League ratify top tier of eight

RUGBY NEWS:IF NOTHING else, and certainly not before time, the IRFU yesterday showed some leadership in grasping the AIB League nettle and effectively decreeing that an elite Premiership will come into being at club level for a two-year trial period from next season.

The move having been ratified at committee level and announced yesterday afternoon in one fell swoop, the Union have decided the first division will have two sections, A and B, of eight teams each, all playing each other home and away over 14 series of matches.

The top three sides in Section A and the top side in Section B will then play off for the league title.

Divisions two and three will remain at 16 teams each.

Promotion and relegation will remain two-up and two-down, between the two first-division sections and between the divisions, and the new format will be reviewed at the end of the 2010-2011 season.

Most significantly of all, there will be no guaranteed geographical or provincial representation in the top sections, but rather a meritocracy based on this season's final finishing places: the top eight will qualify for section A.

In effect, an eight-club Premier Division has been created and the only way a club currently in division two can win the title in the new 2009-2010 format would be to win Division Two this season, top Section B of the first division next season, and then prevail in the play-offs.

"The IRFU took the decision to make this alteration based on the desire to deliver a fresh, competitive and, most importantly, quality competition as the pinnacle for the domestic game," read yesterday's statement.

"The IRFU undertook an extensive consultation with clubs in relation to the structure of the league during the 2006-07 season. While the majority of clubs wished to retain the league in its present format of three divisions of 16, a majority of Division One clubs expressed the need for a change to the format of Division One."

Underlining the Union's commitment to three divisions of 16 teams, the IRFU chief executive, Philip Browne, said, "Our focus over the next four years is on delivering quality at all levels of domestic rugby, in terms of competitions, coaching, facilities and support.

"This new format will deliver a higher quality of competition throughout the season, which is what the majority of clubs want to get from the league."

The details of the new AIB League Division 1 format are:

• AIB League Division One divided into two sections of eight clubs, designated Sections A and B (Sections determined on Division One League table ranking at end of 2008-2009 season);

• Sections to play home and away matches (14 matches per team), with the existing points system in place to rank the teams at the conclusion of the sectional matches (four points for a win, one point for draw, bonus points for four tries/losing within seven points);

• AIB League Division One final contested by knock-out competition as follows: First in Section A v third in Section A; second in Section A v first in Section B; final to determine AIB League Champion contested between winners of play-offs

• Promotion and relegation to occur as follows: Section A bottom two teams relegated to Section B; Section B top two teams promoted to Section A; Section B bottom two teams relegated to Division Two; Division Two top two teams promoted to Division One Section B.