Club Rugby was dealt a serious blow last night with the news breaking that the 2020/21 Energia All Ireland Leagues for men and women will not proceed, due to the on-going impact of Covid-19.

The Vodafone Women’s Interprovincial series will also not take place until the 2021/22 season.

The IRFU and the four provinces said that they Energiawill now work with clubs to look at the completion of the Energia Community Series and to review alternative forms of rugby, such as Lucozade Sport Touch and Volkswagen Tag, which may provide players with much sought after rugby later in the year.

“As Covid-19 continues to impact our lives we have had to make the difficult decision to cancel 2020/21 All Ireland Leagues and the women’s interprovincial championship,” said Greg Barrett, Chair of the IRFU Rugby Committee, said,

“A huge amount of work is on-going, and we continue to look at avenues that may provide players and clubs with the rugby that they love.

“In the meantime, we will continue to innovate and develop education opportunities that can help players developing skills beyond the traditional forms of training for the game. With over 10,000 players signed up to our ‘Level Up’ workshops, we are helping players develop understanding and skills that will stand to them for many seasons to come.”

“Our commitment to players and our clubs remains clear – we will continue to adopt a flexible approach to season planning and will proceed with rugby when cleared to do so by government guidelines.”

Speaking to Sport for Business this morning, Energia Sponsorship manager Amy O’Shaughnessy told us “Obviously we’re disappointed that a second season of the Energia AIL can’t go ahead but it was the right decision to make in light of the current situation.”

“We are very hopeful that we’ll be able to continue with the Energia Community Series in some format before the end of the season which would certainly be something for players and fans to look forward to.”

“Meanwhile, this year actually marks the 30th anniversary of AIL and we will still be celebrating this big milestone later in the year.”

The decision was not unexpected but still will mean more than a full year without games for this important level of the sport.

Sport for Business Partners