2015–16 British and Irish Cup
The 2015–16 British and Irish Cup was the seventh season of the annual rugby union competition for second tier, semi-professional clubs from Britain and Ireland. Worcester Warriors were the defending champions having won the 2014–15 final against Doncaster Knights 35–5 at Castle Park, Doncaster on 3 April 2015. There have been five different winners and six different losing finalists of the competition in the six seasons of its existence. The format of the competition was similar to last season with Scottish clubs not competing. This season the four Welsh teams are the reserve sides of the teams competing in the Pro 12 competition instead of clubs from the Welsh Premier Division.
Matches were played on the same weekends as the European Rugby Champions and Challenge cups. First round matches began on 13 November 2015 and the final was held on 10 April 2016.
Competition format
The competition format is a pool stage followed by a knockout stage. The pool stage consists of five pools of four teams playing home and away matches. The top side in each pool, plus the three best runners-up, will progress to the knockout stage. The eight quarter-finalists will be ranked, with top four teams having home advantage. The four winning quarter-finalists will progress to the semi-final draw. Matches take place on the same weekends as the European Rugby Champions and Challenge cups.Participating teams and locations
The allocation of teams is as follows:- – twelve clubs from RFU Championship
- – four Irish provinces represented by 'A' teams
- – four Welsh regions represented by Premiership Select teams.
| Club | Country | League | Stadium | Capacity | Area |
| Bedford Blues |  England | RFU Championship | Goldington Road | 6,000 | Bedford |
| Bristol | England | RFU Championship | Ashton Gate Stadium | 21,497 | Bristol |
| Cardiff Blues Premiership Select |  Wales | N/A | Cardiff Arms Park | 12,125 | Cardiff |
| Connacht Eagles |  Ireland | Irish Interprovincial Rugby Championship | Galway Sportsgrounds | 9,500 | Galway |
| Cornish Pirates |  England | RFU Championship | Mennaye Field | 4,000 | Penzance |
| Doncaster Knights | England | RFU Championship | Castle Park rugby stadium | 5,000 | Doncaster |
| Ealing Trailfinders | England | RFU Championship | Trailfinders Sports Ground | 3,020 | West Ealing, London |
| Jersey |  England | RFU Championship | St. Peter | 5,000 | Saint Peter |
| Leinster A | Ireland | Irish Interprovincial Rugby Championship | Donnybrook Stadium | 6,000 | Dublin |
| London Scottish | England | RFU Championship | Richmond Athletic Ground | 4,500 | Richmond, London |
| London Welsh | England | RFU Championship | Old Deer Park | 5,850 | Richmond, London |
| Moseley | England | RFU Championship | Billesley Common | 3,000+ | Birmingham |
| Munster A | Ireland | Irish Interprovincial Rugby Championship | Snugmore Rosbrien New Ormond Park | 7,500 4,000 1,000 | Kinsale Limerick Nenagh |
| Newport Gwent Dragons Premiership Select | Wales | N/A | Pandy Park The Bridge Field Eugene Cross Park | 3,000 2,000 8,000 | Cross Keys Bedwas Ebbw Vale |
| Nottingham Rugby | England | RFU Championship | Lady Bay Sports Ground | 2,000 | Nottingham |
| Ospreys Premiership Select | Wales | N/A | Talbot Athletic Ground Brewery Field The Gnoll | 3,000 8,000 5,000 | Port Talbot Bridgend Neath |
| Rotherham Titans | England | RFU Championship | Clifton Lane | 2,500 | Rotherham |
| Scarlets Premiership Select | Wales | N/A | Carmarthen Park Parc y Scarlets Station Road | 3,000 14,870 2,500 | Carmarthen Llanelli Bristol |
| Ulster Ravens | Ireland | Irish Interprovincial Rugby Championship | Kingspan Stadium Eaton Park Deramore Park | 18,196 1,000 1,000+ | Belfast Ballymena Belfast |
| Yorkshire Carnegie | England | RFU Championship | Headingley Carnegie Stadium Silver Royd Lockwood Park | 21,062 1,950 1,500 | Leeds Scalby Huddersfield |
Pool stages
Pool 1
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- Postponed due to frozen pitch. Game rescheduled to 20 February 2016.
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- Game rescheduled from 16 January 2016.
Pool 2
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Pool 3
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Pool 4
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Pool 5
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Knock-out stage
The eight qualifiers are seeded according to performance in the pool stage, and competed in the quarter-finals, which are held on the weekend of 11/12/13 March 2016. The four top seeds host the quarter-finals against the lower seeds, in a 1 v 8, 2 v 7, 3 v 6 and 4 v 5 format. However, if two teams have qualified from the same group then they cannot be drawn together despite the seeding. Hence Leinster A and Moseley were not drawn together leading to a 1 v 7, 2 v 8, 3 v 6, 4 v 5 format.Teams are ranked by:
| Seed | Pool Winners | Pts | Wins | Pts diff |
| 1 |  Leinster A | 29 | 6 | 148 |
| 2 | Yorkshire Carnegie | 26 | 5 | 104 |
| 3 | Bedford Blues | 24 | 5 | 22 |
| 4 | Cornish Pirates | 23 | 5 | 65 |
| 5 | Doncaster Knights | 22 | 4 | 89 |
| Seed | Pool Runners–up | Pts | Wins | Pts diff |
| 6 | Jersey | 21 | 4 | 84 |
| 7 | London Welsh | 20 | 4 | 30 |
| 8 | Moseley | 20 | 4 | –36 |
| 9 | Bristol | 19 | 4 | 88 |
| 10 | London Scottish | 19 | 4 | 7 |
Quarter-finals
----Semi-finals
----Final
Attendances
Individual statistics
- Note if players are tied on tries or points the player with the lowest number of appearances is placed first. Also note that points scorers includes tries as well as conversions, penalties and drop goals. Appearance figures also include coming on as substitutes.
Top points scorers
Top try scorers
Season records
Team
;Largest home win — 50 pts56 - 6 Yorkshire Carnegie at home to London Scottish on 13 December 2015
;Largest away win — 40 pts
40 - 0 Doncaster Knights away to Connacht Eagles on 16 January 2015
;Most points scored — 62
62 - 16 Bristol Rugby at home to Scarlets Premiership Select on 22 November 2015
;Most tries in a match — 9
Bristol Rugby at home to Scarlets Premiership Select on 22 November 2015
;Most conversions in a match — 7
Bristol Rugby at home to Scarlets Premiership Select on 22 November 2015
Doncaster Knights away to Newport Gwent Dragons Premiership Select on 19 December 2015
London Scottish at home to Ospreys Premiership Select on 16 January 2016
Leinster A away to Moseley on 16 January 2016
;Most penalties in a match — 4
Cornish Pirates away to Nottingham Rugby on 22 November 2015
Rotherham Titans at home to Moseley on 20 December 2015
Newport Gwent Dragons Premiership Select away to Jersey on 16 January 2016
;Most drop goals in a match — 1
Leinster A away to Rotherham Titans on 14 November 2015
Player
;Most points in a match — 22Matthew Morgan for Bristol Rugby at home to Ulster Ravens on 23 January 2016
;Most tries in a match — 4
Uili Kolo'ofai for Jersey away to Connacht Eagles on 12 December 2015
Andy Saull for Yorkshire Carnegie at home to Munster A on 17 January 2016
;Most conversions in a match — 7
Gavin Henson for Bristol Rugby at home to Scarlets Premiership Select on 22 November 2015
Peter Lydon for London Scottish at home to Ospreys Premiership Select on 16 January 2016
Cathal Marshal for Leinster A away to Moseley on 16 January 2016
;Most penalties in a match — 4
Laurence May for Cornish Pirates away to Nottingham Rugby on 22 November 2015
Rhys Jones for Newport Gwent Dragons Premiership Select away to Jersey on 16 January 2016
;Most drop goals in a match — 1
Ross Byrne for Leinster A away to Rotherham Titans on 14 November 2015
Attendances
;Highest — 5,273Bristol Rugby at home to Ulster Ravens on 23 January 2016
;Lowest — 100
Scarlets Premiership Select at home to Ulster Ravens on 21 November 2015
Connacht Eagles at home to Doncaster Knights on 16 January 2016
;Highest Average Attendance — 4,999
Bristol Rugby
;Lowest Average Attendance — 150
Connacht Eagles