British & Irish Cup knock-out draw

A number of Americas players are set to compete head-to-head in the knock-out stages of the British & Irish Cup. The tournament pits Greene King IPA Championship clubs against the development sides of Guinness Pro 12 celtic teams, and sees a dozen Americas players with a chance to lift the Cup.

The quarter-final stage will be played on March 11-12, with match-ups as follows:

Leinster ‘A’ vs London Welsh
Yorkshire Carnegie vs Moseley
Bedford Blues vs Jersey
Cornish Pirates vs Doncaster Knights

Canada World Cup back row Richard Thorpe is a possible inclusion for Welsh. Another Canadian, Aaron Flagg, is first choice blindside flanker for Moseley.

Bedford have Canadian-born brothers Sam and Justin Blanchet, as well as former test fullback James Pritchard on their books. They will likely be up against former Pumas pair Martín García Veiga and Ignacio Sáenz Lancuba, who are key members of the Jersey front row battalion.

The most contentious match could well be the last with two in-form sides set to do battle and a possibility of five Canadians taking part. Aaron Carpenter’s Cornish Pirates also have Brett Beukeboom and Matt Evans to call upon, while countrymen Jon Phelan and Tyler Hotson typically split the starting duties in the Doncaster second row.

Semi-finals will be played the following weekend from March 18-20, while the final is to be played between April 8-10.