The All Ireland leagues have gone through a number of structural iterations since the foundation, with the current league structure of 10 team leagues, playing home and away for 18 games, in the regulation season, followed by a top four semi-final play-off, leading to a Div 1A final in the Aviva Stadium in place since 2014/15.
It is widely accepted that this All Ireland league/playoff structure has inspired club rugby in Ireland and presents a ferocious challenge to the clubs involved. It may not be logical to bolt a cup competition onto a league, but it certainly leads to excitement!
A review of Clontarf’s Championship winning season last year gives a snapshot to how competitive this league is.
In the 24/25 season, Clontarf secured victory in 4 games by scoring with the last play, as the clock moved deep into the red. To be specific, last year Clontarf were losing against St Mary’s, Cork Con ( twice!) and Terenure, with time up and game over at the next breakdown, and still managed to win.