IRISH rugby is not the preserve of the traditional areas like Dublin, Cork, Belfast and Limerick. There is a place in the game for everybody, or at least there should be in spite of the campaign to get rid of Connacht, and anybody disputing that point of view ought to have been at Thomond Park on Saturday.

Carlow secured their Div One status for the 2202 / 2003 season with a last-minute victory in Oak Park.