Huw S Thomas reports:

The Drovers make their debut in the British and Irish Cup at Church Bank on October 16 when they entertain fellow Premiership side Pontypridd.

Also drawn in Llandovery’s six strong Pool D are Doncaster Knights, Rotherham Titans and Birmingham & Solihull from the English Championship plus Scottish Premiership runners up Ayr.

The Tywi Valley club have three home games – against Pontypridd, Doncaster and Birmingham & Solihull - but travel twice, first to Rotherham and then to Ayr.

Llandovery chairman Handel Davies was excited at the opportunities that the B and I Cup offer. "Our participation is another step forward for the club. It will give our players further exposure to quality rugby and for our supporters it will bring the chance to see and visit other clubs from England, Scotland and Ireland."

"We will play at Rotherham who have just signed rugby league/rugby union dual international Henry Paul and to have some of our young players compete against such class will be of great benefit to the club and its future. And we are hoping that the considerable media exposure will help attract bigger home crowds and tempt even more local sponsors to back the club in its ambitions."

Drovers fly-half Cerith Rees who scored 300 points for the club in Cup and league last year was delighted with the draw. "This competition means a great deal to the town of Llandovery. We have been relegation candidates in the Premiership in the past and we exceeded all expectations to qualify for this tournament," said Rees. "There won’t be any pressure on us because people won’t expect much from us."

"We will be playing one of my old clubs in Doncaster and it will be great to catch up with some mates from one of my former clubs. The Championship in England is more physical than the Premiership is here in Wales, although the system we have here is good at developing talent. It will be interesting to see how we measure up to the physicality of sides like Doncaster."

Joining Llandovery as new British & Irish Cup arrivals are Swansea, Melrose, Esher following their promotion to the RFU Championship, Worcester Warriors after their relegation from the English Premiership and Scottish Premiership champions Currie.

There will be five rounds as last season but an additional quarter final stage has been added with the top two from each pool progressing to the last eight.

Terry Burwell, British & Irish Cup Director was in optimistic mood. "The inaugural British & Irish Cup was very positively received and gave players, coaches, referees and spectators a different level of competition to what they are used to.. Anyone who was at the Cornish Pirates v Munster final or saw it on Sky Sports saw the appetite for cross-border cup rugby and I am sure this tournament, just like the Heineken Cup in its early days, will go from strength to strength."

"We have kept the same pool framework and reversed last season's fixtures wherever possible as we promised and we have included a quarter-final so that there is a greater opportunity for more teams to progress to the knockout stages."

***Llandovery are quoted as 66/1 outsiders for the B & I Cup but those odds will tumble dramatically if the Drovers start off the campaign with a home win over Pontypridd.

Pools

Pool A: Cornish Pirates, Currie, Leinster, Newport, Plymouth Albion, Worcester Warriors
Pool B: Bristol Rugby, Esher, Llanelli, Melrose, Munster, Nottingham Rugby
Pool C: Bedford Blues, London Welsh, Moseley, Neath, Swansea, Ulster
Pool D: Ayr, Birmingham & Solihull, Doncaster Knights, Llandovery, Pontypridd, Rotherham Titans

Llandovery fixtures

Oct 16 v Pontypridd (h); Dec 11 v Rotherham Titans (a); Dec 18 v Ayr (a); Jan 15 v Doncaster Knights (h);Jan 22 v Birmingham & Solihull (h)