The 2011–12 British and Irish Cup was the 3rd season of the annual rugby union competition for second tier, semi-professional clubs from Britain and Ireland. First round matches began on Wednesday 21 September 2011 and the final was held on Friday 27 April 2012.[3]
Defending champions Bristol had a very poor campaign and were unable to make it out of the pool stages. Munster A lifted the cup, comfortably defeating Cross Keys 31–12 in the final. They became the first Irish side to claim the title, and the third different side to win in the competition's three-year history.
Teams
The allocation of teams is as follows:
Competition format
The pool stage saw a change in format and consisted of six pools of four teams playing cross-pool matches, giving each team two home and two away matches. Matches between English teams were played mid-week. Pool matches took place from 21 September to 18 December. The top team from each pool qualified for the quarter-finals, together with the two runners–up with the best records.
- Pool 1 teams Ayr, Cornish Pirates, Moseley and Neath, played the teams in Pool 2 Bristol Rugby, Cross Keys, Plymouth Albion and Munster
- Pool 3 teams Aberavon, Bedford Blues, Leinster and London Scottish, played the teams in Pool 4: Esher Rugby, Llanelli, London Welsh and Melrose
- Pool 5: Currie, Doncaster, Rotherham and Pontypridd, played the teams in Pool 6: Leeds Carnegie, Nottingham Rugby, Swansea and Ulster Ravens[3][4][5]
Pool stages
Pool 1 v Pool 2
Source:
[citation needed]Rules for classification: 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
Source: [6]
Rules for classification: 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 3 v Pool 4
Source:
[citation needed]Rules for classification: 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
Source: [6][7]
Rules for classification: 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 5 v Pool 6
Source:
[citation needed]Rules for classification: 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
Source: [6]
Rules for classification: 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 six pool winners and the two best runners up proceeded to the knock out stages. The best four qualifiers (pool winners) had home advantage in the quarter finals.
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final
Top scorers
Geography
References
- ^ a b "British & Irish Cup Top Point Scorers". Archived from the original on 21 May 2012. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
- ^ a b "British & Irish Cup Top Try Scorers". Archived from the original on 21 May 2012. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
- ^ a b The Cornishman 23 June 2011.
- ^ "Welsh clubs discover British and Irish Cup opponents". WalesOnline. 20 June 2011. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
- ^ "British Irish Cup - Cornish Pirates". Archived from the original on 2011-10-18. Retrieved 2011-07-03.
- ^ a b c "Ulster Rugby". Archived from the original on 8 April 2012. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
- ^ "British & Irish Cup Tables". BBC. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
External links
- Unofficial British and Irish Cup website - latest news, teams etc
– 12 clubs from RFU Championship
– 3 Irish provinces represented by 'A' teams.
– 3 top clubs from the Scottish Premiership.
– 6 top clubs from the Welsh Premier Division.