Celtic plan would be a disaster for Irish clubs

NOT that anyone would notice, but the AIB League resumes on Saturday with a full series of matches.

Celtic plan would be a disaster for Irish clubs

Over the past 12 months, I have had an opportunity to attend a number of AIL fixtures, both at first and second division level. While I was conscious of the demise in the club scene over the past few seasons, I hadn’t realised the extent to which the public had lost interest in our premier club competition.

There was a crowd of less than 500 at the recent Shannon v Constitution game in Thomond Park. Five years ago this fixture would have attracted ten times that number. While everybody accepts that the provincial scene is the best route for professional rugby in Ireland, due cognisance must be given to the role the clubs have played in producing players.

Last Sunday at a Welsh Rugby Union extraordinary general meeting, the clubs voted overwhelmingly to restructure their game. In future, four regional sides will represent Wales in the Celtic League and the Heineken European Cup. While I welcome any change that helps Wales to regain their status on the international field, I fear it could have consequences for the club game in Ireland.

The Welsh are hoping that their new structure will be in place next season and they, along with Scotland, are pushing for the Celtic League to be restructured and played on a home-and-away basis. This revised format would result in our provinces playing 20 games in that competition. If this happens, the AIL is finished.

Given that the League will run parallel to the World Cup, there could be an onus on our clubs to make more of their players available to the provincial squads. At present, due to the demands of the national side, international squad players are not in a position to play any games for their clubs. People have come to accept this. If the expanded Celtic League takes place, then the clubs can then wave goodbye to their provincial players. With interest already at an all-time low in club rugby, I fear that this could be the final nail in the coffin.

In my view, this proposed expansion would also have a detrimental effect on the development of our younger players. Take Cork Constitution as an example. We are fortunate to have a number of young promising players coming through the club ranks at present. Tomas O’Leary, Pat McCarthy, Frank Cogan and Shane O’Connor are just a few of the emerging stars to sample AIL rugby over the past two seasons.

However, the progress of these young lads is currently hampered by the fact that they do not have the opportunity of playing with more seasoned representative players. In times past, younger players came under the influence of - and, consequently, were out to impress - the senior representative stars when they all trained together with the club side. Unfortunately, those days are also gone.

When Con played Blackrock recently, it was a great thrill for the younger lads to line out with the likes of Jim Williams, Donnacha O’Callaghan and Mick O’Driscoll. It was also a great learning experience for them. An expanded Celtic League would mean that even those players not required for international duty, would rarely if ever be seen in the club jersey again. As a result, everybody loses.

I also have reservations as to the benefit an expanded Celtic League competition has for the Irish provinces. Travelling every second weekend to either Wales or Scotland presents very little attraction to either players or spectators. Munster in particular has built up a fantastic travelling support, but it is unrealistic to think that it could be sustained over 20 games. The general public would simply wait for the European Cup, cherry-picking their fixtures and, in the process, dilute the relevance of the Celtic League.

Additionally, I couldn’t foresee Irish consent for a revamp of the Celtic League, which, on the face of it, would appear to be tailored to suit the financial and playing needs of the newly-formed Welsh provinces.

While on the subject of the clubs, it is very sad to see just how far the Munster Senior Cup has been downgraded. This once famous competition has now been virtually disowned by the clubs. Last weekend we saw a number of participating teams put out weakened sides. For some reason Dolphin fielded practically a second team and as a result were well beaten by Thomond. Surely a side that currently tops Division Two of the AIL and is playing good rugby should aspire to win this trophy in their centenary season.

There is no doubt the clubs have taken a severe structural hammering over the last few seasons. There have been times when they haven’t helped their own cause but if their relevance continues to deteriorate, then the game in this country - even at representative level - could be severely undermined.

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