The IRFU have unveiled a Clubs of Ireland Scheme, a strategy for the development of rugby in AIB League clubs. The new initiative will replace the existing subventions and clubs will be expected to fulfil certain criteria in order to maximise their financial remuneration from the IRFU.

The objective of the scheme, in the words of the Union, is to "implement in association with the clubs a programme of progressive development within the rugby club structures in Ireland". The programme will begin in the 1999-2000 season.

The IRFU has devised a development template against which clubs will be assessed and those failing to meet certain criteria will be penalised financially. At the start of this rugby year, Division One clubs were handed £30,000 by the union, next season they will have an opportunity to earn £33,000, Division Two clubs £22,000, Division Three clubs £16,000 and Division Four clubs £11,000.

Fifty per cent will be paid in September 1999. If clubs satisfy the requirements of the scheme, then a further 25 per cent will be handed over in January 2000 and the same amount in April of that year.

The development template will focus, over a two-year period, on the following areas - players (participation), coaches (provision of/development), referees (recruitment/retention) and structural (facilities).

The template is then broken down to specifics, i.e. the number of teams a club is requested to field at specific levels, the number of active referees a club should possess, the number of coaches recommended for each team and the quality and qualification of those coaches.

In Category A (Divisions One and Two), for example, clubs will be required to field the following number of teams according to provincial breakdown: Connacht (13), Leinster (17), Munster (12) and Ulster (14). The emphasis in on underage rugby with the under-20 age group targeted as a key area in keeping young players involved in clubs.

The coaching situation has also been addressed with the following club guidelines laid down, again according to province: Connacht (17 per club), Leinster (20), Munster (16) and Ulster (16). Clubs failing to meet the criteria under any one of the headings will suffer financially.

For example any club failing to field an under-20 team - it must fulfil 80 per cent of its fixtures - would lose £1,650 of the IRFU subvention. There are also penalty clauses attached to the areas of refereeing, coaching and facilities.

The IRFU have charged the clubs with helping themselves and in doing so raising the standard of club rugby and improving the product through increasing participation at playing, refereeing and social levels. Many clubs already boasts excellent development structures and these demands should not prove a hardship.