2009–10 British and Irish Cup
The 2009–10 British and Irish Cup was the first season of the annual rugby union competition for second tier, semi-professional clubs from Britain and Ireland. First round matches began on Friday 20 November 2009 and the final was held on Sunday 16 May 2010.
2009–10 British and Irish Cup | |
---|---|
Tournament details | |
Countries | England Ireland Scotland Wales |
Tournament format(s) | Round-robin and knockout |
Date | November 2009 – May 2010 |
Tournament statistics | |
Teams | 24 |
Matches played | 63 |
Attendance | 103,545 (1,644 per match) |
Tries scored | 321 (5.1 per match) |
Final | |
Venue | Recreation Ground, Camborne |
Attendance | 4,240 |
Champions | Cornish Pirates (1st title) |
Runners-up | Munster A |
The first competition was heavily criticised, with one reporter describing it as 'dismal'.[1]
A total of 24 teams from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales competed in the inaugural competition. Cornish Pirates lifted the cup, defeating Munster A 23–14 in the final.
Teams
The allocation of teams was as follows:
- – 12 teams from the RFU Championship
- – 3 Irish provinces represented by 'A' teams
- – 3 Scottish sides, 2 top clubs from the Scottish Premiership and Gael Force, a side made up of a combination of National Academy players
- – 6 top clubs from the Principality Premiership
England | Ireland | Scotland | Wales |
---|---|---|---|
Competition format
The teams were divided into four pools of six, playing over five weekends during the Autumn International and Six Nations windows. The four pool winners contested a knock-out stage, with semi-finals on 24 and 25 April and the final on 16 May.[2][3]
Pool stages
Pool A
Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TB | LB | Pts | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cornish Pirates | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 112 | 66 | 46 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 19 | ||
Leinster A | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 89 | 65 | 24 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 18 | ||
Newport | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 81 | 54 | 27 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 16 | ||
Exeter Chiefs | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 82 | 82 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 10 | ||
Plymouth Albion | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 55 | 58 | -3 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 8 | ||
Gael Force | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 35 | 129 | -94 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
Points breakdown: *4 points for a win *2 points for a draw *1 bonus point for a loss by seven points or less *1 bonus point for scoring four or more tries in a match |
22 November 2009 14:00 |
Cornish Pirates | 29 – 8 | Gael Force |
Stats |
Camborne Recreation Ground Attendance: 2,370 |
13 February 2010 15:00 |
Plymouth Albion | 9 – 13 | Cornish Pirates |
Stats |
Brickfields Stadium Attendance: 2,413 |
Pool B
Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TB | LB | Pts | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Munster A | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 111 | 41 | 70 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 22 | ||
Bristol | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 122 | 74 | 48 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 18 | ||
Nottingham | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 81 | 59 | 22 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 14 | ||
Neath | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 93 | 98 | -5 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 11 | ||
Coventry | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 126 | 144 | -18 | 20 | 2 | 2 | 8 | ||
Heriot's FP | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 54 | 171 | -117 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
Points breakdown: *4 points for a win *2 points for a draw *1 bonus point for a loss by seven points or less *1 bonus point for scoring four or more tries in a match |
Pool C
Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TB | LB | Pts | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ulster Ravens | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 165 | 62 | 103 | 22 | 3 | 0 | 21 | ||
London Welsh | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 137 | 78 | 59 | 18 | 3 | 1 | 20 | ||
Bedford Blues | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 92 | 94 | -2 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 13 | ||
Aberavon | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 51 | 131 | -80 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 9 | ||
Llanelli | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 106 | 117 | -11 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
Moseley | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 69 | 138 | -69 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
Points breakdown: *4 points for a win *2 points for a draw *1 bonus point for a loss by seven points or less *1 bonus point for scoring four or more tries in a match |
Pool D
Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TB | LB | Pts | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Doncaster | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 163 | 58 | 105 | 22 | 5 | 0 | 25 | ||
Cardiff | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 147 | 124 | 23 | 20 | 3 | 0 | 19 | ||
Rotherham | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 147 | 127 | 20 | 19 | 3 | 1 | 12 | ||
Ayr | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 132 | 111 | 21 | 14 | 1 | 2 | 11 | ||
Pontypridd | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 99 | 124 | -25 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 10 | ||
Birmingham & Solihull | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 76 | 220 | -144 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
Points breakdown: *4 points for a win *2 points for a draw *1 bonus point for a loss by seven points or less *1 bonus point for scoring four or more tries in a match |
Knock-out stages
Qualifiers
The four pool winners proceeded to the knock out stages.
Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TB | LB | Pts | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pool D Winner | Doncaster | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 163 | 58 | 105 | 22 | 5 | 0 | 25 |
Pool B Winner | Munster A | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 111 | 41 | 70 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 22 |
Pool C Winner | Ulster Ravens | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 165 | 62 | 103 | 22 | 3 | 0 | 21 |
Pool A Winner | Cornish Pirates | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 112 | 66 | 46 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 19 |
Semi-finals | Final | |||||
25 April 2010 - Camborne | ||||||
Cornish Pirates | 43 | |||||
16 May 2010 - Camborne | ||||||
Doncaster | 5 | |||||
Cornish Pirates | 23 | |||||
24 April 2010 - Thomond Park | ||||||
Munster A | 14 | |||||
Munster A | 27 | |||||
Ulster Ravens | 3 | |||||
Semi-finals
24 April 2010 15:30 |
Munster A | 27 – 3 | Ulster Ravens |
Try: J Manning (2), D Williams, S Archer Con: D Cusack (2/4) Pen: D Cusack (1) | Report Stats | Pen: J McKinney (1) |
Thomond Park, Limerick Attendance: 24,112 |
25 April 2010 15:00 |
Cornish Pirates | 43 – 5 | Doncaster |
Try: Davies, Bentley, Morgan, Cattle, Jackson, McGlone Con: Bently (5/6) Pen: Bently | Report | Try: Armitage |
Recreation Ground, Camborne Attendance: 2,327 Referee: Llyr Ap Geraint Roberts |
Final
16 May 2010 18:00 |
Cornish Pirates | 23 – 14 | Munster A |
Try: Winn, McAtee Con: Bentley (2/2) Pen: Bentley (3) | Report Stats | Try: Barnes Pen: Cusack (3) |
Recreation Ground, Camborne Attendance: 4,240 Referee: Leighton Hodges |
Geography
References
- Brian Dick (25 February 2010). "Taxing times for clubs struggling in rugby's Championship". Birmingham Post. Archived from the original on 3 November 2010. Retrieved 3 March 2010.
- "New British & Irish Cup announced". RTÉ Sport. 6 May 2009. Archived from the original on 9 May 2009. Retrieved 7 May 2009.
- "Home unions devise British & Irish Cup". The Daily Telegraph. 6 May 2009. Retrieved 7 May 2009.