Clubs call for Division Two to be expanded

The Association of Second Division Clubs has called upon the IRFU to increase the AIB League Division Two from 16 to 18 clubs next season, thereby reinstating Monkstown and Instonians, both of whom were relegated.

This demand arises directly from the compromise which the union made affected with Wanderers, a solution deemed unsatisfactory by the Association of Second Division Clubs. In an official statement which will be communicated to the IRFU they contend that: "At a meeting of the Association of Second Division Clubs at which 15 clubs were represented, a proposal was made which was accepted by the clubs pending confirmation from their executive committees - that Division Two of the All Ireland League for the next season would also include the relegated clubs (Instonians, Monkstown) - effectively an 18 team second division.

"We are also requesting an urgent meeting with the officers of the IRFU to discuss the matter further. The second division clubs have requested that no fixtures for the All Ireland League be made until a satisfactory solution has been achieved."

The chairman of the Association of Second Division clubs, Bective Rangers president Louis Magee, offered a personal addendum. "As chairman of the association I would like to state that the matter was dealt with in the proper way. "It was essential that our association retained its integrity, dignity and focus. I feel that as a result of what transpired on Saturday, the 11th of April and the subsequent compromise reached between the IRFU and the club, on Friday last, that the Second Division Association was left with no alternative but to support the relegated clubs - clubs that had played their rugby on the field of play."

The spectre of legal action once again haunts the IRFU as they bid to arrest a catalogue of events, initiated by Wanderers's decision to postpone a league match against Buccaneers on April 11th, that must appear a living nightmare for rugby's governing body. At the centre of the union's problems is that fact that the rules governing the competition are nothing more substantial than written guidelines and certainly would fail to bear legal scrutiny in the High Court. In the past the IRFU has listened to individual cases on merit and generally appeared flexible.

Due to recent events laws governing IRFU competition will have to be redrafted with the help of lawyers during the summer to ensure a watertight procedure. The union will therefore have less scope to be flexible in the future. Privately the Association of Second Division Clubs is aware that an 18-team Division Two is unworkable within the present parameters and that the IRFU will simply not agree to their demand. The current club season would have to be extended from its present starting date of December 5th.

To do so would mean that fixtures would have to be scheduled for days on which interprovincials are to be played, possibly also for international Saturdays and almost certainly would include mid-week matches. Initiating an earlier start to the AIB League season would impinge upon provincial leagues. An example of this conflict can be gleaned from the fact that in next season's 15-team Ulster Senior League, there are 14 matches scheduled. If one was to add a further 17 matches in the AIB league, this would mean one can ascertain the folly of a 31-game club season. In contrast, Division Three teams, of which there would be eight if the proposal was ratified, would have only seven matches.

Dialogue is a prerequisite but There will have to be some radical restructuring of the season if the association's proposal is to be met. The IRFU may view this latest statement as akin to blackmail and simply invite those clubs who are willing to play within their guidelines to participate in Division Two or dispense with the division altogether, in the hope of breaking up the entente cordiale.

Meanwhile New Zealander Glenn Ross has been appointed as Director of Rugby in Connacht, succeeding Warren Gatland. Gatland's present position as Ireland coach meant that he had to relinquish a role he performed with great success last season.