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ULSTER A
Ulster A won four of their six pool games, but
defeat away to Jersey Reds in the final pool game
meant that Jersey topped the group, leaving
Ulster facing an away quarter-final.
Ulster A last qualified for the British & Irish
Cup knockout stages in 2012, when they were
defeated at home by Munster A 20-9, with
the Munster men going on to win that year's
competition.
Coach Kieran Campbell is understandably
looking forward to the next phase of the
competition and feels his team are well placed
to take on whatever lies ahead: “It’s the first time
in five years that we’ve qualified for the knockout
stages so we can take something from that. We
can also take a lot from the fact that we have
developed a really good culture amongst these
young guys. In the last game against Jersey the
average age of our team was just 21. Not only did
they give a performance that they could be proud
of in terms of what they did for the jersey but
they’ve also learned what it takes to compete at
this level. That’s something that is going to stand
to them and hopefully we can take that into the
quarter-finals.
“By having to blood some of the younger guys
in the earlier stages we’ve built some depth to
the squad. We’ve given guys good experience,
experience that will stand to them. We’ll hopefully
get a few more senior guys filtered into the squad
too because we’ve always said in this competition
it’s important to have that blend of experience
and youth to give the types of performances that
will win games.
“I don’t hold any fear going into the knockout
stages. With the type of culture we’ve developed
here, with how much pride the boys have in
their performance and with the experience
they’ve gained from the games so far I’d be very
confident against any of the other teams in the
competition.”
ULSTER A SET FOR MUNSTER SHOWDOWN
IN BRITISH & IRISH CUP QUARTER-FINAL
Having qualified as one of the best runners-up, Ulster A, sponsored by CD
Group, have been drawn away to Inter-Provincial rivals Munster A in the
quarter-finals of the British & Irish Cup.
MUNSTER A
V
ULSTER A
LONDON IRISH
V
YORKSHIRE CARNEGIE
JERSEY REDS
V
CORNISH PIRATES
EALING TRAILFINDERS
V
SCARLETS PREMIERSHIP SELECT
All games to be played weekend
of 10-12 March 2017.
BRITISH AND IRISH CUP
QUARTER-FINALS