Ayr Rugby Club thrilled at best of British draw
CHAMPION Ayr Rugby Club have welcomed a mouth-watering draw in the new British & Irish Cup.
The Premier One winners are in pool ‘D’ against Rotherham Titans, Doncaster Knights, Birmingham & Solihull, Pontypridd and Cardiff.
Coach Kenny Murray said: “We’re very excited by our draw. We didn’t expect there would be any easy games given the teams involved but we have a massive opportunity to get the Ayrshire public behind us for big cross-border matches.
“I know there’s a bit of scepticism about the British & Irish Cup but I also know that nobody involved in the coaching and playing at Ayr is under-estimating the challenge we face.
“Above all, we’re regarding this as a brilliant opportunity for us as players and coaches to test ourselves at this level.”
The Thistles – a team drawn from Scottish Rugby’s National Academy, plus players from the Edinburgh and Glasgow pro-teams – are in pool ‘A’ where they will face Cornish Pirates, Plymouth Albion, Exeter Chiefs, Leinster and Newport. Heriot’s are in pool ‘C’ with Bristol Rugby, Coventry, Nottingham, Munster and Neath. Pool ‘B’ comprises Moseley, Bedford Blues, London Welsh, Ulster, Aberavon and Llanelli.
Matches will be played over five weekends during the Autumn Tests and 6 Nations Championship windows with semis on April 24 and final on May 15.
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