Clubs' third-tier issue could end in tears

On Rugby: Perhaps it was too good to be true. The recommendation of the All Ireland Senior Rugby Clubs Association (AISRCA) that the first division be reduced to 10 clubs, with 19 each in divisions two and three, has probably been the most progressive suggestion put forth on behalf of the club game since the advent of the All Ireland League. But it was always likely to put a few noses out of joint.

And sure enough, so it has come to pass. Not only did the established powers, be it union or branch personnel, resent what they still see as an upstart association forever hijacking the debate and with it "their" area of responsibility, but various clubs, especially Munster clubs in Division Two and Three, bridled at the mere mention in the media of words such as an "elite" top flight or "ringfencing". It immediately sent alarm bells through the Munster clubs that their not-so-dear neighbours, be they Cork Con, Shannon or Garryowen, would be ensured of top-flight status for ever more.

The net result is the initiative of the AISRCA executive looks dead in the water and probably won't even be put to a potentially divisive vote, as suggested, among all 48 senior clubs next month.

A couple of things happened, unfortunately, in close proximity to stymie the proposal. First, amid expressed concerns by the IRFU director of rugby Eddie Wigglesworth, the union president Peter Boyle sent a letter to all the clubs (and critically went public with it) reaffirming the union still regarded the club game as the third tier. The A games were merely part of the provincial sector, ie the second tier, he wrote.

To some of us, that merely smacked of semantics. But it was seemingly enough to convince some clubs, especially the Munster ones outside of Division One, that the top-flight clubs had no real grounds for concern. Boyle's letter, in tandem with Wigglesworth's comments, also reaffirmed the union were committed to a season-long debate encompassing all the game's stakeholders, ie the branches; and that there was no need for the clubs to rush into any decision.

The union's fears that a reduced first division might quickly become dominated by one or two provinces are entirely justifiable, given it would undermine the AIL's supposed status as the third tier, although a "meritocracy" could still be decided upon after the principle of a reduced first division was agreed upon. But the clubs need to understand a "ringfenced" first division, for want of a better word, ensuring representation from all four provinces can be established while still retaining promotion and relegation. And it would have to be in place from the start. But that is another debate.

Following on swiftly from the union's letter, uncannily swiftly it has to be said, "representatives" of the second and third division Munster clubs met last week and expressed their unanimous opposition to the AISRCA initiative, instead welcoming Boyle's letter. One wonders how representative this meeting could have been of the dozen clubs concerned. Were votes taken of all members in each of the 12 clubs?

It hasn't helped the AISRCA executive that the majority of clubs are only swinging back into action after their Dáil-like summer recess. (As largely voluntary organisations, admittedly their summer recess is perhaps more forgivable.) As much as anything, the clubs appear to be motivated by a deep-rooted suspicion and dislike of some of their more established provincial brethren.

But in any event, when the delegates of the 24 second and third division clubs met last Thursday, there was a groundswell of opinion opposed to the initiative. Thankfully, that said, it doesn't appear to have driven a wedge between the clubs and their executive. Indeed, seven of the eight Division Two and Three delegates on the AISRCA executive were re-elected, and there remains widespread gratitude that, if nothing else, the executive provoked a healthy debate.

Over 60 delegates were in attendance as all bar two of the second and third division clubs (both from Ulster) were represented. And it seems as if a retention of three divisions of 16 teams, abandoning the end-of-season play-offs to be replaced by the All Ireland Cup, remains the preferred option. A personal view is that the clubs don't quite appreciate the worth of the play-offs, and that AIB might take a dim view of them being abandoned. If nothing else they ensure a rare day in the sun for the club game, and if anything the additional carrot of promotion should be worked into the second and third division play-offs to give them more meaning.

In any event, when the existing 16 first division clubs meet this week, it is likely some of them will also oppose the initiative. Turkeys voting for Christmas and all that.

In the interim, three of the four provincial branches - in what seems like a desperate attempt to regain the political high ground - sent out questionnaires to their clubs. Many of the Munster and Leinster clubs felt theirs was not entirely relevant to the AIL, and the prevailing feeling was the questionnaire sent out by the Ulster Branch was the most pertinent. (All of which merely underlines again the divisive effect which the four provincial branches have when the various "stakeholders" disparately come into play.)

An ensuing recommendation by the AISRCA executive to the IRFU that the Ulster questionnaire be duplicated and sent out by all the branches, appears to have been well received, and if nothing else would ensure uniformity and transparency.

When the AIB marketing manager Jim Kelly made a presentation to the clubs last season, he implored them to "think outside the box". Some seem incapable of this, and are instead consumed by parochial rivalries. It's easy enough to object to any initiative. It's another to come up with pro-active proposals and it now behoves the clubs to do so if the union, together with the branches and AISRCA, uniformly seek out their views.

There is, however, a bottom line to all of this which the clubs will have to accept or else just watch the All Ireland League ebb away. Put simply, a reduced first division of a dozen or preferably 10 clubs is the only way of ensuring higher standards in the top flight. With that would come a superior, more marketable flagship for the club game, and thus a better feeder to the provinces in its supposed role as a third tier.