulster Ravens
Wales 3 v Rotherham Titans
Pool 3
Nottingham v Moseley
Munster ‘A’ v Worcester Warriors
Pool 4
Cornish Pirates v Doncaster Knights
Wales 1 v Bedford Blues
Pool 5
Plymouth Albion v Wales 3
Jersey v Leinster ‘A’
Round 6 – December 12/13/14
Pool 1
London Scottish v Wales 2
Connacht Eagles v Bristol
Pool 2
Rotherham Titans v Leeds Carnegie
Ulster Ravens v Wales 4
Pool 3
Worcester Warriors v Nottingham
Moseley v Munster ‘A’
Pool 4
Bedford Blues v Cornish Pirates
Doncaster Knights v Wales 1
Pool 5
Leinster ‘A’ v Plymouth Albion
Wales 3 v Jersey
Quarter-Finals: January 23/24/25
Semi-Finals: March 13/14/15
Final: April 3/4/5