Draw announced for expanded British & Irish Cup

Some 32 teams will compete in an expanded British & Irish Cup in the fourth year of the cross-border competition.

Title holders Munster ‘A’ have been drawn in Pool 7 alongside Aberavon, Plymouth Albion and Rotherham Titans, while last year’s runners-up Cross Keys are in Pool 4 with local rivals Newport plus Connacht and Championship newcomers Newcastle Falcons.

The teams, from the four home nations, are drawn in eight pools of four, with only the pool winners qualifying for the knockout stages.

In addition to 12 teams being added to the competition, another format switch sees clubs now face each other home and away in the pool stages.

The participating teams comprise the 12 teams from the RFU Championship; the development teams from the four Irish provinces; the top four teams from Scotland’s RBS Premier Division 1 last season; and the 12 teams from Wales’ Principality Premiership.

Joining the competition for their debut season are Bridgend Ravens, Bedwas, Stirling County, Carmarthen Quins, Dundee HSFP, Newcastle Falcons, Jersey, and Gala.

The competition will now take place over nine rounds and will align with ERC weekends. Competition Manager Chris Burns said: “These changes reflect the commitment of all the Unions and clubs to help grow the profile of the B&I Cup within the rugby calendar.”

The pool games will take place as follows:

• Round 1: 12-14 October
• Round 2: 19-21 October
• Round 3: 7-9 December
• Round 4: 14-16 December
• Round 5: 11-13 January
• Round 6: 19 January

The quarter-finals will be played the weekend of 5-7 April; the semi-finals 26-28 April; and the final Friday 17 May (TBC).

2012-13 British & Irish Cup - Pools:

Pool 1 – Bristol Rugby, Bridgend Ravens, Cardiff and Ulster

• Round 1: Cardiff v Bristol Rugby and Ulster v Bridgend Ravens
• Round 2: Bridgend Ravens v Cardiff and Bristol Rugby v Ulster
• Round 3: Bridgend Ravens v Bristol Rugby and Ulster v Cardiff
• Round 4: Bristol Rugby v Bridgend Ravens and Cardiff v Ulster
• Round 5: Cardiff v Bridgend Ravens and Ulster v Bristol Rugby
• Round 6: Bridgend Ravens v Ulster and Bristol Rugby v Cardiff

Pool 2 – Bedford Blues, Bedwas, Neath and Stirling County

• Round 1: Bedwas v Bedford Blues and Stirling County v Neath
• Round 2: Bedford Blues v Stirling County and Neath v Bedwas
• Round 3: Neath v Bedford Blues and Stirling County v Bedwas
• Round 4 Bedford Blues v Neath and Bedwas v Stirling County
• Round 5: Bedwas v Neath and Stirling County v Bedford Blues
• Round 6: Bedford Blues v Bedwas and Neath v Stirling County

Pool 3 – Carmarthen Quins, Dundee HSFP, Cornish Pirates and Swansea 

• Round 1: Cornish Pirates v Carmarthen Quins and Swansea v Dundee HSFP
• Round 2: Carmarthen Quins v Swansea and Dundee HSFP v Cornish Pirates
• Round 3: Carmarthen Quins v Dundee HSFP and Cornish Pirates v Swansea
• Round 4: Dundee HSFP v Carmarthen Quins and Swansea v Cornish Pirates
• Round 5: Cornish Pirates v Dundee HSFP and Swansea v Carmarthen Quins
• Round 6: Carmarthen Quins v Cornish Pirates and Dundee HSFP v Swansea 

Pool 4 – Connacht, Cross Keys, Newcastle Falcons and Newport

• Round 1:  Newcastle Falcons v Cross Keys and Newport v Connacht
• Round 2: Connacht v Newcastle Falcons and Cross Keys v Newport 
• Round 3: Cross Keys v Connacht and Newcastle Falcons v Newport
• Round 4: Connacht v Cross Keys and Newport v Newcastle Falcons
• Round 5: Newcastle Falcons v Connacht and Newport v Cross Keys
• Round 6: Connacht v Newport and Cross Keys v Newcastle Falcons

Pool 5 – Jersey, Leeds Carnegie, Leinster and Pontypridd

• Round 1: Jersey v Pontypridd and Leinster v Leeds Carnegie
• Round 2: Leeds Carnegie v Jersey and Pontypridd v Leinster
• Round 3: Leeds Carnegie v Pontypridd and Leinster v Jersey
• Round 4: Jersey v Leinster and Pontypridd v Leeds Carnegie
• Round 5: Jersey v Leeds Carnegie and Leinster v Pontypridd
• Round 6: Leeds Carnegie v Leinster and Pontypridd v Jersey

Pool 6 – Gala, Llanelli, London Scottish and Moseley

• Round 1: Gala v London Scottish and Moseley v Llanelli 
• Round 2: Llanelli v Gala and London Scottish v Moseley
• Round 3: Gala v Moseley and London Scottish v Llanelli
• Round 4: Llanelli v London Scottish and Moseley v Gala
• Round 5: Gala v Llanelli and Moseley v London Scottish
• Round 6: Llanelli v Moseley and London Scottish v Gala

Pool 7 – Aberavon, Munster, Plymouth Albion and Rotherham Titans

• Round 1: Aberavon v Rotherham Titans and Plymouth Albion v Munster
• Round 2: Munster v Aberavon and Rotherham Titans v Plymouth Albion
• Round 3: Aberavon v Plymouth Albion and Rotherham Titans v Munster
• Round 4: Munster v Rotherham Titans and Plymouth Albion v Aberavon
• Round 5: Aberavon v Munster and Plymouth Albion v Rotherham Titans
• Round 6: Munster v Plymouth Albion and Rotherham Titans v Aberavon

Pool 8 – Doncaster Knights, Llandovery, Melrose and Nottingham Rugby

• Round 1: Doncaster Knights v Melrose and Llandovery v Nottingham Rugby
• Round 2: Melrose v Llandovery and Nottingham Rugby v Doncaster Knights
• Round 3: Llandovery v Doncaster Knights and Nottingham Rugby v Melrose
• Round 4: Doncaster Knights v Llandovery and Melrose v Nottingham
• Round 5: Doncaster Knights v Nottingham and Llandovery v Melrose
• Round 6: Melrose v Doncaster Knights and Nottingham v Llandovery  

This will be the fourth year of the competition with Cornish Pirates, Bristol Rugby and Munster previous winners.