This weekend will see a number of playoff games take place where Clontarf will face Lansdowne on Saturday at 2.30pm in Castle Avenue. On Sunday, Cork Constitution take on Dublin University in Temple Hill at 2.30pm. These are the AIL Division 1A semi finals.
Also this weekend will see a number of other AIL play offs from the Women’s Final that will be played in Energia Park at 3pm next Saturday to other divisional games that will decide the faith of a number of clubs and where they will play there rugby for the season 2019/2020.
The professional game will take everyone’s attention over the closing weeks of the current campaign but the club game will also be in its closing weeks. If you can’t make the Pro 14 games this weekend then head towards Castle Avenue or Temple Hill and cheer on one of the 4 semi finalists or if that won’t work out they are other games that you can go and follow.
The Club game in Ireland flourished in the 80s and 90s but when the game of rugby went professional in 1995 the game in Ireland fell behind in the professional ranks but stayed strong at club level.
Look back on YouTube at the old footage of the AIL finals and you will see how strong the club game once was. In recent times the club game has suffered as the IRFU tries to find a way to get the AIL back close to the glory days of the 80s and 90s. The Professional game has dominated paper, TV, radio and social media.
I have seen at close quarters in the past few years what a good product the AIL is and with large amounts of academy talent and players looking to get game time after injury. The AIL has been a great vehicle to help give young academy talent a taste of senior rugby when some of them may have only played underage rugby before making the step up to the academies in the 4 provinces.
There is real value in giving those academy talents the chance to play at club level rather than at A level for their provinces at certain times of the year. At vital times over the course of the season, players that are affiliated to clubs are made unavailable and travel with their provinces in most cases without the real chance of game time. Many times these guys would have been bettered served to stay at home and play in the AIL.
So many say that the schools game in the reason for so many players making it at some level but the truth is without clubs the schools game would have no players to fill their different teams. The club game has suffered but with the correct planning and exposure it can regain its place in the centre of the game.
Some big choices need to be made in the next few months about the direction of the AIL. A podcast name the Club Scene has been released and has done great work in bringing the club game to a new audience.
Like everything it will take time to get things back on the straight and narrow but there a large numbers of players , coaches , supporters and administrators willing to put in the ground work to re establish the AIL. Here’s hoping that TV, Radio and all social media outlets up there game in the new season.
The AIL is a quality product and will highlight some top players, coaches and clubs throughout Ireland. Next time you see a sign advertising an AIL game make the effort to get to it. It will not disappoint….