THE SCOTSMAN REVEALS



Published Date: 06 May 2009
By DAVID FERGUSON
A NEW British and Irish Cup will be launched in Wales today with two club teams and a third hybrid flying the Scottish flag.
The idea has been discussed for much of this year with the SRU withdrawing funding in the London Scottish Academy to help find a contribution of £100,000. There were concerns in England and Wales over what level of team would be entered and whether the tournament could get off the ground this year with alternative plans for a second-tier EDF Energy Cup being discussed. All concerns appear to have been overcome with the four home unions agreeing to a competition that will kick-off next season with all unions on board.

The SRU has yet to confirm which Scottish teams will enter, but it is believed that the plan is for the top two clubs in Division One – if Heriot's beat Edinburgh Accies in their remaining game they will join champions Ayr in going forward, with Melrose joining Ayr if the Goldenacre men falter – alongside a third Scottish side made up of academy players and fringe men from the Glasgow and Edinburgh squads.

The SRU has been keen to find some form of regular competition for a host of professionals who struggle to find any game-time in Scotland's narrow two-team professional base, and it has also been striving to help boost clubs' ambitions towards a cross-border league that has been spoken of for the past 12 years without any real movement.

However, there remain a number of major questions still to be answered, notably the interruption of the domestic season – the games will take place during the autumn Tests and Six Nations windows – fear over an imbalance in the standard of teams and insurance of amateurs playing professionals.

England are set to enter teams from their new Championship clubs, the former National League One, which will include Bristol, recently relegated from the Premiership, Worcester, Exeter and Rotherham among a host of full-time professional clubs. Wales are entering clubs from their semi-professional Principality Premier League, but Irish representation will be in the shape of 'A' teams from Munster, Leinster, Ulster and Connacht.

This article was posted on 6-May-2009, 07:41 by Hugh Barrow.