Celtic Flavour To British & Irish Cup Semi-Finalists
The British & Irish Cup semi-finals will have a distinctly Celtic flavour with two Irish provinces, Leinster ‘A’ and Munster ‘A’, booking their places in the last-four along with sole Welsh survivors Cross Keys and English Championship outfit Cornish Pirates.
Munster ‘A’ were first to progress to the next stage of the competition after extending their winning run against Ulster Ravens to six games on Friday night.
Out-half Scott Deasy scored one of the Munster side’s two tries and converted them both as well as adding a couple of penalties for a 15-point personal haul.
Cross Keys are now just two games away from winning the British & Irish Cup in their first season in the competition after a comprehensive 32-8 win over fellow Welsh Premiership side Llanelli.
Cross Keys’ man-of-the-match Steffan Jones scored 22 of his side’s points via a brace of tries, three conversions and two penalties.
Both of Sunday’s quarter-final ties went the way of the home side, too, with 2010 champions Cornish Pirates easily seeing off Championship rivals Nottingham, while Leinster ‘A’ ended Pontypridd’s hopes of a British & Irish and SWALEC Cup double with an equally comprehensive victory.
Rob Cook scored one of the Pirates’ five tries and converted four of them to help the Duchy outfit to a 33-3 win over Nottingham.
Completing a very memorable weekend for Irish rugby, Leinster ‘A’ beat Pontypridd 32-0 thanks to a brace of tries from outside centre Brendan Macken and further scores from flanker Conor Gilsenan and winger Darren Hudson. Noel Reid added 12 points from the kicking tee.
The semi-finals will take place over the weekend of April 6-8. The draw will follow in due course.
Related Links –
Leinster ‘A’ Cruise Through To Semi-Final Stage
Munster ‘A’ Win Through To Last-Four Of British & Irish Cup