THE IRFU HAS confirmed that a new shortened All-Ireland League campaign will start in January 2021.
With the IRFU stressing the need to focus on “player welfare and Covid-19 risk mitigation,” the 2020/21 senior club rugby season will be split into two stages.
Stage 1 will start on 26 September 2020 and conclude by 12 December 2020, with all AIL clubs competing in a new provincial ‘Energia Community Series’.
Stage 2 will run from January 2021 until May 2021, with a shortened Energia All-Ireland League season consisting of nine league games plus semi-finals and a final in all men’s and women’s divisions. Stage 2 will also involve All-Ireland cup competitions.
Cork Con celebrate their 2018/19 AIL Division 1A success. Laszlo Geczo / INPHO
Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO
The make-up of each 10-team AIL division remains the same as the 2019/20 campaign and there will be no promotion or relegation involved for this shortened AIL season in 2020/21.
The new provincial men’s Community Series will consist of two conferences in each of Munster, Leinster, and Ulster, with a single conference in Connacht. The final make-up of the conferences is still to be confirmed.
Advertisement
The women’s Community Series will involve one conference in each of the four provinces, with several participating clubs still to be determined along with the following:
Connacht Conference: Galwegians and any other teams to be determined.
Leinster Conference: Blackrock College, Old Belvedere, Railway Union, Suttonians Wicklow and any other teams to be determined.
Munster Conference: UL Bohemian, Ballincollig and any other teams to be determined.
Ulster Conference: Cooke, Malone and any other teams to be determined.
The winners of each conference in the men’s and women’s Community Series will receive a trophy, while conference placings will also determine qualification for the All-Ireland cup competitions to be played during Stage 2.
The IRFU has confirmed two new cup competitions for Stage 2 – the Energia Bateman Plate and the Energia Bateman Shield, meaning the full list of All-Ireland cup competitions in Stage 2 is as follows:
Energia Bateman Cup
Energia Bateman Plate
Energia Bateman Shield
Energia All-Ireland Women’s Cup
Energia All-Ireland Women’s Plate
Energia All-Ireland Women’s Shield
Energia All-Ireland Junior Cup
Many club rugby teams in Ireland are now back in pre-season training ahead of the 2020/21 campaign.
Clubs will be able to resume contact training in graduated phases beginning on 20 July, with pre-season fixtures allowed from 29 August.
The IRFU stressed that “experiences in other countries inform us that the development of localised clusters is a real concern” and said that “keeping rugby matches local for longer will minimise the risk of disruption to meaningful competition.”
The IRFU added that progress into Stage 1 and then Stage 2 will only take place with continued government approval, continued low presence of Covid-19, a lack of clusters or any other resurgence of the virus, and the willingness of players to participate.
The union says that if Covid-19 in a club forces the cancellation of a match in Stage 1 or Stage 2, “the result shall be declared a draw and teams will be allocated two match points each and no score registered.”
IRFU Rugby Committee Chair, Greg Barrett, said the union hopes to see the new provincial competition in Stage 1 spark a renewal of the local community feel in clubs.
“While there are many factors which helped shape this season outline, you will see that player welfare and COVID-19 risk mitigation are by far the biggest consideration.
“We are also hopeful that a focus on keeping rugby at a localised level in the first stage of the season brings with it an opportunity for clubs to re-energise their membership.”
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Close
4 Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic.
Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy
here
before taking part.
IRFU confirms shortened All-Ireland League will start in January 2021
THE IRFU HAS confirmed that a new shortened All-Ireland League campaign will start in January 2021.
With the IRFU stressing the need to focus on “player welfare and Covid-19 risk mitigation,” the 2020/21 senior club rugby season will be split into two stages.
Stage 1 will start on 26 September 2020 and conclude by 12 December 2020, with all AIL clubs competing in a new provincial ‘Energia Community Series’.
Stage 2 will run from January 2021 until May 2021, with a shortened Energia All-Ireland League season consisting of nine league games plus semi-finals and a final in all men’s and women’s divisions. Stage 2 will also involve All-Ireland cup competitions.
The make-up of each 10-team AIL division remains the same as the 2019/20 campaign and there will be no promotion or relegation involved for this shortened AIL season in 2020/21.
The new provincial men’s Community Series will consist of two conferences in each of Munster, Leinster, and Ulster, with a single conference in Connacht. The final make-up of the conferences is still to be confirmed.
The women’s Community Series will involve one conference in each of the four provinces, with several participating clubs still to be determined along with the following:
Connacht Conference: Galwegians and any other teams to be determined.
Leinster Conference: Blackrock College, Old Belvedere, Railway Union, Suttonians Wicklow and any other teams to be determined.
Munster Conference: UL Bohemian, Ballincollig and any other teams to be determined.
Ulster Conference: Cooke, Malone and any other teams to be determined.
The winners of each conference in the men’s and women’s Community Series will receive a trophy, while conference placings will also determine qualification for the All-Ireland cup competitions to be played during Stage 2.
The IRFU has confirmed two new cup competitions for Stage 2 – the Energia Bateman Plate and the Energia Bateman Shield, meaning the full list of All-Ireland cup competitions in Stage 2 is as follows:
Many club rugby teams in Ireland are now back in pre-season training ahead of the 2020/21 campaign.
Clubs will be able to resume contact training in graduated phases beginning on 20 July, with pre-season fixtures allowed from 29 August.
The IRFU stressed that “experiences in other countries inform us that the development of localised clusters is a real concern” and said that “keeping rugby matches local for longer will minimise the risk of disruption to meaningful competition.”
The IRFU added that progress into Stage 1 and then Stage 2 will only take place with continued government approval, continued low presence of Covid-19, a lack of clusters or any other resurgence of the virus, and the willingness of players to participate.
The union says that if Covid-19 in a club forces the cancellation of a match in Stage 1 or Stage 2, “the result shall be declared a draw and teams will be allocated two match points each and no score registered.”
IRFU Rugby Committee Chair, Greg Barrett, said the union hopes to see the new provincial competition in Stage 1 spark a renewal of the local community feel in clubs.
“While there are many factors which helped shape this season outline, you will see that player welfare and COVID-19 risk mitigation are by far the biggest consideration.
You can read more about the new club rugby season in the IRFU’s Club Competitions Season Outline 2020/2021 document.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
AIL club rugby IRFU plans roadmap