Following a wide-ranging review of competition structures, Wales will be represented by four Regional Premiership Select sides, in order to facilitate the development pathway in Wales.
The first matches take place in November and the Welsh teams will take on a ‘Barbarians’ flavour, players wearing their club socks for the matches against English and Irish opposition. Home venues are yet to be confirmed and regional coaching teams are set to invite Principality Premiership coaches to assist in match preparation.
The Cardiff Blues Premiership Select side has been drawn in Pool 4 of the competition along with London Welsh, Nottingham Rugby and Cornish Pirates and will kick off at home against Nottingham Rugby on the weekend of November 14.
The Newport Gwent Dragons Premiership Select squad features in Pool 5 along with Connacht Eagles, Jersey and Doncaster Knights and will travel to Connacht in Round One before hosting Jersey in Round Two (weekend of November 21).
The Ospreys Premiership Select face Yorkshire Carnegie, 2012 winners Munster ‘A’ and London Scottish as they bid to get out of Pool 3. They travel to Yorkshire in Round One before hosting London Scottish in Round Two.
The final Welsh team, Scarlets Premiership Select, is in Pool 2 with Bedford Blues, Bristol Rugby and Ulster Ravens. Their first round match is at home to Bedford Blues before making the trip across the Severn Bridge to Bristol Rugby for their Round Two fixture.
WRU chairman Gareth Davies said, “The British & Irish Cup is a key element of our elite competition pathway and provides a crucial development tool for players, coaches and match officials.
“We believe the inclusion of Regional Premiership Select sides in this competition will provide a fantastic platform to help the best young players in Wales to step up to professional rugby.”
Principality Premiership chairman, Chris Clarke, said: “The Premiership clubs are again looking forward to playing their part in this important chapter in the development of our professional players and hopefully the competition will gain added momentum in the season that is shortly about to commence.”
Pro Rugby Wales, the organisation which represents the four Welsh professional rugby teams; Scarlets, Cardiff Blues, Ospreys and Newport Gwent Dragons said that the 2015/16 British & Irish Cup would offer exciting fixtures and important opportunities for further development of young talent in Wales through the inclusion of four Regional Premiership Select teams.
PRW chief executive Mark Davies said: “This is a great cross border competition and after a full and thorough review of Welsh rugby’s representation in the British & Irish Cup we go forward positively and will embrace this vital opportunity for player development which will benefit Premiership clubs, the regional game and ultimately the national side.
“Thanks to the hard work of the Working Group set up by the WRU, our four Pro Rugby teams and Premiership clubs are now looking forward to joining forces and working together to show what our young players can do against the likes of some competitive clubs over the border such as Bristol, Bedford and London Welsh in England and the Irish provinces. There are some great fixtures to capture the imagination and will really give our young players a great platform.”
2015-16 British & Irish Cup structure:
Teams
* 12 Greene King IPA Championship clubs
* 4 Welsh Regional Premiership squads
* 4 Irish provinces – Connacht Eagles, Munster ‘A’, Leinster ‘A’ and Ulster Ravens
Pool Stages
*Taking place on 13-15, 20-22 November, 11-13, 18-20 December and 15-17, 23 January.
* 5 pools of 4 playing home and away
* 4 points for a win, 2 for a draw, 1 bonus point for a) scoring 4 or more tries and/or b) losing by 7 points or less
Quarter finals
* Taking place on weekend of March 12 2016
* Top side in each pool progress to knockout stage, plus three best runners-up
* 8 quarter-finalists ranked with teams ranked 1-4 having home advantage
Semi-finals and final
* Four winning quarter finalists progress to semi -final draw which takes place on weekend of March 19 2016
* Winning semi-finalists progress to final to take place on weekend of April 9 2016
Pools
Pool 1: Ealing Trailfinders, Moseley, Leinster ‘A’, Rotherham Titans
Pool 2: Bedford Blues, Scarlets Premiership Select, Bristol Rugby, Ulster Ravens
Pool 3: Ospreys Premiership Select, Yorkshire Carnegie, Munster ‘A’, London Scottish
Pool 4: Nottingham Rugby, Cardiff Blues Premiership Select, London Welsh, Cornish Pirates
Pool 5: Newport Gwent Dragons Premiership Select, Connacht Eagles, Doncaster Knights, Jersey RFC
Round 1- November 13/14/15
Pool 1
Moseley v Ealing Trailfinders
Rotherham Titans v Leinster ‘A’
Pool 2
Scarlets Premiership Select v Bedford Blues
Ulster Ravens v Bristol Rugby
Pool 3
Yorkshire Carnegie v Ospreys Premiership Select
London Scottish v Munster ‘A’
Pool 4
Cardiff Blues Premiership Select v Nottingham Rugby
Cornish Pirates v London Welsh
Pool 5
Connacht Eagles v Newport Gwent Dragons Premiership Select
Jersey RFC v Doncaster Knights
Round 2- November 20/21/22
Pool 1
Ealing Trailfinders v Rotherham Titans
Leinster ‘A’ v Moseley
Pool 2
Bedford Blues v Ulster Ravens
Bristol Rugby v Scarlets Premiership Select
Pool 3
Ospreys Premiership Select v London Scottish
Munster ‘A’ v Yorkshire Carnegie
Pool 4
Nottingham Rugby v Cornish Pirates
London Welsh v Cardiff Blues Premiership Select
Pool 5
Newport Gwent Dragons Premiership Select v Jersey RFC
Doncaster Knights v Connacht Eagles
Round 3- December 11/12/13
Pool 1
Leinster ‘A’ v Ealing Trailfinders
Moseley v Rotherham Titans
Pool 2
Bristol Rugby v Bedford Blues
Scarlets Premiership Select v Ulster Ravens
Pool 3
Munster ‘A’ v Ospreys Premiership Select
Yorkshire Carnegie v London Scottish
Pool 4
London Welsh v Nottingham Rugby
Cardiff Blues Premiership Select v Cornish Pirates
Pool 5
Doncaster Knights v Newport Gwent Dragons Premiership Select
Connacht Eagles v Jersey RFC
Round 4- December 18/19/20
Pool 1
Ealing Trailfinders v Leinster ‘A’
Rotherham Titans v Moseley
Pool 2
Bedford Blues v Bristol Rugby
Ulster Ravens v Scarlets Premiership Select
Pool 3
Ospreys Premiership Select v Munster ‘A’
London Scottish v Yorkshire Carnegie
Pool 4
Nottingham Rugby v London Welsh
Cornish Pirates v Cardiff Blues Premiership Select
Pool 5
Newport Gwent Dragons Premiership Select v Doncaster Knights
Jersey RFC v Connacht Eagles
Round 5- January 15/16/17
Pool 1
Moseley v Leinster ‘A’
Rotherham Titans v Ealing Trailfinders
Pool 2
Scarlets Premiership Select v Bristol Rugby
Ulster Ravens v Bedford Blues
Pool 3
Yorkshire Carnegie v Munster ‘A’
London Scottish v Ospreys Premiership Select
Pool 4
Cardiff Blues Premiership v London Welsh
Cornish Pirates v Nottingham Rugby
Pool 5
Connacht Eagles v Doncaster Knights
Jersey RFC v Newport Gwent Dragons Premiership Select
Round 6- January 23
Pool 1
Ealing Trailfinders v Moseley
Leinster ‘A’ v Rotherham Titans
Pool 2
Bedford Blues v Scarlets Premiership Select
Bristol Rugby v Ulster Ravens
Pool 3
Ospreys Premiership Select v Yorkshire Carnegie
Munster ‘A’ v London Scottish
Pool 4
Nottingham Rugby v Cardiff Blues Premiership Select
London Welsh v Cornish Pirates
Pool 5
Newport Gwent Dragons Premiership Select v Connacht Eagles
Doncaster Knights v Jersey RFC
