Provinces Faring Well in British and Irish Cup

By Wesley Liddy

Far from the madding crowds of Croker, Murrayfield and the Stade de France, another rugby tournament reaches a decisive stage this weekend.

The British and Irish Cup is contested by Welsh Premiership clubs, English first-division clubs, Scottish club and national-academy sides, as well as the Irish Provincial A sides.

The competition consists of four pools of five with the winners of each pool advancing to the semi-finals.

The standard of the competition overall is probably slightly better than the All-Ireland League division one, but some way short of the Magners League.

It is an ideal stepping stone to the full-time senior squad for development contract, academy and sub-academy players. It allows coaches to work with these players for a prolonged period as well as a chance to see how said players cope with intimidating atmospheres in Neath or Newport.

It also gives club players who have missed the academy boat a chance to work their way up into the professional game.

Thomond out-half Declan Cusack is one player to have done just that. Following a series of impressive performances for his club, under the tutelage of Paul Warwick, the 21-year-old was given a six-month training contract with Munster.

The British and Irish Cup has given him game-time in the red jersey and he has not disappointed.

The coaches themselves also benefit from the competition: Anthony Foley continues to serve his apprenticeship down south, while Colm McEntee in Leinster and Neil Doak in Ulster have gained valuable experience. This is crucially important due to the chronic lack of indigenous coaches in Ireland.

Leinster

A home loss to Newport put paid to Leinster's qualification hopes. This will disappoint many considering the lavish praise Leinster's academy has received of late. Many observers consider it amongst the best in Europe.

Michael Cheika is known not to be keen on his academy players participating in the All-Ireland League. As a result, for all their talents, there has been a certain callowness about the Leinster A side.

Many, recently departed from school, have little or no experience playing against men as opposed to boys, but Ian Madigan, Eoin Sheriff, Michael Keating and Paul O'Donoghue were among those to prosper for Leinster.

O'Donoghue in particular must be wondering what he has to do to impress Cheika. The arrival of Joe Schmidt as coach in the summer may give him fresh hope or the arrival of Isaac Boss may prompt him to move on. Ulster or Connacht would be doing well to gain the services of this fine scrum-half.

Munster

In pool B, Munster have cut a swathe through all opposition. Their second-half comeback against Neath, at the famed Gnoll, was particularly impressive.

The resilience and tenacity traditionally associated with the province looks to be alive and well in the next generation.

Munster's academy has been much maligned. Their representation on underage international teams has been low in recent years but their A team, powered mainly by academy players, has been - by some distance - the most impressive of any of the provinces this season.

Aside from this competition, they've also gone unbeaten in the A interprovincials. Unlike Leinster, and perhaps prompted by the fact so many of their stalwarts of the last decade learned their trade in the club game, Munster have sought to use the All-Ireland League as a breeding ground for promising talent.

The idea is that when the chosen few reach the senior team, via the A side, they will have the required mental strength to succeed.

Half-backs Conor Murray and Cusack have shown well as have Scott Deasy and Danny Barnes in the three-quarters.

The front row of Dave Kilcoyne, Mike Sherry and Stephen Archer have been excellent but the star of the show has been back-rower Peter O'Mahony.

O'Mahony captained the Irish Under-20s last year and in just his second year of the academy is now captaining the A side.

A number 8 in his school days, his future seems to lie at openside where he recently won the Man of the Match award in the AIB Cup Final. Reports of a bleak future for the men in red could yet prove wide of the mark.

Ulster

Ulster have won three and drawn one of their games to date. A win at home against Aberavon would ensure qualification ahead of London Welsh.

Centre Michael Allen, a surprising omission from the Irish Under-20 squad, wing Tommy Seymour, scrum-half Paul Marshall and prop Adam Macklin have all impressed.

The Ravens' performance has added to the feel-good factor around the province since Brian McLaughlin took over as head coach.

With Nevin Spence and Niall Annet continuing to prosper for the Ireland Under-20s, and Johann Muller and Xavier Rush arriving next year to offer the benefits of their experience to the younger brigade, the mid and long-term future looks bright for Ulster.

The British and Irish Cup has been a worthwhile endeavour for the Irish provinces. Many young players have reaped the benefits of increased playing time while coaches have, for the most part, resisted the temptation to pad their sides with experienced players.

An Irish winner of this year's competition looks likely - yet another indicator of the rude health Irish rugby finds itself in.

The draw for the semi-finals of the British and Irish Cup will take place on Wednesday, 24 March