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The Leinster League is the second tier of rugby in Leinster, behind the Leinster Senior League. It has five divisions. [1] The champions qualify for a round-robin tournament with the champions of the other three provincial junior leagues for one of two promotion places to the All-Ireland League.
As of the 2022/23 season, the members of each division included:[ citation needed ]
The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. For sponsorship reasons the league is known as the Vodacom United Rugby Championship in South Africa, and the BKT United Rugby Championship in the competition's other territories, the split branding mirroring the format previously adopted in Super Rugby. The Championship represents the highest level of domestic club or franchise rugby in each of its constituent countries.
Ulster Rugby is one of the four professional provincial rugby union teams from the island of Ireland. They compete in the Irish regional pool of the United Rugby Championship and in the European Rugby Champions Cup, each of which they have won once. Ulster were the first Irish team and the first team outside England and France to win the European Cup in 1999.
Leinster Rugby is one of the four professional provincial club rugby union teams from the island of Ireland. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup.
Rugby league is a team sport played in Ireland on an all-Ireland basis.
Rugby union is a popular team sport on the island of Ireland, organised on an all-Ireland basis, including players and teams from both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Its governing body, the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU), was founded in 1879, making it the third oldest rugby union in the world after the RFU (England) and the SRU (Scotland).
Lansdowne Football Club, also sometimes referred to as Lansdowne Rugby Football Club, is a rugby union team based in Dublin, Ireland. It was founded in 1872 by Henry Dunlop as the Irish Champion Athletic Club. Its senior team currently plays in Division 1A of the All-Ireland League. The club's playing colours are black, red and yellow hoops, with navy shorts.
Old Wesley Rugby Football Club was founded in 1891 from the past pupils of Wesley College, Dublin. Since then it has become one of Leinster's most famous clubs. It plays in Division 1B of the All-Ireland League. The club won the Leinster Senior Cup in 1909 and 1985 as well as winning the AIL Division 2 title in 1989 and the AIL Division 2A title in 2015. They celebrated their Centenary year in 1991 with a match against a star-studded Barbarians team featuring Internationals such as Eric Rush, Pierre Berbizier and Tony Underwood. They won the eleven-try match in dramatic fashion with a last minute drop-goal to win 37-36.
Old Belvedere R.F.C. is a senior Irish rugby union club based on Anglesea Road in Ballsbridge, Dublin, Ireland. Old Belvedere was originally founded in 1918–19 by former pupils of Belvedere College. Old Belvedere enters senior men's teams in the All-Ireland League, the Leinster Senior League and the Leinster Senior Cup. In 2010–11 they were All-Ireland League champions. Between 1940 and 1946 the club won the Leinster Senior Cup seven times in a row. This remains a competition record. Old Belvedere also enters men's and women's teams in various senior, junior and youth leagues.
Bective Rangers Football Club is a rugby union club in Dublin, Ireland founded in 1881. The Club is affiliated to the Leinster Branch of the Irish Rugby Football Union and play in Division 1A of the Leinster League. The club plays its games at the Donnybrook Rugby Ground in Donnybrook with a second grounds at Glenamuck. The Club fields teams from Minis, Youth, U20s Juniors, Senior and Vets.
Dublin University Football Club (DUFC) is the rugby union club of Trinity College, in Dublin, Ireland, which plays in Division 1B of the All-Ireland League.
MU Barnhall RFC is an Irish rugby union club.
Naas RFC is an Irish rugby club based in Naas, Leinster. They play in division 1B of the All-Ireland League. The club colours are green and white hoops with black shorts and green socks. The Club is the biggest rugby club in Kildare with one of the biggest underage structures in Leinster and 15 LRR referees. The club grounds are located at Forenaghts, 2 km to the East of the town.
Garda RFC is the rugby team with players drawn mostly from local areas of Westmanstown(Lucan, Leixlip, Dunboyne, Clonsilla, Castleknock, Blanchardstown) and members of Garda Síochána, the national police force of Ireland. It currently plays in Division 2B of the Leinster League.
North Kildare RFC is an Irish rugby team based between Maynooth and Kilcock, County Kildare. It is part of the North Kildare Club, which also includes cricket, hockey, bowls, tennis and bridge sections. It is also the home of a gym.
Railway Union Sports Club is a multi-sports club based in Sandymount, Dublin 4, Ireland. The club was founded in 1904 and was originally known as the Railway and Steam Packet Athletic and Social Union. The club organises teams in various sports and activities including cricket, field hockey, indoor hockey, rugby union, association football, tennis, bowls and bridge. Railway Union women's field hockey and women's rugby union teams both play in the top level of their respective national leagues. Railway Union women's field hockey team also represented Ireland in the 2014 EuroHockey Club Champions Cup.
Wexford Wanderers RFC is an Irish rugby team based in Wexford, County Wexford, playing in Division 2A of the Leinster League. The club colours are blue, white and black. In addition to the First XV and Second XV there are also youth sides from U7 to U18 as well as a women's team, and U12, U14, U16 and U18 Girls teams.
Aviva Stadium, also known as Lansdowne Road or Dublin Arena, is a sports stadium located in Dublin, Ireland, with a capacity for 51,711 spectators. It is built on the site of the former Lansdowne Road Stadium, which was demolished in 2007, and replaced it as home to its chief tenants: the Irish rugby union team and the Republic of Ireland football team. The decision to redevelop the stadium came after plans for both Stadium Ireland and Eircom Park fell through. Aviva Group Ireland signed a 10-year deal for the naming rights in 2009, and subsequently extended the arrangement until 2025.
The 2001–02 Celtic League was the inaugural season of the Celtic League. The first season would see fifteen teams compete: the four Irish provinces, two Scottish teams and all nine Welsh Premier Division teams.
Ian Madigan is an Irish former professional rugby union player for Leinster, Bordeaux, Bristol Bears, Ulster and Ireland. His primary position was at fly-half, although he also played at centre and full-back.
The European Rugby Champions Cup is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a predominantly European league. Clubs qualify for the Champions Cup via their final positions in their respective national/regional leagues or via winning the second-tier Challenge Cup; those that do not qualify are instead eligible to compete in the second-tier Challenge Cup.