2009-10 British and Irish Cup
Encyclopedia
The British and Irish Cup is a semi-professional
Semi-professional
A semi-professional athlete is one who is paid to play and thus is not an amateur, but for whom sport is not a full-time occupation, generally because the level of pay is too low to make a reasonable living based solely upon that source, thus making the athlete not a full professional...

 northern hemisphere rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

 competition. A total of 24 teams from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales competed in the inaugural competition in season 2009-10. The first competition was heavily criticised, with one reporter describing it as 'dismal'.

Teams

The default allocation of teams is as follows:
- 12 teams from RFU Championship
RFU Championship
The RFU Championship replaced National Division One as the second tier in the English rugby union system in September 2009. Unlike National Division One, which is semi-professional, the RFU Championship is a fully professional league.-History:...

  - 3 Irish provinces represented by 'A' teams. - 3 Scottish sides, 2 top clubs from the Scottish Premiership and Gael Force
Gael Force
Gael Force is a rugby team formed by the Scottish Rugby Union to play in the newly formed British and Irish Cup. The team is formed from the ranks of Magners League sides Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh Rugby and from players in the Scottish Rugby academy....

, a side made up of a combination of National Academy players). - 6 top clubs from the Principality Premiership.
  England Ireland   Wales   Scotland
  • Bedford Blues
    Bedford Blues
    Bedford Blues is a rugby union club in the town of Bedford, England, currently playing in The RFU Championship. Bedford is one of the largest towns in England without a league football club, and one of the few towns in England where the rugby club is better supported than the football team. The...

  • Birmingham & Solihull
    Birmingham & Solihull R.F.C.
    Birmingham and Solihull Rugby Football Club are a rugby union club representing Birmingham and Solihull. It was formed in 1989 by a merger of the original Birmingham and Solihull rugby clubs, which were both established over 60 years ago....

  • Bristol
    Bristol Rugby
    Bristol Rugby is a rugby union club based in Bristol, England. The club currently plays in the RFU Championship and competes in the British and Irish Cup. They rely in large part on the many junior rugby clubs in the region, particularly those from 'the Combination'...

  • Cornish Pirates
    Cornish Pirates
    The Cornish Pirates are an English professional rugby union team who play in the Championship, the second level of the English rugby union pyramid, and are the premier Cornish rugby club. Formerly known as Penzance & Newlyn Pirates, the Cornish Pirates play their home games and train at their...

  • Coventry
    Coventry R.F.C.
    Coventry Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club based in the city of Coventry, England. The club enjoyed national success during the 1960s and the 1970s, with many of its players playing for their countries....

  • Doncaster Knights
    Doncaster R.F.C.
    Doncaster Rugby Football Club are a rugby union club representing the town of Doncaster. The first XV are known as the Doncaster Knights, and play in the RFU Championship...

  • Exeter Chiefs
    Exeter Chiefs
    Exeter Rugby Club are a rugby union club based in Exeter, Devon.The Exeter club was formed around 1871 and played its first match in 1873. The first team has been rebranded as the Exeter Chiefs and play in a strip of Black , White ....

  • London Welsh
  • Moseley
    Moseley Rugby Football Club
    Moseley Rugby Football Club is an English rugby union club, based at Billesley Common in Birmingham, that competes in the RFU Championship. The club was historically the premier rugby club in Birmingham, reaching the final of the John Player Cup three times in the late 1970s and early 1980s...

  • Nottingham
    Nottingham R.F.C.
    Nottingham Rugby Football Club are a rugby union club based in Nottingham, England. The club's first team currently play in the Championship, the second tier of English Rugby....

  • Plymouth Albion
    Plymouth Albion R.F.C.
    Plymouth Albion Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club who play in Plymouth, England. The club was founded around 1915 from a merger between Plymouth RFC and Devonport Albion RFC...

  • Rotherham Titans
    Rotherham R.U.F.C.
    Rotherham Rugby Union Football Club, or Rotherham Titans are a professional rugby union team from Rotherham, Yorkshire, currently playing in the English RFU Championship-History:...

  • Leinster A
    Leinster Rugby
    Leinster Rugby, usually referred to simply as Leinster, is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Dublin, representing the Irish province of Leinster, that competes in the RaboDirect Pro 12 and also competes in the Heineken Cup...

  • Munster A
    Munster Rugby
    Munster Rugby is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Munster, that competes in the RaboDirect Pro12 and Heineken Cup.The team represents the Irish Rugby Football Union Munster Branch which is one of four primary branches of the IRFU, and is responsible for rugby union in the Irish...

  • Ulster Ravens
    Ulster Rugby
    Ulster Rugby, usually referred to simply as Ulster, is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Belfast, representing the Irish province of Ulster, that competes in the RaboDirect Pro12 and also competes in the Heineken Cup...

  • Aberavon
    Aberavon RFC
    Aberavon RFC is a rugby union club located in the Welsh town of Port Talbot, although the club's name refers to the older settlement of Aberavon which lies on the western side of the town...

  • Cardiff
    Cardiff RFC
    Cardiff Rugby Football Club is a rugby union football club based in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The club was founded in 1876 and played their first few matches at Sophia Gardens, but soon relocated to Cardiff Arms Park where they have been based ever since...

  • Llanelli
    Llanelli RFC
    Llanelli Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club founded in 1875 and its senior team is one of the leading club sides in Wales. The club began the 2008-09 season at their historic home ground of Stradey Park in Llanelli, but moved in November 2008 to the new Parc y Scarlets in adjacent...

  • Neath
    Neath RFC
    Neath Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club which plays in the Welsh Premier Division. The club's home ground is The Gnoll, Neath. The first team is known as the Welsh All Blacks because of the team colours: black with only a white cross pattée as an emblem...

  • Newport
  • Pontypridd
    Pontypridd RFC
    Pontypridd Rugby Football Club, known as Ponty, are a rugby union team from Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, currently playing in the British and Irish Cup, Principality Premiership, and are the current SWALEC Cup champions....

  • Ayr
  • Heriot's Rugby Club
  • Gael Force
    Gael Force
    Gael Force is a rugby team formed by the Scottish Rugby Union to play in the newly formed British and Irish Cup. The team is formed from the ranks of Magners League sides Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh Rugby and from players in the Scottish Rugby academy....



  • The teams will be divided into four pools of six, playing over five weekends during the Autumn International
    End of year rugby tests
    The End of year rugby tests, known as Autumn internationals in the Northern Hemisphere or Guinness Autumn Series in the Republic of Ireland, are a series of rugby union matches contested approximately each November...

     and Six Nations
    Six Nations Championship
    The Six Nations Championship is an annual international rugby union competition involving six European sides: England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales....

     windows, with semi-finals and finals on 24 April and 15 May respectively.

    Pool A

    Team P W D L TF PF PA BP LB +/- Pts
      Cornish Pirates
    Cornish Pirates
    The Cornish Pirates are an English professional rugby union team who play in the Championship, the second level of the English rugby union pyramid, and are the premier Cornish rugby club. Formerly known as Penzance & Newlyn Pirates, the Cornish Pirates play their home games and train at their...

    5 4 0 1 13 115 63 2 1
    52
    19
    Leinster A
    Leinster Rugby
    Leinster Rugby, usually referred to simply as Leinster, is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Dublin, representing the Irish province of Leinster, that competes in the RaboDirect Pro 12 and also competes in the Heineken Cup...

    5 4 0 1 9 89 65 1 1
    24
    18
      Newport 5 3 1 1 10 81 54 1 1
    27
    16
      Exeter Chiefs
    Exeter Chiefs
    Exeter Rugby Club are a rugby union club based in Exeter, Devon.The Exeter club was formed around 1871 and played its first match in 1873. The first team has been rebranded as the Exeter Chiefs and play in a strip of Black , White ....

    5 2 0 3 11 79 85 1 1
    10
      Plymouth Albion
    Plymouth Albion R.F.C.
    Plymouth Albion Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club who play in Plymouth, England. The club was founded around 1915 from a merger between Plymouth RFC and Devonport Albion RFC...

    5 1 1 3 5 55 58 0 2
    8
      Gael Force
    Gael Force
    Gael Force is a rugby team formed by the Scottish Rugby Union to play in the newly formed British and Irish Cup. The team is formed from the ranks of Magners League sides Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh Rugby and from players in the Scottish Rugby academy....

    5 0 0 5 6 35 129 1 1
    2

    Pool B

    Team P W D L TF PF PA +/- Pts
    Munster A
    Munster Rugby
    Munster Rugby is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Munster, that competes in the RaboDirect Pro12 and Heineken Cup.The team represents the Irish Rugby Football Union Munster Branch which is one of four primary branches of the IRFU, and is responsible for rugby union in the Irish...

    5 5 0 0 14 111 41
    70
    22
      Bristol
    Bristol Rugby
    Bristol Rugby is a rugby union club based in Bristol, England. The club currently plays in the RFU Championship and competes in the British and Irish Cup. They rely in large part on the many junior rugby clubs in the region, particularly those from 'the Combination'...

    5 4 0 1 16 119 77
    42
    18
      Nottingham
    Nottingham R.F.C.
    Nottingham Rugby Football Club are a rugby union club based in Nottingham, England. The club's first team currently play in the Championship, the second tier of English Rugby....

    5 3 0 2 11 81 59
    22
    14
      Neath
    Neath RFC
    Neath Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club which plays in the Welsh Premier Division. The club's home ground is The Gnoll, Neath. The first team is known as the Welsh All Blacks because of the team colours: black with only a white cross pattée as an emblem...

    5 2 0 3 12 93 98
    11
      Coventry
    Coventry R.F.C.
    Coventry Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club based in the city of Coventry, England. The club enjoyed national success during the 1960s and the 1970s, with many of its players playing for their countries....

    5 1 0 4 20 126 144
    8
      Heriot's 5 0 0 5 8 57 168
    1

    Pool C

    Team P W D L TF PF PA +/- Pts
    Ulster Ravens
    Ulster Rugby
    Ulster Rugby, usually referred to simply as Ulster, is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Belfast, representing the Irish province of Ulster, that competes in the RaboDirect Pro12 and also competes in the Heineken Cup...

    5 4 1 0 22 165 62
    103
    21
      London Welsh 5 4 0 1 18 137 78
    59
    20
      Bedford Blues
    Bedford Blues
    Bedford Blues is a rugby union club in the town of Bedford, England, currently playing in The RFU Championship. Bedford is one of the largest towns in England without a league football club, and one of the few towns in England where the rugby club is better supported than the football team. The...

    5 3 0 2 11 92 94
    13
      Aberavon
    Aberavon RFC
    Aberavon RFC is a rugby union club located in the Welsh town of Port Talbot, although the club's name refers to the older settlement of Aberavon which lies on the western side of the town...

    5 2 0 3 4 51 131
    9
      Llanelli
    Llanelli RFC
    Llanelli Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club founded in 1875 and its senior team is one of the leading club sides in Wales. The club began the 2008-09 season at their historic home ground of Stradey Park in Llanelli, but moved in November 2008 to the new Parc y Scarlets in adjacent...

    5 1 1 3 11 106 117
    8
      Moseley
    Moseley Rugby Football Club
    Moseley Rugby Football Club is an English rugby union club, based at Billesley Common in Birmingham, that competes in the RFU Championship. The club was historically the premier rugby club in Birmingham, reaching the final of the John Player Cup three times in the late 1970s and early 1980s...

    5 0 0 5 10 69 138
    1

    Pool D

    Team P W D L TF PF PA +/- Pts
      Doncaster Knights
    Doncaster R.F.C.
    Doncaster Rugby Football Club are a rugby union club representing the town of Doncaster. The first XV are known as the Doncaster Knights, and play in the RFU Championship...

    5 5 0 0 7 163 58
    105
    25
      Cardiff
    Cardiff RFC
    Cardiff Rugby Football Club is a rugby union football club based in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The club was founded in 1876 and played their first few matches at Sophia Gardens, but soon relocated to Cardiff Arms Park where they have been based ever since...

    5 4 0 1 4 147 124
    23
    19
      Rotherham Titans
    Rotherham R.U.F.C.
    Rotherham Rugby Union Football Club, or Rotherham Titans are a professional rugby union team from Rotherham, Yorkshire, currently playing in the English RFU Championship-History:...

    5 2 0 3 3 147 127
    20
    12
      Ayr 5 2 0 3 1 132 111
    21
    11
      Pontypridd
    Pontypridd RFC
    Pontypridd Rugby Football Club, known as Ponty, are a rugby union team from Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, currently playing in the British and Irish Cup, Principality Premiership, and are the current SWALEC Cup champions....

    5 2 0 3 1 99 124
    10
     Birmingham & Solihull
    Birmingham & Solihull R.F.C.
    Birmingham and Solihull Rugby Football Club are a rugby union club representing Birmingham and Solihull. It was formed in 1989 by a merger of the original Birmingham and Solihull rugby clubs, which were both established over 60 years ago....

    5 0 0 5 1 76 220
    1

    Semi-finals

    Saturday 24 April, 3pm: Munster A
    Munster Rugby
    Munster Rugby is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Munster, that competes in the RaboDirect Pro12 and Heineken Cup.The team represents the Irish Rugby Football Union Munster Branch which is one of four primary branches of the IRFU, and is responsible for rugby union in the Irish...

     27 - 3 Ulster Ravens
    Ulster Rugby
    Ulster Rugby, usually referred to simply as Ulster, is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Belfast, representing the Irish province of Ulster, that competes in the RaboDirect Pro12 and also competes in the Heineken Cup...

    , Thomond Park
    Thomond Park
    Thomond Park is a stadium located in Limerick in the Irish province of Munster. The stadium is owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union and count Munster Rugby, Shannon RFC and UL Bohemian RFC as tenants. The capacity of the stadium is 26,500 following its large scale redevelopment in...

    , Limerick
    Limerick
    Limerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city of County Limerick and Ireland's Mid-West Region. It is the fifth most populous city in all of Ireland. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the...



    Sunday 25 April, 3pm: Cornish Pirates
    Cornish Pirates
    The Cornish Pirates are an English professional rugby union team who play in the Championship, the second level of the English rugby union pyramid, and are the premier Cornish rugby club. Formerly known as Penzance & Newlyn Pirates, the Cornish Pirates play their home games and train at their...

     43 - 5 Doncaster Knights, Recreation Ground, Camborne

    Final

    Sunday 16 May, 6pm: Cornish Pirates
    Cornish Pirates
    The Cornish Pirates are an English professional rugby union team who play in the Championship, the second level of the English rugby union pyramid, and are the premier Cornish rugby club. Formerly known as Penzance & Newlyn Pirates, the Cornish Pirates play their home games and train at their...

     23 - 14 Munster A
    Munster Rugby
    Munster Rugby is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Munster, that competes in the RaboDirect Pro12 and Heineken Cup.The team represents the Irish Rugby Football Union Munster Branch which is one of four primary branches of the IRFU, and is responsible for rugby union in the Irish...

    , Recreation Ground, Camborne

    Geography

    Team Stadium Capacity City/Area/Country
    Aberavon
    Aberavon RFC
    Aberavon RFC is a rugby union club located in the Welsh town of Port Talbot, although the club's name refers to the older settlement of Aberavon which lies on the western side of the town...

    Talbot Athletic Ground
    Talbot Athletic Ground
    The Talbot Athletic Ground is a sports stadium located in central Port Talbot, Wales. The ground is home to Welsh rugby team Aberavon RFC and has a seating capacity of 3,000.-History:...

    3,000 Aberavon
    Aberavon
    Aberavon is a settlement in Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales. The town derived its name from being near the mouth of the river Afan, which also gave its name to a medieval lordship. Today it is essentially a district of Port Talbot, covering the central and south western part of the town...

    , Neath Port Talbot
    Neath Port Talbot
    Neath Port Talbot is a county borough and one of the unitary authority areas of Wales. Neath Port Talbot is the 8th most populous county in Wales and the third most populous county borough....

    , Wales
    Wales
    Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

    Ayr Millbrae Unknown Alloway
    Alloway
    Alloway is best known as the birthplace of Robert Burns, and as where he set his poem "Tam o' Shanter"....

    , South Ayrshire
    South Ayrshire
    South Ayrshire is one of 32 council areas of Scotland, covering the southern part of Ayrshire. It borders onto East Ayrshire, North Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway....

    , Scotland
    Scotland
    Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

    Bedford Blues
    Bedford Blues
    Bedford Blues is a rugby union club in the town of Bedford, England, currently playing in The RFU Championship. Bedford is one of the largest towns in England without a league football club, and one of the few towns in England where the rugby club is better supported than the football team. The...

    Goldington Road 4,684 Bedford
    Bedford
    Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire, in the East of England. It is a large town and the administrative centre for the wider Borough of Bedford. According to the former Bedfordshire County Council's estimates, the town had a population of 79,190 in mid 2005, with 19,720 in the adjacent town...

    , Bedfordshire
    Bedfordshire
    Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....

    , England
    England
    England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

    Birmingham & Solihull
    Birmingham & Solihull R.F.C.
    Birmingham and Solihull Rugby Football Club are a rugby union club representing Birmingham and Solihull. It was formed in 1989 by a merger of the original Birmingham and Solihull rugby clubs, which were both established over 60 years ago....

    Sharmans Cross Road
    Sharmans Cross Road
    Sharmans Cross Road was the ground of RFU Championship side Birmingham & Solihull R.F.C. until May 2010. The ground is named after the road it lies off in Solihull, West Midlands.-Capacity:...

    3,500 Solihull
    Solihull
    Solihull is a town in the West Midlands of England with a population of 94,753. It is a part of the West Midlands conurbation and is located 9 miles southeast of Birmingham city centre...

    , West Midlands
    West Midlands (county)
    The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...

    , England
    England
    England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

    Bristol Rugby
    Bristol Rugby
    Bristol Rugby is a rugby union club based in Bristol, England. The club currently plays in the RFU Championship and competes in the British and Irish Cup. They rely in large part on the many junior rugby clubs in the region, particularly those from 'the Combination'...

    Memorial Stadium
    Memorial Stadium (Bristol)
    The Memorial Stadium, also commonly known by its previous name of The Memorial Ground, is a sports ground in Bristol, England, dedicated to the memory of the rugby union players of the city killed during World War I...

    12,100 Bristol
    Bristol
    Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...

    , England
    England
    England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

    Cardiff
    Cardiff RFC
    Cardiff Rugby Football Club is a rugby union football club based in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The club was founded in 1876 and played their first few matches at Sophia Gardens, but soon relocated to Cardiff Arms Park where they have been based ever since...

    Cardiff Arms Park
    Cardiff Arms Park
    Cardiff Arms Park , also known as The Arms Park, is primarily known as a rugby union stadium, but it also has a bowling green, and is situated in the centre of Cardiff, Wales. The Arms Park was host to the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in 1958, and hosted four games in the 1991 Rugby World...

    13,500 Cardiff
    Cardiff
    Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...

    , Wales
    Wales
    Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

    Cornish Pirates
    Cornish Pirates
    The Cornish Pirates are an English professional rugby union team who play in the Championship, the second level of the English rugby union pyramid, and are the premier Cornish rugby club. Formerly known as Penzance & Newlyn Pirates, the Cornish Pirates play their home games and train at their...

    Recreation Ground 9,000 Camborne
    Camborne
    Camborne is a town and civil parish in west Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is at the western edge of a conurbation comprising Camborne, Pool and Redruth....

    , Cornwall
    Cornwall
    Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...

    , England
    England
    England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

    Coventry
    Coventry R.F.C.
    Coventry Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club based in the city of Coventry, England. The club enjoyed national success during the 1960s and the 1970s, with many of its players playing for their countries....

    Butts Park Arena
    Butts Park Arena
    Butts Park Arena is a multi-use sports stadium in Spon End, Coventry, England. It is the home ground of Coventry R.F.C., Coventry Jets, and Coventry Bears....

    4,000 Coventry
    Coventry
    Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...

    , West Midlands
    West Midlands (county)
    The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...

    , England
    England
    England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

    Doncaster Knights
    Doncaster R.F.C.
    Doncaster Rugby Football Club are a rugby union club representing the town of Doncaster. The first XV are known as the Doncaster Knights, and play in the RFU Championship...

    Castle Park
    Castle Park rugby stadium
    Castle Park is a sports stadium in Doncaster, South Yorkshire. It is the home of the Doncaster Knights, a Rugby Union side who play in the RFU Championship. Historically it was known as Armthorpe Road, but was renamed in 2000. Capacity is around 3,000. In 2008 the club opened the £3m all-seater De...

    3,075 Doncaster
    Doncaster
    Doncaster is a town in South Yorkshire, England, and the principal settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster. The town is about from Sheffield and is popularly referred to as "Donny"...

    , South Yorkshire
    South Yorkshire
    South Yorkshire is a metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It has a population of 1.29 million. It consists of four metropolitan boroughs: Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, and City of Sheffield...

    , England
    England
    England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

    Exeter Chiefs
    Exeter Chiefs
    Exeter Rugby Club are a rugby union club based in Exeter, Devon.The Exeter club was formed around 1871 and played its first match in 1873. The first team has been rebranded as the Exeter Chiefs and play in a strip of Black , White ....

    Sandy Park
    Sandy Park
    Sandy Park is a rugby union stadium in Exeter, England. It is the home ground of Exeter Chiefs who from the 2010/11 season will play in the Aviva Premiership, the top flight of the English rugby union league system. The club relocated there from their former stadium at the County Ground in 2006....

    7,300 (to be expanded to 11,500 by the end of the season) Exeter
    Exeter
    Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...

    , Devon
    Devon
    Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...

    , England
    England
    England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

    Gael Force
    Gael Force
    Gael Force is a rugby team formed by the Scottish Rugby Union to play in the newly formed British and Irish Cup. The team is formed from the ranks of Magners League sides Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh Rugby and from players in the Scottish Rugby academy....

    Bridgehaugh Park 4,000 Stirling
    Stirling
    Stirling is a city and former ancient burgh in Scotland, and is at the heart of the wider Stirling council area. The city is clustered around a large fortress and medieval old-town beside the River Forth...

    , Scotland
    Scotland
    Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

    Heriot's Goldenacre
    Goldenacre
    Goldenacre is an area in Edinburgh, Scotland, lying on and to the south of the Ferry Road, and south of Trinity.-Transport links:The area is well-served for local transport, with six bus services provided by Lothian Buses...

    Unknown Edinburgh
    Edinburgh
    Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...

    , Scotland
    Scotland
    Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

    Leinster A
    Leinster Rugby
    Leinster Rugby, usually referred to simply as Leinster, is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Dublin, representing the Irish province of Leinster, that competes in the RaboDirect Pro 12 and also competes in the Heineken Cup...

    Donnybrook 7,000 Dublin, Leinster
    Leinster
    Leinster is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the east of Ireland. It comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Mide, Osraige and Leinster. Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the historic fifths of Leinster and Mide gradually merged, mainly due to the impact of the Pale, which straddled...

    , Ireland
    Ireland
    Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

    Llanelli
    Llanelli RFC
    Llanelli Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club founded in 1875 and its senior team is one of the leading club sides in Wales. The club began the 2008-09 season at their historic home ground of Stradey Park in Llanelli, but moved in November 2008 to the new Parc y Scarlets in adjacent...

    Parc y Scarlets
    Parc y Scarlets
    Parc y Scarlets is a rugby union stadium in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, that opened in November 2008 as the new home of the Scarlets and Llanelli RFC. The ground replaced Stradey Park, the home of Llanelli's rugby teams for almost 130 years...

    14,870 Llanelli
    Llanelli
    Llanelli , the largest town in both the county of Carmarthenshire and the preserved county of Dyfed , Wales, sits on the Loughor estuary on the West Wales coast, approximately west-north-west of Swansea and south-east of the county town, Carmarthen. The town is famous for its proud rugby...

    , Carmarthenshire
    Carmarthenshire
    Carmarthenshire is a unitary authority in the south west of Wales and one of thirteen historic counties. It is the 3rd largest in Wales. Its three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford...

    , Wales
    Wales
    Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

    London Welsh Old Deer Park
    Old Deer Park
    Old Deer Park is an area of open space within Richmond-upon-Thames, England, and is in extent. The park is bounded generally by the River Thames to the west, Kew Gardens to the north, and urban areas of Richmond town to the east and south. Owned by the Crown Estate, the park forms part of a larger...

    5,850 London
    London
    London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

    , England
    England
    England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

    Moseley
    Moseley Rugby Football Club
    Moseley Rugby Football Club is an English rugby union club, based at Billesley Common in Birmingham, that competes in the RFU Championship. The club was historically the premier rugby club in Birmingham, reaching the final of the John Player Cup three times in the late 1970s and early 1980s...

    Billesley Common
    Billesley Common
    Billesley Common is a recreational area of public open space in South Birmingham, England. It is situated along the Yardley Wood Road, between the suburbs of Moseley and Yardley Wood....

    3,000+ (650 seated) Birmingham
    Birmingham
    Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

    , West Midlands
    West Midlands (county)
    The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...

    , England
    England
    England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

    Munster A
    Munster Rugby
    Munster Rugby is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Munster, that competes in the RaboDirect Pro12 and Heineken Cup.The team represents the Irish Rugby Football Union Munster Branch which is one of four primary branches of the IRFU, and is responsible for rugby union in the Irish...

    Musgrave Park
    Musgrave Park, Cork
    Musgrave Park is a rugby football stadium in the city of Cork, Ireland. The ground consists of four terraces, one stand, three tribunes, one jogging track, and two VIP stands on the west side. Musgrave has a capacity of about 9,251 and is situated on Pearse Road in Ballyphehane...

    8,300 Cork
    Cork (city)
    Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...

    , County Cork
    County Cork
    County Cork is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and is also part of the province of Munster. It is named after the city of Cork . Cork County Council is the local authority for the county...

    , Ireland
    Ireland
    Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

    Neath
    Neath RFC
    Neath Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club which plays in the Welsh Premier Division. The club's home ground is The Gnoll, Neath. The first team is known as the Welsh All Blacks because of the team colours: black with only a white cross pattée as an emblem...

    The Gnoll
    The Gnoll
    The Gnoll in Neath, Wales is a sports ground, with a capacity of 5,000.In July 2009, Neath RFC presented plans for the redevelopment of the Gnoll, including building a community centre on the site, which were criticised as "too woolly".-Rugby union:...

    7,500 Neath
    Neath
    Neath is a town and community situated in the principal area of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, UK with a population of approximately 45,898 in 2001...

    , Neath Port Talbot
    Neath Port Talbot
    Neath Port Talbot is a county borough and one of the unitary authority areas of Wales. Neath Port Talbot is the 8th most populous county in Wales and the third most populous county borough....

    , Wales
    Wales
    Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

    Newport Rodney Parade
    Rodney Parade
    Rodney Parade is a stadium in the city of Newport, south Wales. Located on the east bank of the River Usk in Newport city centre it is primarily used for rugby matches and is the home ground of Newport RFC and the Newport Gwent Dragons regional team.-History:...

    10,500 Newport
    Newport
    Newport is a city and unitary authority area in Wales. Standing on the banks of the River Usk, it is located about east of Cardiff and is the largest urban area within the historic county boundaries of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent...

    , Wales
    Wales
    Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

    Nottingham
    Nottingham R.F.C.
    Nottingham Rugby Football Club are a rugby union club based in Nottingham, England. The club's first team currently play in the Championship, the second tier of English Rugby....

    Meadow Lane
    Meadow Lane
    Not to be confused with The Meadow, home of Southern Football League Premier Division football team Chesham UnitedThe Meadow Lane Stadium is a football stadium in Nottingham, England...

    19,588 Nottingham
    Nottingham
    Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...

    , Nottinghamshire
    Nottinghamshire
    Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...

    , England
    England
    England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

    Plymouth Albion
    Plymouth Albion R.F.C.
    Plymouth Albion Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club who play in Plymouth, England. The club was founded around 1915 from a merger between Plymouth RFC and Devonport Albion RFC...

    The Brickfields
    The Brickfields
    The Brickfields is a sports stadium in Devonport, England. It is used as the home ground of Rugby Union team Plymouth Albion of the RFU Championship, who moved there in 2003. The highest crowd was 6871, for a match against rivals Exeter Chiefs in October 2008....

    6,500 Plymouth
    Plymouth
    Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...

    , Devon
    Devon
    Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...

    , England
    England
    England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

    Pontypridd
    Pontypridd RFC
    Pontypridd Rugby Football Club, known as Ponty, are a rugby union team from Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, currently playing in the British and Irish Cup, Principality Premiership, and are the current SWALEC Cup champions....

    Sardis Road
    Sardis Road
    Sardis Road is a rugby union stadium situated in Pontypridd, Wales. It is home to the Principality Premiership team, Pontypridd RFC and previously the Celtic Warriors, the now defunct regional rugby union team...

    7,861 Pontypridd
    Pontypridd
    Pontypridd is both a community and a principal town of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales and is situated 12 miles/19 km north of the Welsh capital city of Cardiff...

    , Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales
    Wales
    Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

    Rotherham
    Rotherham R.U.F.C.
    Rotherham Rugby Union Football Club, or Rotherham Titans are a professional rugby union team from Rotherham, Yorkshire, currently playing in the English RFU Championship-History:...

    Clifton Lane
    Clifton Lane
    Clifton Lane is a sports stadium located in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. It is the home ground of the professional rugby union team Rotherham Titans who play in the RFU Championship. It was the home of Rotherham Town, a historic football team in the town.-Bibliography:* Vasili, Phil. The...

    2,500 Rotherham
    Rotherham
    Rotherham is a town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Don, at its confluence with the River Rother, between Sheffield and Doncaster. Rotherham, at from Sheffield City Centre, is surrounded by several smaller settlements, which together form the wider Metropolitan Borough of...

    , South Yorkshire
    South Yorkshire
    South Yorkshire is a metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It has a population of 1.29 million. It consists of four metropolitan boroughs: Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, and City of Sheffield...

    , England
    England
    England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

    Ulster Ravens
    Ulster Rugby
    Ulster Rugby, usually referred to simply as Ulster, is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Belfast, representing the Irish province of Ulster, that competes in the RaboDirect Pro12 and also competes in the Heineken Cup...

    Ravenhill Stadium
    Ravenhill Stadium
    Ravenhill Stadium is located in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is used by Ulster Rugby. It has a normal capacity of 12,300 and is owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union.-History:The grounds were opened in the 1923/24 season...

    12,125 Belfast
    Belfast
    Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...

    , Ulster
    Ulster
    Ulster is one of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the north of the island. In ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial...

    , Northern Ireland
    Northern Ireland
    Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...


    See also

    • British and Irish Cup
      British and Irish Cup
      The British and Irish Cup is a semi-professional northern hemisphere rugby union competition. It took place for the first time in the 2009/10 season...

    • 2010-11 British and Irish Cup
    • 2011-12 British and Irish Cup

    External links

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