Deal ‘to revitalise Irish club rugby’

AN INTERNATIONAL fixture for Ireland’s non-contracted players is just one of the initiatives to emerge from a new deal struck between the Irish Rugby Football Union and AIB.

The IRFU yesterday announced a five-year partnership with the bank as they launched the IRFU Community Rugby Programme aimed at revitalising the amateur game nationwide.

That grassroots effort will be given an international dimension with the introduction of a club international against Scotland during this season’s Six Nations Championship.

The Ireland team will be comprised of only club players who will take on a similarly selected Scottish side at Donnybrook on Friday, March 10, the same weekend as Ireland’s home RBS 6 Nations game against Scotland.

The IRFU said it wanted the game to give non-contracted club players the opportunity to win representative honours for Ireland and would “showcase the club game at the highest possible level”.

AIB’s continued sponsorship of the All-Ireland League will stretch into its ninth season when the competition kicks off next month for a campaign which will return the top flight Division One to 16 clubs, bringing uniformity across each championship.

As well as promotion and relegation across all three divisions, the semi-final winners will be playing for divisional titles on the AIB League finals day.

A further initiative will be a new AIB senior and junior cup competition, with a club representing each of the four provinces, culminating in a cup final in April.

Speaking at the launch, IRFU president Andy Crawford said: “Through our partnership with AIB, this year has been designated as the Year of the Club by the IRFU. It is our determination to continue to work with the clubs to maintain the development of the club game in recognition of its importance to rugby in Ireland.”

IRFU chief executive Philip Browne said the initiatives were in response to the changing nature of club rugby in the professional era.

“The playing field for the club game has changed a great deal in a relatively short time,” Browne said.

“The IRFU Community Rugby Programme is aimed at both refreshing the competitive structures for the clubs and aiding them on a local level. The backbone of any rugby club is the community and by working with them at this level and providing them with the necessary assistance, we want to develop the clubs as a more community-focused entity.”

The IRFU said yesterday that the new league structure had been the result of consultation between it and the clubs and was “also in line with the Domestic Rugby Competition Strategy as outlined in the Union’s Strategic Plan”.

As part of the new programme, the IRFU last week announced the appointment of former Leinster player Kevin Potts as its Domestic Game Manager.

He will be responsible for the planning, development and organisation of the game within clubs and schools, reporting to the IRFU Director of Rugby, and he will sit on the Domestic Game Committee.

The role, says the IRFU, will ensure a focus on the club and schools game at grassroots level.

In addition to this appointment, each province is to have its own AIB Club Development Manager “to ensure direct contact and assistance at a community level”.