Radical initiative to revamp league

Club Rugby: A long-awaited and radical initiative to stimulate the AIB All-Ireland League and make it a more meaningful support base to the provinces is being proposed by the executive of the All-Ireland Senior Rugby Clubs' Association; namely to realign the three-division league to a 10-team top flight along with second and third divisions of 19 clubs each.

Despite assurances from the IRFU the club game would remain the third tier of the pyramid structure in the professional era, the clubs feel they are being demoted to a fourth tier with the advent of A games for the provinces.

Realising a top tier of 16 clubs is too numerous, the executive have devised a formula that will allow for 18 games in each division, with the top 10 meeting each other twice, home and away, while the 19 clubs in the lower divisions would meet once, but this would also entail nine home and nine away games. Promotion and relegation, of two-up and two-down, would also be maintained.

"The executive felt unanimously a 10-team Division One would provide a much more competitive and meaningful top division to a third-level structure for Irish rugby, backed up by two divisions of 19 playing straight leagues," said the AISCRA chairman, John Dickson, adding: "Such a structure would provide a development path for professional players to obtain meaningful game time at club level.

"Playing on a home-and-away basis with the concentration of playing resources in a smaller Division One, backed up with a competitive second and third division, together with our recommendations for the restructured All-Ireland Cup, will undoubtedly benefit Irish rugby in the future."

The proposal, if ratified, would undoubtedly achieve a higher standard just below provincial level and thus a better feeding ground to the provinces, and while many clubs will be concerned it will reduce the number of seats at the top table, an improved, flagship first division would also have a ripple effect throughout the club game.

The recommendations will be submitted to all 48 senior clubs for consideration at committee level before being voted on by the clubs at divisional association meetings next month.