Cornish Pirates

British & Irish Cup – Round 3

By High Tackle
February 1oth 2010

After it’s winter break the British & Irish Cup returns to the fixture schedules this weekend with a full programme of Round 3 fixtures occupying Friday evening right through to Sunday afternoon.

Already the armchair critics of this new competition are voicing their opinions on a variety of internet message forums denouncing the whole event as a waste of time. This small but noisy minority also appear to dislike the new Championship format in the league but rather than offer constructive criticism and fresh ideas they just prefer to wallow in their pit of negativity and moan.

The RFU has a lot to answer for in its management of club rugby in England and whilst the format of this season is far from perfect it does have some purpose. The play-offs in the Championship will produce some pulsating rugby and incredible tension for sure, whilst the British & Irish Cup is so much better than the old National Trophy.

A proper English cup competition where Premiership clubs once again pit themselves against the rest would be the ultimate solution and as Level 2 gets stronger by the season the chances of upsets in one-off cup ties is stronger than ever. But can you see this being allowed to happen? I thought not.

Some cynics in the media have argued that this is a tournament set up to keep the Welsh and the Irish happy. Others have suggested that the Irish provinces in particular have to date fielded nothing more than academy grade teams. At the back end of November when the Cornish Pirates so nearly toppled Leinster in Dublin they certainly were not facing a scratch team. There was plenty of international and Heineken cup experience amongst the Irishmen that night and they were made to work hard for their win. You could hardly accuse Ulster of fielding kids either in their victories over strong Bedford and Moseley outfits.

So where does that leave us now? Well for my money breaking this British & Irish Cup into phases in November and February/March does nothing for the continuity at the pool stages. Perhaps it would have been better to play all these games in November with the semi-finals and final at the tail end of the domestic season because even the conclusion of this competition is a mess. The semi-finals will take place between Rounds 5 and 6 of the Championship play-offs with the final just four days before the first leg of the Championship final.

Right now the teams in the mix to become the four semi-finalists are Leinster, Cornish Pirates, Munster, Nottingham, London Welsh, Ulster, Cardiff and Doncaster Knights. You will notice that I didn`t mention Exeter Chiefs and Bristol, both of whom currently sit fourth in their groups with identical records of played one and won one. Shall we just say that their priorities apparently lie elsewhere.

The big games in Pool A this weekend are rightly in the south west with the Cornish Pirates at Brickfields to play Plymouth Albion, whilst Exeter Chiefs play host to Leinster. If the Pirates beat Albion, which they should do, and Exeter roll over Leinster then the group is once again wide open with the Pirates needing to win their remaining games, which are both at home against Exeter and Newport, to qualify. The Chiefs are probably unlikely to risk their best XV when they come to Camborne at the end of the month with the play-offs so close in the league making a home win likely. It all hinges on this Saturday.

In Pool B the top two go head to head at Waterford on Friday night as Munster take on Nottingham. Glenn Delaney’s Green and Whites narrowly won their opening two pool games against Heriot`s and Neath whilst Munster claimed the scalps of Coventry and Bristol. An expected win for the Munstermen should all but seal their place in the last four.

Ulster should beat Llanelli at Parc y Scarlets in Pool C. The Welsh side are currently sixth in the Welsh Premiership whilst Ulster occupy a mid-table berth in the Magners League. However in this competition they are joint top of their group with London Welsh who are at home to Bedford Blues on Saturday. If the Welsh win that their trip to play Ulster at the end of the month could well prove decisive. But don`t write off Bedford just yet – the Blues have won eight of their last ten league visits to Old Deer Park.

Pool D currently favours Cardiff, fourth in the Welsh Premiership, who travel to Castle Park on Sunday to meet a Doncaster Knights side playing their third match of the week. The Knights still have work to do in the Championship to avoid the relegation battle but have only played one cup match to date and they could feasibly find themselves distracted. If Cardiff emerge with a win the group should belong to them. Rotherham Titans are still in with an outside shout but as their domestic season crumbles Pontypridd could prove a tough test at Clifton Lane.

Who said the British & Irish Cup was dull?

*The views expressed by High Tackle are very much his own.