GAA reluctant to host URC final in Croke Park

A scrum during the 2025 United Rugby Championship match between Leinster and Munster at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

Next month’s URC final is unlikely to take place in Croke Park as the GAA have already indicated a reluctance to host it.

Contact had been made about the possibility of the game being played at GAA HQ on Saturday, June 20 in the event Leinster qualify and have home advantage. The Jones’ Road venue hosted the decider last year.

However, the Irish Examiner understands GAA leadership have ruled out the rugby fixture being facilitated. It is believed the proposal was discussed but turned down due to the association’s own promotional interests.

Croke Park will stage Tailteann Cup semi-finals on June 20/21 and there is the possibility it may also host Round 3 Sam Maguire Cup clashes, which are effectively All-Ireland SFC preliminary quarter-finals, in the case of Dublin and/or Meath home fixtures as well as the All-Ireland senior hurling quarter-finals.

Importantly, the televised Tailteann Cup semi-finals could be moved from Sunday to Saturday, the day of the URC final, as there is a proposal in front of Central Council this Saturday to return the hurling quarter-finals to a Sunday.

All four games, the Tailteann Cup semis and hurling fixtures, are due to be shown by RTÉ, while Premier Sports will show the URC final.

The hurling quarter-finals have not been played on a Sunday since 2019, but there is a strong lobby formed to return them to the day with only seven Liam MacCarthy Cup game remaining in the season.

Third-placed team in Munster Clare will face the Leinster runners-up, Dublin or Galway, in one of them, while Leinster’s third side Offaly meet the losers of Sunday week’s Munster SHC final, Cork or Limerick.

An 11th hour attempt in 2024 to switch the All-Ireland quarter-finals with the Tailteann Cup semi-finals and organise them for a Sunday was narrowly beaten at a Central Council meeting. However, hurling counties are determined to see this season’s matches played on a Sunday.

The Aviva Stadium is unavailable to Leo Cullen’s Leinster side that weekend as Metallica played two concerts at the Dublin 4 venue on June 19 and 21.

Leinster host the Lions in Saturday’s URC quarter-final and providing they reach the last two, they will have home advantage in the event table-toppers Glasgow Warriors don’t also make it through to the final.

Leinster defeated The Bulls in last year’s showdown in Croke Park, 32-7, in front of a 46,127 crowd. Two years ago, Croke Park was the venue for Leinster’s European Cup win over Northampton Saints, which was watched by a full 82,000 attendance.