B&I Cup 2014/5 - Round 3

B&I as in "beaten (twice)" and "iniquitous (Who exactly were we playing on Saturday)"? Cup as in "scuppered"? Well, the good news is that we're not the worst performing team in the tournament (PARFC: -27 points, 2 x BP; Connacht Eagles: -42 points, 1 x BP). From that lowly palmares, we have to pick oursleves up, dust ourselves off and perpare to fly again. With four games remaining, the die is not yet cast. But it's pretty obvious that without any clear run of form, it will be hard to salvage anything from this year's tournament.

Our opponents for the next two Cup games (this coming Sat at home and again away at the end of November) are Jersey. With a league fixture at St Peter in between on 08 Nov, we should get to know the Islanders pretty well by the end of proceedings. (Doubtless, Tom Fidler can fill a few gaps on the team from "Alcatraz", too...) They are also looking to stay in the running in Pool 5, but went down tryless 26 - 6 in Dublin on Friday, so have their mountains to climb as well. Hard to believe, but just a year ago in the notorious double header at Sandy Park, we started a game against them shakily and ended solidly. A little less of the former and more of the latter this weekend please, guys!

With several absences due to minor injuries, our pack experienced some problems in Llanelli. Hopefully, the A Team should be back in harness come KO (15.00). It was certainly good to see Herbie back on the field without too many worries. As the injury crisis eases, it will give Shanners more options who can be slotted in at the right time and place.

On the mental front, we have to stop looking back and concentrate on the opportunities ahead. Certain commentators are endlessly recycling the length of our losing streak. OK - we all understand the "x + 1" arithmetic, but that just creates the wrong mindset. The elusive win WILL come!

Here is the full fixture list:

Fri 24 Oct

(Pool 2) Ulster Ravens v Rotherham Titans 19.00

(Pool 3) Nottingham v Munster A 20.00

Sat 25 Oct

(Pool 5) Carmarthen Quins v Leinster A 14.00

(Pool 1) Connacht Eagles v London Scottish 14.30

(Pool 4) Doncaster Knights v Bedford Blues 14.30

(Pool 1) Pontypridd v Bristol 14.30

(Pool 2) Yorkshire Carnegie v Aberavon 14.30

(Pool 3) Moseley v Worcester 15.00

(Pool 5) Plymouth Albion v Jersey 15.00

Sun 26 Oct

(Pool 4) Cornish Pirates v Cross Keys 15.00

Cup rules apply to venue and eventual KO time - check with hosts website. You might even want to do a double take on opponents' name...