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Unions launch British & Irish Cup
6th May 2009 A
BRAND new 24-team British & Irish Cup will take place from next season. Twelve
teams from the English Championship, six from the Welsh Principality Premiership,
Irish provinces Munster, Leinster and Ulster and three Scottish sides will compete
for the inaugural trophy. The teams will be divided into four pools of six,
playing over five weekends during the Autumn international and RBS 6 Nations windows,
with semi-finals and finals on April 24 and May 15 respectively. Launching
the new competition today, Terry Burwell, the Rugby Football Union's Tournaments
and Competitions Director, said: "This is an exciting
new tournament that will provide quality cross-border competition and will be
a winner with players, coaches and fans alike. "There is a real
appetite for this competition and, from an English point of view, it will give
Championship clubs an additional meaningful competition alongside their league
structure." Welsh Rugby Union Head of Rugby Performance
and Development Joe Lydon said: "We are delighted to
be fully involved in this exciting new competition. "It will
engage all our teams in the type of cross-border sporting rivalry which will generate
support and help improve the standard of play in all the teams involved. "Here
in Wales we know the appetite for this level of competition exists and it will
deliver measurable benefits to the development and sustainability of the professional
and semi-professional sport here. "The names of the Welsh clubs
involved will be familiar to rugby followers from around the world as they formed
the tradition and history of the national sport of Wales. "We
have already received the backing in principle of our Premiership Division clubs
and we look forward to welcoming to Wales some of the best young players from
around the UK and Ireland." Scottish Rugby's National
Academy Manager Stephen Gemmell, added: "Scottish Rugby
welcomes the launch of the British & Irish Cup. This competition
will give some of our best players, including those from our top two clubs in
Premiership Division 1, an opportunity to test themselves in an intense environment
against quality, battle-hardened opposition from throughout the British Isles.
We all believe such a competition will serve as a real boost to our game." Irish
Rugby Football Union Director of Rugby Eddie Wigglesworth said: "From
an Irish perspective we welcome the introduction of the British & Irish Cup
which will provide a very competitive professional game structure to meet the
needs of our emerging contracted players. "The teams involved
are well known rugby entities in their own right and, in conjunction with our
existing internal structures, will ensure that this group of contracted professionals
have the necessary professional game exposure to meet the increasingly competitive
demands at Magners League and Heineken Cup levels. It also provides a unique cross
border game opportunity for Irish coaches and referees." Background 24
teams
12 English Championship clubs
Bedford, Birmingham & Solihull, Bristol Rugby, Cornish Pirates, Coventry,
Doncaster, Exeter Chiefs, London Welsh, Moseley, Nottingham, Plymouth Albion,
Rotherham Titans Top 6 Welsh Principality Premiership
clubs
Aberavon, Cardiff, Llanelli, Neath, Newport, Pontypridd 3
Irish provinces
Munster, Leinster and Ulster 3
Scottish teams
Top two finishers in Scottish Hydro Electric Premiership
Division 1 (champions Ayr and the runners-up, either Boroughmuir or Heriot's)
and a team drawn from Edinburgh and Glasgow and members of Scottish Rugby's National
Academy Pool Stages
4 pools of 6 playing once (5 matches) Pools based on travel/geography with
the aim of maximising local interest and minimising cost to teams and supporters 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 Pool matches scheduled for November
7 and 28, February 13, February 27, March 13
(all dates to be confirmed)
Ppool
winners progress to knockout stage Semi finals and final 4
pool winners progress to semi finals and final Semi finals scheduled for
April 24, final for May 15 | 
