Former Welsh out-half and Great Britain rugby league star Jonathon Davies has signed for Old Belvedere. This surprise step is primarily to provide additional cover for the AIB league second division club should they have acute injury problems at some juncture in the season.

Nonetheless, Davies has gone to the trouble of filling in the relevant registration forms prior to the December 1st deadline, and says, "If Old Belvedere do need me, and my business and television commitments permit, I'd be happy to play for them." He's also cleared the move with Cardiff.

Davies is employed by Guinness for promotional work up to and including next year's World Cup, and enjoys regular visits to Dublin, where he has contacts in Belvedere. Against that, it hardly seems likely that he would be able to train with the club, which calls into question how he might be accommodated.

For the first time in the AIL, the junior provincial qualifiers will receive 1,000 each, with additional bonuses of £1,000 and £500 for the round-robin winners and runners-up.

The £106,500 prize money: Division One - 1st - £15,000; 2nd - £10,000; 3rd - £7,500; 4th - £5,000. Play-off series: Winners - £15,000; Runners-up - £10,000; beaten semi-finalists - £6,000 each. Division Two: Winners - £12,000; 2nd - £8,000; 3rd - £4,000; 4th - £2,000. Division Three: Winners - £8,000; 2nd - £6,000. Division Four: Winners - £6,000; 2nd - £3,000.