The Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) is the body managing rugby union in the island of Ireland. The IRFU has its head office at 10/12 Lansdowne Road and home ground at Aviva Stadium, where adult men's Irish rugby union international matches are played. In addition, the Union also owns the Ravenhill Stadium in Belfast, Thomond Park in Limerick and a number of grounds in provincial areas that have been rented to clubs.
The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. The league is known as the Vodacom United Rugby Championship in South Africa, and the BKT United Rugby Championship in the competitions other territories for sponsorship reasons, 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. The Championship is one of the three major professional leagues in Europe, the most successful teams from which go forward to compete in the highest-level continental club competitions, the European Rugby Champions Cup and Challenge Cup. Since 2022–23, despite the name, South African teams have been eligible to qualify for European competitions, and one South African place in the Champions Cup from the Championship is guaranteed.
Ulster Rugby is one of the four professional provincial rugby teams from the island of Ireland. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup.
Connacht Rugby is one of the four professional provincial rugby teams from the island of Ireland. Connacht competes in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup. The team represents the IRFU Connacht Branch, which is one of four primary branches of the IRFU, and is responsible for rugby union throughout the geographical Irish province of Connacht.
Rugby union in Ireland is a very popular team sport. Rugby union is organised on an all-Ireland basis with one national team, governing body and league for both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Founded in 1879, the Irish Rugby Football Union is the third-oldest rugby union after England and Scotland, and was formed two years prior to the Welsh Rugby Union.
Sport in Northern Ireland plays an important role in the lives of many Northern Irish people. Most sports are organised on an all-Ireland basis, for example rugby union, Gaelic games, basketball, rugby league, hockey, and cricket, whereas others, like association football and netball are organised on a separate basis for Northern Ireland.
Aviva Stadium is a sports stadium located in Dublin, Republic of 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.
Jack Carty is a rugby union player from Ireland. His primary position is at fly-half. Having started out with his hometown club, Buccaneers, Carty currently plays for the team of his native province of Connacht in the United Rugby Championship, having come through the team's academy. He is Connacht's record points scorer in the Pro14, having overtaken Ian Keatley in March 2019. Carty is an Ireland international, having made his debut for the side against Italy in 2019.
Christopher Robert Eric Farrell is an Irish rugby union player for French Pro D2 club Oyonnax. He plays as a centre.
The 2014–15 season was Irish provincial rugby union side Connacht Rugby's fourteenth season competing in the Pro12, and the team's nineteenth season as a professional side. It was also Pat Lam's second season in charge of the side.
The Celtic Cup was a rugby union cup competition featuring regional and provincial teams from Ireland, Scotland and Wales that ran for two seasons between 2003 and 2005. The first edition of the competition was won by Ulster and the second by Munster, both from Ireland. After the Welsh teams agreed to join the English Premiership clubs to form the Anglo-Welsh Cup for the 2005–06 season, the Celtic Cup was discontinued. A separate competition under the same name was inaugurated in 2018 for Welsh and Irish development sides.
The 2016 Pro12 Grand Final was the final match of the 2015–16 Pro12 season. The 2015–16 season was the second with Guinness as the title sponsor and the seventh ever League Grand Final. The final was played between Leinster and Connacht.
Ahmad Kamal Harajly is an American rugby union center, fullback and Lebanon rugby league international. Harajly played for the U.S. national rugby sevens team Wellington, New Zealand tour as an Olympic Games recruitment standout in January 2015. Soon after the Wellington, New Zealand HSBC tour Harajly was then sent to Las Vegas, Nevada where he captained the USA Falcons. He was also a part of the United States national team select tour to Uruguay in 2016. He has played for Ohio Aviators in the US PRO Rugby competition. Ahmad joined the Major League Rugby on a short-term contract playing with New England Free Jacks having started at the outside center position in the Cara Cup against Connacht Rugby, Ulster Rugby, Munster Rugby and Leinster Rugby. Harajly has most recently re-signed with New England Free Jacks for the 2020 season.
Rugby New York, formerly known as Rugby United New York and now officially nicknamed the Ironworkers, are a professional rugby union team based in New York City that is a member of Major League Rugby (MLR). The team played an exhibition season in spring 2018 and joined MLR for its second full season in 2019. The team was founded by James Kennedy.
The 2018–19 season was Irish provincial rugby union side Connacht Rugby's eighteenth season competing in the Pro14, and the team's twenty-third season as a professional side. It was Andy Friend's first season in charge of the side.
The Cara Cup is an international club rugby union competition between the teams of the New England Free Jacks, of Major League Rugby, Connacht, Ulster, Munster, and Leinster, academy sides of Irish Pro14 teams.
Jack Aungier is an Irish rugby union player who currently plays for Connacht Rugby. He plays as a prop.
Jack Crowley is an Irish rugby union player for United Rugby Championship and Champions Cup side Munster. Internationally, Crowley made his senior debut for Ireland in 2022. He plays primarily as a fly-half, but can also play at fullback and centre, and represents Cork Constitution in the All-Ireland League.
The 2021–22 United Rugby Championship was the twenty-first season of the professional rugby union competition originally known as the Celtic League. It was the first season that the competition is referred to as the United Rugby Championship, having previously been known as the Pro14.
The 2022–23 United Rugby Championship is the 22nd season of the professional rugby union competition United Rugby Championship. It began on 16 September 2022. For sponsorship reasons it is known in South Africa as Vodacom United Rugby Championship or Vodacom URC, while in the Northern Hemisphere it is known as the BKT United Rugby Championship or BKT URC.
