Leinster's ground switch:Leinster rugby's official move to the Royal Dublin Society will be tied up by Christmas, confirmed Leinster chief executive Mick Dawson yesterday.
The experimental switch to the Ballsbridge venue proved a success last season as it catered for the ticket demand for Heineken European Cup group games, with Donnybrook being too small a venue and Lansdowne Road too vast. Also, the Leinster Branch needed to source a new home with the Lansdowne outlet set to close early next year.
The RDS has been unavailable this season due to a modernisation of the ground that will increase the capacity to 20,000, with 15,000 seats, floodlighting and a resurfaced pitch. The venue will also be available for soccer matches although formal discussions are yet to be initiated with the FAI.
The stadium reopens for the Horse Show in August, which coincides nicely with the delayed start of the rugby season due to the World Cup in France. Leinster's first game is on September 22nd when redevelopment work is expected to be complete.
"We hope to have a formal arrangement signed off with the RDS by the end of December," said Leinster CEO Mick Dawson, who also revealed the application for planning permission to redevelop Donnybrook has received a green light, after being initially stalled by An Bord Pleanála.
The branch received approval to transform Donnybrook into an 11,200-capacity stadium, with 76 apartments at the Bective end of the ground, along with a new, three-storey clubhouse on the River Dodder side that includes a gym, offices, kitchens, a bar and a television and media press box along with corporate facilities. There will also be a creche, a new viewing stand, six tennis courts, a scrummage area and a river walkway linking Anglesea Bridge with Herbert Park.
Seating for 3,000 people is all that has been made available in the plans, with the main stand increasing from 1,100 to 2,500.
High-rise apartments at the Wesley end of the ground, which were crucial to financing the project, were initially rejected but a redesign has since been accepted into the seven-year planning permission. The process will be broken up over a phased period to ensure the pitch is always available.
"Now that full planning permission has been granted we intend to begin the building of a new stand in April or May," explained Dawson.
"We intend to keep Donnybrook open throughout the whole redevelopment process so most work will be done during the summer months."
The problems encountered in recent years regarding the state of the Donnybrook pitch are expected to recur although new floodlights on the back pitch will alleviate some activity.
On the contract renegotiation front, Dawson is confidant Gordon D'Arcy and Felipe Contepomi will be secured on a long-term basis early in the New Year.
Both players are out of contract this summer with three French clubs, including Stade Francais, already making overtures to the Argentinian international. "We are currently in negotiations with both players but are optimistic that considering their age profiles that we can get them to sign long-term deals. We will be making every effort to ensure they remain part of Leinster rugby," added Dawson.
n Eddie O'Sullivan and Irish team manager Gerard Carmody joined representatives from every country involved in next year's World Cup at a logistical briefing in Paris yesterday organised by the IRB.
The three-day seminar deals with every aspect of the tournament including transport, accommodation, match-day protocol and media commitments.
