Leinster ‘A’ To Host London Welsh In B&I Cup Quarter-Finals
Following a meeting between the competition organising committee earlier today, the draw for the British & Irish Cup knockout stages has been confirmed.
Leinster ‘A’ will host London Welsh on the weekend of March 11/12 for the right to face Cornish Pirates or Doncaster Knights in a home semi-final.
The Leinster ‘A’ team qualified for the quarter-finals as the competition’s number one seeds with a 100% record of six wins from six pool matches.
A Ross Byrne drop goal secured a win away to Rotherham Titans in the opening round. This was followed by a convincing 55-12 victory over Moseley the following week at Donnybrook.
Ealing Trailfinders provided a stern test in back-to-back games in December, with Leinster ‘A’ held to a 13-6 lead by half-time in the first encounter at Donnybrook, before pulling away in the second half to win it 45-13.
A bonus point triumph away to Ealing the following week put Hugh Hogan’s men in control in the pool, knowing a win in round 5 against Moseley would guarantee a quarter-final spot.
A 24-49 success at Billesley Common made sure of that quarter-final spot, with a win at Donnybrook over Rotherham Titans on January 22 confirming a home quarter-final and top seeding in the knockout stages.
London Welsh finished as runners up in Pool 4, behind Cornish Pirates, and are making their first appearance in the last-eight of the cup.
The sides met once before in the B&I Cup – in December 2011 at Donnybrook – when they played out a 24-24 draw.
Ticket information will be communicated for the British & Irish Cup quarter-final once fixture details have been confirmed.
BRITISH & IRISH CUP KNOCKOUT DRAW:
Quarter-Finals – March 11-12
Game 1: LEINSTER ‘A’ v London Welsh
Game 2: Yorkshire Carnegie v Moseley
Game 3: Bedford Blues v Jersey
Game 4: Cornish Pirates v Doncaster Knights
Semi-Finals – March 18-20
Game 5: Winners Game 1 v Winners Game 4
Game 6: Winners Game 2 v Winners Game 3