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

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.

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 England 23 – 14 Ireland Munster A Recreation Ground, Camborne 4,240
2010–11 Bristol England 17 – 14 England Bedford Blues Memorial Ground, Bristol 4,375
2011–12 Munster A Ireland 31 – 12 Wales Cross Keys Musgrave Park, Cork 3,000
2012–13 Leinster A Ireland 18 – 17 England Newcastle Falcons Kingston Park, Newcastle 3,838
2013–14 Leinster A Ireland 44 – 17 England Leeds Carnegie Donnybrook, Dublin 2,024
2014–15 Worcester Warriors England 35 – 5 England Doncaster Knights Castle Park, Doncaster 3,115
2015–16 London Welsh England 33 – 10 England Yorkshire Carnegie Headingley Stadium, Leeds 3,107
2016–17 Munster A Ireland 29 – 28 Jersey Jersey Reds Irish Independent Park, Cork 983
2017–18 Ealing Trailfinders England 22 – 7 Ireland Leinster A Trailfinders Sports Ground, London 1,386

Teams

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

History

2009–10 Competition

The inaugural competition was contested by 24 teams:

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

2010–11 Competition

The allocation of teams for the second season was very similar to that of the first:

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

2011–12 Competition

The allocation of teams for the third season was identical to that of the second season:

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

2012–13 Competition

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:

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
 
 
England Bedford Blues 32
 
27 April 2013 - Goldington Road
 
Wales Llanelli 18
 
England Bedford Blues 15
 
5 April 2013 - Kingston Park
 
England Newcastle Falcons 18
 
England Newcastle Falcons 72
 
17 May 2013 – Kingston Park
 
England Nottingham 17
 
England Newcastle Falcons 17
 
7 April 2013 - Mennaye Field
 
Ireland Leinster A 18
 
England Cornish Pirates 9
 
26 April 2013 - Garryowen FC
 
Ireland Munster A 10
 
Ireland Munster A 15
 
7 April 2013 - Memorial Stadium
 
Ireland Leinster A 17
 
England Bristol 26
 
 
Ireland Leinster A 30
 

2013–14 Competition

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:

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
 
 
England Cornish Pirates 14
 
26 April 2014 – Sardis Road[n 1]
 
Wales Pontypridd 16
 
Wales Pontypridd 22
 
4 April 2014 – Donnybrook
 
Ireland Leinster A 22
 
Ireland Leinster A 47
 
23 May 2014 – Donnybrook
 
Ireland Munster A 15
 
Ireland Leinster A 44
 
4 April 2014 – Memorial Stadium
 
England Leeds Carnegie 17
 
England Bristol 39
 
4 May 2014 – Memorial Stadium
 
England Rotherham Titans 24
 
England Bristol 25
 
4 April 2014 – Headingley Rugby Stadium
 
England Leeds Carnegie 30
 
England Leeds Carnegie 41
 
 
England Plymouth Albion 21
 
  1. Leinster won on number of tries scored.[14]

    2014–15 Competition

    The number of teams playing in the sixth competition is reduced from twenty-four to twenty with the withdrawal of the Scottish teams:

    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
     
     
    England Doncaster Knights 38
     
    14 March 2015 – Castle Park
     
    Ireland Munster A 17
     
    England Doncaster Knights 27
     
    23 January 2015 – Ashton Gate
     
    England Bristol 22
     
    England Bristol 41
     
    3 April 2015 – Castle Park
     
    England Yorkshire Carnegie 28
     
    England Doncaster Knights 5
     
    24 January 2015 – Sixways Stadium
     
    England Worcester Warriors 35
     
    England Worcester Warriors 24
     
    13 March 2015 – Sixways Stadium
     
    Wales Pontypridd 10
     
    England Worcester Warriors 15
     
    24 January 2015 – Clifton Lane
     
    Ireland Leinster A 13
     
    England Rotherham Titans 32
     
     
    Ireland Leinster A 51
     

    2015–16 Competition

    Remaining with 20 teams.

    • England – twelve clubs from RFU Championship
    • Ireland – four Irish provinces represented by 'A' teams
    • Wales – 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 – Goldington Road
     
     
    England Bedford Blues 15
     
    19 March – Old Deer Park
     
    Jersey Jersey 19
     
    England London Welsh 36
     
    12 March – Donnybrook
     
    England Cornish Pirates 15
     
    Ireland Leinster A 39
     
    10 April – Headingley Rugby Stadium
     
    England London Welsh 45
     
    England Yorkshire Carnegie 10
     
    13 March – Mennaye Field
     
    England London Welsh 33
     
    England Cornish Pirates 38
     
    20 March – Headingley Rugby Stadium
     
    England Doncaster Knights 19
     
    England Yorkshire Carnegie 33
     
    13 March – Headingley Rugby Stadium
     
    Jersey Jersey 32
     
    England Yorkshire Carnegie 50
     
     
    England 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. 1 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. "British Irish Cup - Cornish Pirates". Archived from the original on 18 October 2011. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
    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. 1 2 "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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