Nearly six months after the last ball was kicked in the Guinness PRO14, the wait for the resumption of the 2019/20 season is almost over with all four Irish provinces in action at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday and Sunday.

There will be no crowds but it will be a big moment for Irish sport and the Irish sports industry.

Bank of Ireland is launching a brand new campaign on Television, out of home and across digital to coincide with the Leinster Munster clash on Saturday night.

We will carry the new TV advertising as it appears then.

Below are some of the treatments that fans in each of the provinces will see over the coming weeks and months.

The campaign will extend into the branch network as well and speaking today to the Sport for Business Daily Paula Murphy, Head of Strategic Sponsorship and Corporate Social Responsibility for the bank told us that “This is the start of a whole new sponsorship platform and strategy linking Bank of Ireland with the four proud provinces.”

Watch the whole of that interview here.

Guinness has been active in the promotional stakes too with a partnership that has been delivering Barbecue packs in partnership with Bujo to homes across the country.

We are of course limited to only six guests in our homes to watch and enjoy but there will be plenty more social opportunities as the sport regains its mojo.

The first game will be exclusively live on eir Sport in Ireland and Premier Sports in Britain.

The subscription will cost €19.999 for an initial three month period and an additional €10 thereafter.

On Sunday they will share coverage with TG4 who have a free to air deal on Connacht games that will test the appetite of rugby fans who might not be able to afford another sporting subscription.

Each of the provinces has a lot on the line in terms of how they can gather their communities of fans for the more social days that lie ahead.

Pinergy ran a promotion with Munster Rugby to ‘fanergise’ the supporters and the winning inspirational speech submitted on social media will be played to the team before they step put.  You can see and hear what the players will below.

Leinster Rugby’s Innovation Partner, BearingPoint, is inviting fans to join an all-new virtual fan experience in support of the province. The ‘Lineout4Leinster’ initiative will allow a select number of season ticket holders to log in to their virtual stadium using Microsoft Teams where they can interact with other Leinster Fans and recreate the live match experience.

It is also calling on Leinster fans to send in short video messages or pictures in support of the team. These clips will then be compiled into a short video compilation to be played for the Leinster team during their match day warm-up.

Irish sport needs this to be a successful return to action. We will have all the reaction and the marketing buzz around the games over the weekend and in Monday morning’s Daily Digest.