2017–18 British and Irish Cup explained
| 2017–18 British and Irish Cup |
| Countries: |
 Ireland
|
| Tournament Format: | Round-robin and knockout |
| Date: | 13 October 2017 — April 2018 |
| Teams: | 20 |
| Matches: | 67 |
| Highest Attendance: | 7,428
Bristol v Doncaster Knights
(22 October 2017) |
| Lowest Attendance: | 50
Scarlets PS v Ulster A
(20 January 2018) |
| Top Point Scorer: | Brendan Cope (Jersey)
Luke Daniels (Ealing)
83 points each |
| Top Try Scorer: | James Cordy-Redden (Ealing)
Will Harries (Ealing)
7 tries each |
| Venue: | Trailfinders Sports Ground |
| Attendance2: | 1,386 |
| Champions: | Ealing Trailfinders |
| Count: | 1 |
| Runner-Up: | Leinster A |
| Website: | B&I Cup Website |
| Previous Year: | 2016–17 |
| Previous Tournament: | 2016–17 British and Irish Cup |
The 2017–18 British and Irish Cup is the ninth and final season of the annual rugby union competition for second tier, semi-professional clubs from Britain and Ireland. Munster A are the defending champions having won the 2016–17 final against Jersey Reds 29–28 at Irish Independent Park, Cork on 21 April 2017.[1] [2] The format of the competition is similar to last season with Scottish clubs not competing. For the third consecutive season the four Welsh teams are the reserve sides of the teams competing in the Pro14 competition instead of clubs from the Welsh Premier Division.
Competition format
The competition format is a pool stage followed by a knockout stage. The pool stage consists of five pools of four teams playing home and away matches. The top side in each pool, plus the three best runners-up, progress to the knockout stage. The eight quarter-finalists are ranked, with top four teams having home advantage. The four winning quarter-finalists progress to the semi-final draw. Most of the matches are played on the same weekends as the European Champions Cup and European Challenge Cup. First round matches begin on 13 October 2017 and the final will be held in April 2018.
Participating teams and locations
The allocation of teams is as follows:
- – twelve clubs from RFU Championship
- – four Irish provinces represented by 'A' teams
- – four Welsh regions represented by Premiership Select teams.
| Club | Country | League | Stadium | Capacity | Area |
|---|
| Bedford Blues | England | RFU Championship | Goldington Road | 6,000 | Bedford |
| Bristol | England | RFU Championship | Ashton Gate | 27,000 | Bristol |
| Cardiff Blues Premiership Select | Wales | N/A | Sardis Road | 7,861 | Pontypridd |
| Connacht Eagles | Ireland | Irish Interprovincial | Galway Sportsgrounds
Corinthian Park | 8,100
1,000 | Galway
Galway |
| Cornish Pirates | England | RFU Championship | Mennaye Field | 4,000 | Penzance |
| Doncaster Knights | England | RFU Championship | Castle Park | 5,000 | Doncaster |
| Dragons Premiership Select | Wales | N/A | CCB Centre
Bridge Field | 1,000
2,000 | Ystrad Mynach
Bedwas |
| Ealing Trailfinders | England | RFU Championship | Trailfinders Sports Ground | 3,020 | West Ealing, London |
| Hartpury College | England | RFU Championship | College Stadium | 2,000 | Hartpury |
| Jersey Reds | | RFU Championship | St. Peter | 4,000 | Saint Peter |
| Leinster A | Ireland | Irish Interprovincial | Donnybrook Stadium | 6,000 | Dublin |
| London Scottish | England | RFU Championship | Richmond Athletic Ground | 4,500 | Richmond, London |
| Munster A | Ireland | Irish Interprovincial | Irish Independent Park | 8,008 | Cork |
| Nottingham Rugby | England | RFU Championship | Lady Bay Sports Ground | 3,000 | Nottingham |
| Ospreys Premiership Select | Wales | N/A | St Helen's
The Gnoll
Talbot Athletic Ground | 4,500
5,000
3,000 | Swansea
Neath
Port Talbot |
| Richmond | England | RFU Championship | Richmond Athletic Ground | 4,500 | Richmond, London |
| Rotherham Titans | England | RFU Championship | Clifton Lane | 2,500 | Rotherham |
| Scarlets Premiership Select | Wales | N/A | Parc y Scarlets
Talbot Athletic Ground
Church Bank Playing Fields | 14,870
3,000
3,000 | Llanelli
Aberavon
Llandovery |
| Ulster A | Ireland | Irish Interprovincial | Rifle Park
Eaton Park
Shaw's Bridge | 1,000
1,000
1,300 | Banbridge
Ballymena
Belfast |
| Yorkshire Carnegie | England | RFU Championship | Stacks Field
Laund Hill
Silver Royd | 2,000
2,000
1,950 | Ilkley
Huddersfield
Scalby | |
Pool stages
Key to colours| | Winner of each pool, advance to quarter-finals. |
| | Three highest-scoring second-place teams advance to quarter-finals. |
|
(Q) denotes the team has qualified for the quarter-finals as the pool winners
(q) denotes team has at least qualified for the quarter-finals as one of the three highest-scoring second-place teams
Pool 1
Round 1
[3] ----
Round 2
[4] ----
Round 3
- Game postponed due to bad weather (snow). Game to be rescheduled for 9 March 2018.[5]
[6] ----
Round 4
[7] ----
Round 5
[8] ----
Round 6
[9] ----
Round 3 (rescheduled game)
- Game rescheduled from 10 December 2017.
[10]
Pool 2
Round 1
[3] ----
Round 2
[4] ----
Round 3
[6] ----
Round 4
[7] ----
Round 5
[8] ----
Round 6
[9] ----
Pool 3
Round 1
[3] ----
Round 2
[4] ----
Round 3
[6] ----
Round 4
[7] ----
Round 5
[8] ----
Round 6
[9] ----
Pool 4
Round 1
[3] ----
Round 2
[4] ----
Round 3
[6] ----
Round 4
[7] ----
Round 5
[8] ----
Round 6
[9] ----
Pool 5
Round 1
[3] ----
Round 2
[4] ----
Round 3
[6] ----
Round 4
----
Round 5
[8] ----
Round 6
- Game postponed due to unplayable pitch caused by bad weather (rain). Game to be rescheduled for 3 February 2018.[11]
[9] ----
Round 6 (rescheduled game)
- Game rescheduled from 20 January 2018.
[12]
Knock-out stage
The eight qualifiers are seeded according to performance in the pool stage. The four top seeds hosted the quarter-finals against the lower seeds, in a 1 v 8, 2 v 7, 3 v 6 and 4 v 5 format. However, if two teams qualify from the same group they can not be drawn together. Therefore, Leinster A cannot be drawn against Doncaster Knights.Teams are ranked by:
1 – competition points (4 for a win, 2 for a draw)
2 – where competition points are equal, greatest number of wins
3 – where the number of wins are equal, aggregate points difference
4 – where the aggregate points difference are equal, greatest number of points scored
| Seed | Pool winners | Pts | Wins | Pts diff |
|---|
| 1 | Ealing Trailfinders (Q) | 30 | 6 | 253 |
| 2 | Jersey Reds (Q) | 26 | 5 | 130 |
| 3 | Leinster A (Q) | 26 | 5 | 94 |
| 4 | | 24 | 5 | 63 |
| 5 | | 23 | 5 | 32 |
| Seed | Pool Runners–up | Pts | Wins | Pts diff |
|---|
| 6 | | 22 | 4 | 64 |
| 7 | | 21 | 4 | 74 |
| 8 | | 19 | 4 | 76 |
| 9 | | 19 | 4 | 3 |
| 10 | | 13 | -31 | −58 | |
Quarter-finals
[13] ----
Semi-finals
[14] ----
Final
[15]
Attendances
| Club | Home
matches | Total | Average | Highest | Lowest | % Capacity |
|---|
| Bedford Blues | 4 | 8,801 | 2,200 | 2,360 | 1,912 | 37% |
| Bristol | 3 | 19,832 | 6,611 | 7,428 | 6,150 | 24% |
| Cardiff Blues Premiership Select | 3 | 2,638 | 879 | 2,225 | 200 | 11% |
| Connacht Eagles | 3 | 1,201 | 400 | 601 | 250 | 23% |
| Cornish Pirates | 2 | 1,990 | 995 | 1,074 | 916 | 25% |
| Doncaster Knights | 3 | 3,027 | 1,009 | 1,173 | 875 | 20% |
| Dragons Premiership Select | 3 | 823 | 274 | 500 | 110 | 19% |
| Ealing Trailfinders | 6 | 4,851 | 809 | 1,386 | 407 | 27% |
| Hartpury College | 4 | 2,118 | 530 | 736 | 275 | 26% |
| Jersey Reds | 5 | 6,630 | 1,326 | 1,837 | 712 | 33% |
| Leinster A | 4 | 5,250 | 1,313 | 1,659 | 786 | 22% |
| London Scottish | 3 | 2,455 | 818 | 879 | 768 | 18% |
| Munster A | 3 | 741 | 247 | 341 | 200 | 3% |
| Nottingham | 3 | 2,764 | 921 | 1,091 | 750 | 31% |
| Ospreys Premiership Select | 3 | 1,495 | 498 | 584 | 364 | 13% |
| Richmond | 3 | 1,626 | 542 | 623 | 420 | 12% |
| Rotherham Titans | 3 | 933 | 311 | 417 | 227 | 12% |
| Scarlets Premiership Select | 3 | 450 | 150 | 300 | 50 | 4% |
| Ulster A | 3 | 1,831 | 610 | 781 | 450 | 55% |
| Yorkshire Carnegie | 3 | 1,371 | 457 | 650 | 200 | 23% |
|
[3] [4] [6] [7] [8] [9] [12] [10] [13] [14] Individual statistics
- Points scorers includes tries as well as conversions, penalties and drop goals. Appearance figures also include coming on as substitutes (unused substitutes not included).
Top points scorers
| Rank | Player | Team | Appearances | Points |
|---|
| 1 | | | 8 | 83 |
| | 8 | 83 |
| 2 | | | 7 | 48 |
| 3 | | | 6 | 46 |
| 4 | | | 6 | 45 |
| 5 | | | 8 | 43 |
| 6 | | | 5 | 42 |
| 7 | | | 4 | 39 |
| 8 | | | 5 | 35 |
| | 6 | 35 |
|
[3] [4] [6] [7] [8] [9] [12] [13] [14] [15] Top try scorers
| Rank | Player | Team | Appearances | Tries |
|---|
| 1 | | | 5 | 7 |
| | 7 | 7 |
| 2 | | | 5 | 6 |
| | 6 | 6 |
| | 7 | 6 |
| | 7 | 6 |
| | 8 | 6 |
| 3 | | | 2 | 5 |
| | 7 | 5 |
| | 8 | 5 |
|
[3] [4] [6] [7] [8] [9] [12] [13] [14] [15] Season records
Team
- Largest home win — 68 points: 68-0 Bristol at home to Cardiff Blues Premiership Select on 19 January 2018
- Largest away win — 57 points: 71-14 Ealing Trailfinders away to Connacht Eagles on 22 October 2017
- Most points scored — 78 points: 78-12 Ealing Trailfinders at home to Connacht Eagles on 13 January 2018
- Most tries in a match — 12: Ealing Trailfinders at home to Connacht Eagles on 13 January 2018
- Most conversions in a match — 9 (3):
- Doncaster Knights at home to Cardiff Blues Premiership Select on 9 December 2017
- Ealing Trailfinders at home to Connacht Eagles on 13 January 2018
- Bristol at home to Cardiff Blues Premiership Select on 19 January 2018
- Most penalties in a match — 4 (4):
- Nottingham away to Ospreys Premiership Select on 16 December 2017
- Ospreys Premiership Select at home to Bedford Blues on 12 January 2018
- Rotherham Titans at home to Richmond on 13 January 2018
- Jersey Reds away to Yorkshire Carnegie on 20 January 2018
- Most drop goals in a match — 0
[3] [4] [6] [7] [8] [9] [13] [14] [15]
Player
- Most points in a match — 20 (2):
- Adam McBurney for Ulster A at home to Hartpury College on 16 December 2017
- Brendan Cope for Jersey Reds away to London Scottish on 16 December 2017
- Most tries in a match — 4: Adam McBurney for Ulster A at home to Hartpury College on 16 December 2017
- Most conversions in a match — 9 (2):
- Simon Humberstone for Doncaster Knights at home to Cardiff Blues Premiership Select on 9 December 2017
- Luke Daniels for Ealing Trailfinders at home to Connacht Eagles on 13 January 2018
- Most penalties in a match — 4 (3):
- Tiff Eden for Nottingham away to Ospreys Premiership Select on 16 December 2017
- Luke Price for Ospreys Premiership Select at home to Bedford Blues on 12 January 2018
- Lee Millar for Rotherham Titans at home to Richmond on 13 January 2018
- Brendan Cope for Jersey Reds away to Yorkshire Carnegie on 20 January 2018
- Most drop goals in a match — 0
[3] [4] [6] [7] [8] [9] [13] [14] [15]
Attendances
- Highest — 7,428: Bristol at home to Doncaster Knights on 22 October 2017
- Lowest — 50: Scarlets Premiership Select at home to Ulster A on 20 January 2018
- Highest Average Attendance — 6,611: Bristol
- Lowest Average Attendance — 150: Scarlets Premiership Select
[3] [4] [6] [7] [8] [9] [13] [14] [15]
External links
Notes and References
- News: British & Irish Cup. The RUGBYPaper. 449. Rugby Paper Ltd. 23 April 2017. 16 & 40.
- Web site: B&I CUP FINAL: MUNSTER A DEFEAT JERSEY REDS 29-28 . England Rugby . 21 April 2017.
- News: British & Irish Cup. The RUGBYPaper. 474. Rugby Paper Ltd. 14 October 2017. 28–29 & 40.
- News: British & Irish Cup. The RUGBYPaper. 475. Rugby Paper Ltd. 22 October 2017. 26–27 & 38.
- Web site: Ospreys Game Postponed. Nottingham Rugby. 10 December 2017. 10 December 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171211104954/http://www.nottinghamrugby.co.uk/ospreys-game-postponed/. 11 December 2017. dead.
- News: British & Irish Cup. The RUGBYPaper. 482. Rugby Paper Ltd. 10 December 2017. 26–27 & 38.
- News: British & Irish Cup. The RUGBYPaper. 483. Rugby Paper Ltd. 17 December 2017. 26–27 & 38.
- News: British & Irish Cup. The RUGBYPaper. 487. Rugby Paper Ltd. 14 January 2018. 26–27 & 38.
- News: British & Irish Cup. The RUGBYPaper. 488. Rugby Paper Ltd. 21 January 2018. 26–27 & 38.
- News: British & Irish Cup. The RUGBYPaper. 495. Rugby Paper Ltd. 11 March 2018. 28 & 38.
- Web site: Cornish Pirates vs Hartpury RFC POSTPONED!. Cornish Pirates. 20 January 2018.
- News: British & Irish Cup. The RUGBYPaper. 490. Rugby Paper Ltd. 4 February 2018. 30 & 38.
- News: British & Irish Cup. The RUGBYPaper. 498. Rugby Paper Ltd. 1 April 2018. 18–19 & 32.
- News: British & Irish Cup. The RUGBYPaper. 501. Rugby Paper Ltd. 22 April 2018. 18 & 34.
- News: British & Irish Cup. The RUGBYPaper. 504. Rugby Paper Ltd. 13 May 2018. 24 & 30.
