Blackrock College and Galwegians will not be spared relegation despite a proposal drafted by the Division One clubs and dispatched to the IRFU in which they advocate a 14-club premier league next season.
It would have ensured that Blackrock and Galwegians remained in Division One to be joined by the as yet undecided two promoted clubs from Division Two. The decision to submit the proposal was taken at a recent meeting of the Irish First Division Senior Rugby Clubs Association (IFDSRCA), the umbrella body for the Division One clubs.
However, Stan Waldron, in his capacity as chairman of the AIB League working committee, was adamant that the present format of 12 clubs in Division One, with two clubs relegated and two promoted, would remain, as outlined in the regulations agreed upon for this season. "We have confirmed the regulations for this year and the figure of 12 clubs in Division One next season will not change."
Waldron and his colleagues on the committee, will attend a full IRFU committee meeting brought forward to next Tuesday night, at which they will outline proposals for the evolution of the AIB Leagues. They advocate 12 clubs in Division One for next season and after that will offer a structure whereby a first division of 16 clubs, with two conferences of eight, will be arrived upon probably within a further 12 months.
It is likely that this will happen the following season. The IRFU committee will, if there are dissenting voices, be required to vote on what is believed to be a four-year plan for the AIB Leagues. Once a decision has been taken the Union will then meet with all senior clubs to outline the fixture schedule.
Secretary of the IFDSRCA, Shannon's Gerry O'Loughlin, outlined the parameters of the document sent to the IRFU. "Our stance on the composition of next season's first division has not changed. This is not a new development but a proposal which we have advocated for some time and the union has been aware of this.
"We would be willing to accept a proposal that would provide for a 14-club Division One next season or even straight to the union's model of a 16 club structure." Eleven of the 12 IFDSRCA backed the 14-club proposal with Buccaneers voting against, preferring an immediate switch to the 16-club format. O'Loughlin pointed out: "We are in favour of the union's desire to stabilise the league." Neither side would be willing to prejudge the outcome of Tuesday night's IRFU committee.
"It is in everyone interest to try and arrive at the most attractive package. We feel that there should have been no relegation this year. Ballymena is a case in point. The whole thing was messed up and a bit of a disaster in terms of their season."
The Division One clubs attempted to canvas the support of their counterparts in Division Two but the latter "unfortunately don't seem to feel like us," according to O'Loughlin.
He maintained that there is a new document to be signed on the completion of the leagues with regard to the format for next season and that this would supersede any existing agreement.
It will be interesting to note how the Union appease the Division One clubs if the latter's proposal is rejected. The IRFU will cite the fixture congestion caused by the World Cup and the European Cup and point out that they do not wish to diminish the club game. The fact that it would be easier to incorporate 11 games rather than 13 into an already packed season appears the core of their argument.
The clubs may be satisfied with a commitment to a 16-club Division One boasting two conferences within a further 12 months. However, they still have not abandoned hopes of seeing Irish clubs entering European competition, an area of certain conflict with the IRFU. O'Loughlin pointed out: "It is still our aspiration to end up there and who knows how things will change over the next few years, but there are no strings attached to the present proposal." The European issue is separate.
It is understood that the IRFU's Director of Rugby, Eddie Wigglesworth, has drafted a blueprint for the subdivision of the 16-team Division One into two conferences. Teams finishing first, third, fifth etc in the final league tables of the previous season would go into one conference with the second, fourth, sixth etc placed teams going into the other.
The Limerick clubs, for whom serious revenue is generated with local derbies, would be unhappy with so haphazard a subdivision a point that will be registered with the Union.
IFDSRCA is critical of the lack of marketing of the AIB League and has put together a proposal to improve this deficiency. They would like to see an ad hoc committee comprising of representatives of their association, the IRFU and AIB to market the package. One proposal is to approach RTE to produce a magazine programme on club rugby, a facility available to soccer and GAA folk.
