The point earned in the 26-19 defeat away to Yorkshire Carnegie at Scarborough on Saturday keeps Jersey second in the overall seedings, which should see them face seventh-seeded Munster A in the quarter-finals. But little is simple in the RFU competition and Doncaster, Ulster, or even Cornish Pirates could head to Stade Santander for a last-eight tie, should the organisers hold a free draw.
The top eight qualifiers, including the three best runners-up from the five groups, are still to be finalised as Cornish Pirates’ final Pool 5 match at home to Hartpury College was postponed. With Pirates still on 14 points, a bonus-point victory could see them take the final quarter-final place from Yorkshire Carnegie (19 pts) on match-points difference and a likely away tie with top seeds Ealing.
If that were the mechanics of the draw Jersey would expect to face seventh-placed Munster A, the Irish side who beat them by a solitary point in last season’s dramatic final. A plum tie, indeed.
However, that remains conjecture as the RFU last week refused to be tied-down on the competition’s draw policy.
The quarter-final pairings – and possibly those for the semi-finals, too – are expected to be released by the RFU on Monday afternoon.
