The All-Ireland League (AIL), known for sponsorship reasons as the Energia All-Ireland League, is the national league system for the 50 senior rugby union clubs in Ireland, covering both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The league was inaugurated in the 1990–91 season.
Cork Constitution F.C are the only club to have constantly retained their status in Division 1 since 1990/91. All other clubs in the league have experienced relegation.
Division 1 sides may field no more than two professional players in their matchday sides, and only one may be a forward. Division 2 sides may not field professional players. Foreign professional players may not play in the League.
Cork Constitution, the inaugural winners, are the only club to have retained top division status since the inception of the league.[1]
Competition format
The league is divided into five divisions of ten teams each. Teams play each other team in the division twice per season (once at home and once away), for a total of 18 regular-season matches.[2]
The season runs from mid-September until mid-April, with an approximately four-week break in matches from mid-December to early-January. At the end of the season, the top four teams in division 1A enter a play off semi-finals and a final for the championship.
Promotion and relegation
At the end of each season the bottom team in division 1A is replaced by the top team in division 1B, with the second-bottom team entering a promotion/relegation play-off with the second-placed team in 1B. The bottom two teams in 1B, 2A and 2B are relegated and replaced by the top two teams from divisions 2A, 2B and 2C respectively.
The two teams finishing bottom of division 2C are relegated to the relevant provincial league, and replaced by the two teams finishing top of a "round robin" tournament between the four provincial league winners. The four provincial junior leagues are the Connacht Junior League, the Leinster League, the Munster Junior League and the Ulster Championship League.
History
Prior to 1990, there was no national league in Ireland. Each of the four provincial unions had its own cup and league tournament. In 1991, after almost five years of discussion and consultation with clubs, the All-Ireland League (AIL) was introduced with two divisions, division 1 with 9 clubs and division 2 with 10 clubs.[3][4][5] The AIL was expanded to four divisions in 1993–94,[6] with small variations in the numbers of teams per division in subsequent seasons.[7][8]
In 2000–01 the league was restructured to three divisions, each with 16 teams.[9] After the 1995 introduction of professionalism in rugby union, the IRFU increased the importance of the provinces, which from 2002 participated in the Celtic League (now the United Rugby Championship) as full-time teams rather than ad hoc selections of club players. Therefore, the best Irish players no longer played in the AIL. In 2004 the IRFU proposed scrapping the All-Ireland League and reintroducing a provincial league system in 2005–06 which would act as qualifiers for a curtailed three division AIL structure in the second half of the season, but this model did not receive the support of clubs or rugby pundits.[10][11] In 2007 the IRFU agreed that the structure of the All-Ireland League would remain as three divisions with 16 clubs each for seasons 2008–09 and 2009–10. In 2009–10, division 1 was split into 1A and 1B with eight teams in each as a trial and then continued in season 2010–11.[12] In 2011–12 division 1A and 1B had 10 clubs each and divisions 2 and 3 were reformatted as divisions 2A and 2B with 16 clubs in each division.[12]
† From season 1990–91 through to 1996–97, the team placing top of Division 1 was crowned AIL League Champion
‡ From season 1997–98, playoffs were introduced which was contested by the top four teams in Division 1 for the title of AIL League Champion; in the semi-finals the top placed team played the 4th placed team and the 2nd placed team the 3rd placed team
§ The title in 2013–14 was decided on final league position; there were no play-offs.
Club statistics
The All-Ireland League has been dominated by teams from Limerick (Shannon, Garryowen, and Young Munster) who have won 13 out of 31 titles. Teams from Munster have won 19 out of 31.
The All-Ireland League was not sponsored in the initial season, but was sponsored for six years by Insurance Corporation of Ireland.[78][79][80] The League was sponsored by Allied Irish Banks from 1998 to 2010,[81][82][83]Ulster Bank from 2010 to 2019,[84][85] 2018/19 season was not sponsored and Energia since the 2019–20 season.[86]
^Irish Times. (1995). Shannon celebrate with unbeaten record: Shannon 16 Instonians 13, 3 April, Sport, page A6
^Sunday Independent. (1996). Munsters spoil party: Garryowen 12 Young Munster 37, 28 April, Sport, 1S
^Limerick Leader. (1996). Tears of joy as Shannon take it, 29 April, page 11
^Limerick Leader. (1997). A league of their own, 7 April, Leadersport, page 1
^Limerick Leader. (1997). The Cup that floweth over!: Shannon 28 Old Crescent 15, 7 April, pages 14-15
^Irish Times. (1997). Shannon spirit flows to victory: Shannon 28 Old Crescent 15, 7 April, Sport, page A7
^Sunday Independent. (1997). For the Record: Rugby - AIL Division 1, League Table, 13 April, Sports Extra, page 23L
^Irish Times. (1998). Shannon are side of the century: Shannon 15 Garryowen 9, 27 April, Sport, page A6
^Irish Independent. (1998). Rugby: Shannon goes forth in the style of true champions, 27 April, Sports Supplement, page 7
^Sunday Independent. (1999). Rugby: Con go extra yard - Garryowen pat the penalty for missed opportunities, 2 May, Sport, page 23
^Irish Times. (1999). A tired Bradley makes history, 3 May, page A7
^Irish Examiner. (1999). Constitution bravehearts dig deepest in marathon, 3 May, Sports, page 22
^Irish Times. (2000). Brennan enjoys a choking release, 22 May, Sport, page A7
^Sunday Independent. (2000). Rugby: Saints get their reward - St Mary's can celebrate league title despite mediocre performance, St Mary's College 25 Lansdowne 22, 21 May, Sport, page S2
^Irish Times. (2001). Rugby: All-Ireland Leagur Final - Dungannon prove class act, Dungannon 46 Cork Constitution 12, 28 May, Sport, page 5
^Irish Times. (2001). Rugby: Shannon set standard again - Shannon 21 Cork Constitution 17, 6 May, Sport, page A5
^Sunday Independent. (2002). Rugby: Shannon bank league title - Shannon 21 Cork Con 17, 5 May, Sport, page8
^Irish Times. (2003). All-Ireland League First Division Final: Dream Topping try tops it off nicely, Clontarf 18 Ballymena 28, 12 May, Sport, page A5
^Sunday Independent. (2003). Rugby: That old black magic - Ballymena 28 Clontarf 18, 11 May, Sport, page 14
^Irish Times. (2004). Rugby: AIL League Division One Final - Depth of Shannon proves the difference, Shannon 22 Cork Constitution 16, 10 May, Sport, page A8
^Sunday Independent. (2004). Keogh seals it for Shannon: Cork Con 16 Shannon 22, 9 May, Sport, page 11
^Irish Times. (2005). Rugby, All-Ireland League, Division One Final - Shannon keep winning habit - Shannon 25 Belfast Harlequins 20, 9 May, Sport, page 110
^Sunday Independent. (2005). Shannon survive a late scare to claim title, 8 May, Sport, page 12
^Sunday Independent. (2006). AIB League Finals: Clontarf blitzed by Shannon's fluent flow - Shannon 30 Clontarf 3, 14 May, Sport, page 14,
^Irish Times. (2006). All-Ireland League Division One Final: Shannon irresistible in full flow - Shannon 30 Clontarf 3, 15 May, Sports Supplement, page 9
^Irish Times. (2007). Rugby News: All-Ireland League Division One Final - Hickey secures title for Garryowen, Garryowen 16 Cork Constitution 15, 7 May, Sports Supplement, page 5
^Sunday Independent. (2007). Kicking Hickey hold his nerve, 6 May, Sport, page 10
^Irish Times. (2008). All-Ireland League Final: Manning ensures Constitution finish job - Cork Constitution 18 Garryowen 8, 12 May, Sport Supplement, page A6
^Irish Independent. (2008). Manning banishes demons for Cork Con: Cork Con 18 Garryowen 8, 12 May, Sport, page 21
^Irish Times. (2009). Shannon have last say with first try - Shannon 19 Clontarf 19 (after extra time: two tries each, but Shannon win for scoring first try), 11 May, Sports Supplement, page A5
^Irish Independent. (2009). O'Donovan try draws relief for Shannon: Shannon 19 Clontarf 19 (Shannon win on first try scored), 11 May, Sport, page 28
^Irish Times. (2010). Rugby AIB All Ireland League Finals: Cork Constitution go the distance - Cork Constitution 17 St Mary's College 10, 10 May, Sports Supplement, page A6
^Irish Independent. (2010). Healy's late shoe seals Con double: Cork Con 17 St Mary's 10, 10 May, Sport, page 17
^Irish Independent. (2011). Mary's falter at final hurdle: Old Belvedere 25 St Mary's 19, 4 April, Sport, page 23
^Irish Times. (2011). Rugby Ulster Bank League: Old Belvedere make St Mary's rue slow start, 4 April, Sport, page A11
^Irish Times. (2012). Rugby Ulster Bank League Division One A: Another comeback sees Mary's take title - St Mary's 23 Young Munster 19, 23 April, Sports Supplement, page A6
^Irish Independent. (2012). Rugby: Ulster Bank AIL Division 1A - Hogan raises toast to hail Mary's spirit, St Mary's 23 Young Munster 19, 23 April, Sport, page 21
^Irish Independent. (2013). Ruddock hails players as Lansdowne seal deal: Lansdowne 32 Clontarf 25, 1 April, Sport, page 25
^Irish Examiner. (2013). Rugby: Ulster Bank League - Roche hero for Lansdowne, 1 April, Sport, page 13
^Irish Times. (2014). All in the scrum: Ulster Bank League - Clontarf snatch title on final day, Clontarf 27 Ballynahinch 13, 21 April, Sport, page A5
^Sunday Independent. (2014). AIL Division 1A: Clontarf secure maiden title as Belvo blow their chance - Clontarf 27 Ballynahinch 13, 20 April, Sport, page 4
^Irish Independent (2014). Ulster Bank All-Ireland League Division 1A, League Table, 21 April, Sport, page 34
^Sunday Independent. (2015). AIL Division 1A: Deasy guides Lansdowne to title glory - Lansdowne 18 Clontarf 17, 10 May, Sport, page 11
^Irish Independent. (2015). Deasy penalty seals it for classy Lansdowne: Lansdowne 18 Clontarf 17, 11 May, Sport, page 20
