All-Ireland League finals: The IRFU "Year Of The Club" will forever be remembered as the season that ended in a shambles. The AIB All-Ireland League committee announced yesterday that the Division Two final between Dolphin and Terenure College had been postponed as the eligibility case of Dolphin player Andrew O'Driscoll required a full hearing.
Ironically, the Division Three final between Clonakilty and Suttonians has been bumped up to the Division Two slot, Lansdowne Road at 2pm. The IRFU received widespread criticism for moving that game to Anglesea Road, in order to protect the pitch ahead of the soccer international against Chile on May 27th.
Young Munster RFC, who Dolphin pipped for promotion on the last day of the season, lodged the objection. O'Driscoll was an unused substitute in Dolphin's victory over Bective Rangers on April 29th and a late replacement against Young Munster during last Saturday's Division Two play-off semi-final.
If the objection is upheld Dolphin could be deducted two points, which would see Young Munster promoted to Division One in their place.
Both clubs will attend a full hearing next week.
"The AIB League Committee considered that the time required to allow this process to take place before the AIB League Division Two final was not sufficient and felt that there was no other option but to postpone the game until the matter is resolved," read an IRFU statement.
The most embarrassing scenario for the IRFU and sponsors AIB is the Division Two final may not be re-scheduled as continued player insurance is now a concern.
Terenure are innocent victims in the committee's investigation, which could not be solved despite a late night meeting at a Dublin airport hotel on Wednesday.
"It's very disappointing, especially for our players and supporters who were all looking forward to a great day out," said Terenure president Dr Bill Twomey.
"The silverware would have been the icing on the cake from a great season. Hopefully we can play the game at a later date but I applaud the Division Three match being switched to Lansdowne Road, especially for Clonakilty."
Saturday was also supposed to be a fitting farewell for former Irish international winger Darragh O'Mahony, who has played with Dolphin for the last two seasons since ending a professional career with Saracens.
"It would have been a great swan song for Darragh O'Mahony to finish out his career," said Dolphin captain James Coughlan.
"It's all up in the air but we are holding a meeting tonight to see where we go next.
"I don't expect it to be rescheduled but hopefully it will as we would love to play the final."
O'Driscoll was hooker on the PBC Cork team that lost this year's Munster Schools' Cup final to St Munchin's and was a member of the Irish under-19s squad during the Six Nations.
He had been training with Dolphin in recent weeks having previously been a member of Bandon RFC. After two frontline hookers were injured, Dolphin director of rugby Alan Miller contacted IRFU administration manager Gordon Black about registering the player. O'Driscoll was sanctioned to play by the IRFU.
Young Munster claim this was contrary to league regulation 13.1. They also claim under Munster Branch rules a player cannot play schools' and senior club rugby in the same season.
A Young Munster source said: "We can't understand how a player can be cleared the day before a match. It's against all rules and regulations. Furthermore, you can't play senior rugby if you are a schools' player."
The Dolphin defence will state Young Munster didn't object within the required seven days of the game against Bective Rangers. This defence is already being used by Galwegians over the Dublin University objection to fielding Killian Finnane in a Division One game on January 21st.
