2017–18 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. 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.

Pool stages

(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

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Round 2

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Round 3

*Game postponed due to bad weather (snow). Game to be rescheduled for 9 March 2018.

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Round 4

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Round 5

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Round 6

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Round 3 (rescheduled game)

*Game rescheduled from 10 December 2017.

Pool 2

Round 1

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Round 2

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Round 3

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Round 4

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Round 5

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Round 6

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Pool 3

Round 1

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Round 2

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Round 3

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Round 4

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Round 5

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Round 6

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Pool 4

Round 1

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Round 2

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Round 3

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Round 4

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Round 5

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Round 6

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Pool 5

Round 1

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Round 2

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Round 3

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Round 4

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Round 5

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Round 6

*Game postponed due to unplayable pitch caused by bad weather (rain). Game to be rescheduled for 3 February 2018.

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Round 6 (rescheduled game)

*Game rescheduled from 20 January 2018.

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

Quarter-finals

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Semi-finals

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Final

Attendances

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

Top try scorers

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

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

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

Notes

References

External links

England Rugby

{{DEFAULTSORT:British and Irish Cup
British and Irish Cup
2017–18 rugby union tournaments for clubs
2017–18 in English rugby union
2017–18 in Irish rugby union
2017–18 in Welsh rugby union
2017–18 RFU Championship