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.