Captained again by Dylan Donnellan, Clontarf will face stiff competition from the first round onwards in Energia All-Ireland League Men's Division 1A ©INPHO/Ryan Byrne
Promoted clubs Nenagh Ormond and Old Belvedere clash in a historic Division 1A opener (live on irishrugby+), while heavyweights Lansdowne and Cork Constitution also collide, and Carlos Spencer’s Energia All-Ireland League coaching debut sees Terenure College visit UCD.
Saturday, September 27
Kick-off 2.30pm unless stated –
Preview: Both of these teams are craving the chance to push harder for the play-offs, having finished out of the running last season in mid-table – fifth and seventh respectively. Ballynahinch made a better fist of it, winning 10 of their fixtures, including a hard-earned double over Young Munster.
Adam Craig’s men have already qualified for December’s Ulster Senior Cup final, with captain Claytan Milligan scoring four tries in three games. Young Munster bowed out at the quarter-final stage of the Munster Senior Challenge Cup, losing by a single point to Highfield in a dramatic finish.
Ger Slattery’s Munsters look to have a squad capable of challenging for a top four finish. Former Munster scrum half John Poland is a canny acquisition, returning home from Stateside. Luke Murphy, Jake O’Riordan, and Kieran Ryan are among the provincial players to switch to the Cookies.
Recent League Meetings – Saturday, October 19, 2024: Young Munster 25 Ballynahinch 26, Tom Clifford Park; Saturday, March 1, 2025: Ballynahinch 28 Young Munster 15, Ballymacarn Park
IrishRugby.ie Prediction: Ballynahinch to win
Preview: It is interesting how things pan out. Cork Constitution did the double over Lansdowne in 2023/24 and went on to be crowned champions. Last season, the headquarters club exacted revenge, winning both clashes by a combined 33 points, but fell at the semi-final hurdle.
Lansdowne’s summer recruits include ex-Ireland Sevens captain Tom Daly, former Cork Con flanker Ross O’Neill, and UCD’s Bobby Sheehan, James Tarrant, and Matt Healy. They reached the recent Leinster Senior Cup final but were beaten by a Dan Martin-inspired Terenure College.
Five months on from relinquishing their league crown to Clontarf, Constitution’s road back to the Aviva Stadium begins on its back pitch. They knocked out Munster Senior Cup holders Nenagh Ormond recently, and have brought in Munster Academy pair Dylan Hicks and Michael Foy, and Rob Hedderman who returns from Lansdowne.
Recent League Meetings – Saturday, October 19, 2024: Lansdowne 27 Cork Constitution 10, Aviva Stadium back pitch; Saturday, March 1, 2025: Cork Constitution 12 Lansdowne 28, Temple Hill
IrishRugby.ie Prediction: Cork Constitution to win
Preview: Defending champions Clontarf’s first port of call is Templeville Road, where they started and finished 2024/25’s regular season. Andy Wood’s men won both encounters, but needed a last-gasp Barry Gray try to overcome St. Mary’s College on the opening day twelve months ago.
St. Mary’s first year back in the top flight ended with semi-final disappointment against Cork Con, but with their squad strengthened over the summer, they look set to challenge again. Ireland Sevens international Aaron O’Sullivan and Leinster Academy prop Andrew Sparrow have both been recruited.
O’Sullivan’s Sevens team-mates, Hugo Lennox, Daniel Hawkshaw, and Dylan O’Grady, are now part of the ‘Tarf squad, along with Jordan Coghlan, who looks a key signing from Terenure, returning scrum half Angus Lloyd, and Alan Spicer, the 6ft 10in Leinster Academy lock.
Recent League Meetings – Saturday, September 21, 2024: St. Mary’s College 27 Clontarf 31, Templeville Road; Saturday, Apri 5, 2025: Clontarf 47 St. Mary’s College 19, Castle Avenue
IrishRugby.ie Prediction: Clontarf to win
Preview: The irishrugby+ cameras and commentary team will be in Lisatunny for Nenagh Ormond’s much-anticipated top-flight debut. They face familiar opponents in Old Belvedere, the team they duelled it out with at the top of Division 1B last season before Quenton O’Neale’s charges pulled clear.
The Tipperary men may have lost influential out-half Ben Pope, who has returned to New Zealand, but they have snapped up some quality operators for their maiden Division 1A campaign, including powerful props Darragh McSweeney and Cronan Gleeson, and rangy Australian back-three specialist Matt Brice.
Hugh Hogan has joined the Old Belvedere coaching ticket, assisting O’Neale with the Men’s team and also being a technical coach for the Women’s side. New scrum-half Chris O’Connor and flanker Ronán O’Sullivan will both start tomorrow, having joined from Terenure and Cork Con respectively.
Recent League Meetings – Saturday, October 19, 2024: Nenagh Ormond 31 Old Belvedere 32, New Ormond Park; Saturday, March 1, 2025: Old Belvedere 34 Nenagh Ormond 22, Ollie Campbell Park
IrishRugby.ie Prediction: Nenagh Ormond to win
Preview: The Carlos Spencer era begins in earnest as Terenure College, the newly-crowned Leinster Senior Cup champions, make the short trip to UCD. Last season’s corresponding match went right down to the wire, with ‘Nure needing two late Chris Cosgrove penalties to win 27-24.
The Emmet MacMahon-coached students have lost some influential figures from the last couple of years, including classy goalkicker Michael Moloney. However, Terenure’s own Mikey O’Reilly and Jim White have transferred to them, along with foreign signings Nicolo Corvasce and Jack Spencer.
Reacting to their disappointing sixth place finish last season, ‘Nure have brought in Young Munster’s Julian Leszczynski and Sean Rigney, the returning Harrison Brewer and Conall Boomer, and Connacht’s John Devine. Former All Black Spencer will be urging his new side to hit the ground running.
Recent League Meetings – Saturday, December 7, 2024: UCD 24 Terenure College 27, UCD Bowl; Saturday, January 18, 2025: Terenure College 25 UCD 11, Lakelands Park
IrishRugby.ie Prediction: Terenure College to win
Following an incredible fourth straight promotion, Instonians begin life in Division 1B with a home game against Naas. With Garryowen and City of Armagh both coming down from the top flight, the Energia All-Ireland League’s second tier is set to be even more competitive than before.
Saturday, September 27
Kick-off 2.30pm unless stated –
Preview: Dublin University dug deep to hold onto their Division 1B status at the end of last season. They edged out Greystones and Cashel in the play-offs, by two points on both occasions. Half-backs Matty Lynch and Oscar Cawley remain two key cogs for Tony Smeeth’s youngsters.
Trinity won two of their three early-season Leinster Senior League ties, with Arthur Smykovskiy, a Leinster Schools Senior Cup winner with Blackrock College earlier this year, getting a run-out in the second row. The visit of James Blaney’s Blackrock to College Park is a tough opener.
Blaney’s charges were mixing it at a higher level in the Leinster Senior Cup in recent weeks, picking up a hard-fought 22-21 victory over UCD. New signings Tim Corkery and Daniel Squires have boosted their back-line options, while Connacht hooker Eoin de Buitléar is now attached to the Stradbrook club.
Recent League Meetings – Saturday, December 14, 2024: Dublin University 13 Blackrock College 10, College Park; Saturday, January 11, 2025: Blackrock College 27 Dublin University 22, Stradbrook
IrishRugby.ie Prediction: Blackrock College to win
Preview: Garryowen and UCC meet in the All-Ireland League for the first time since January 2024, but only have to look back two weeks for their most recent encounter. Now coached by the returning Mike Sherry, the Light Blues came out on top in a Munster Senior Cup quarter-final, winning 27-12.
Second-half tries from Joe Finn, Tom Ironside Wickham, and captain Des Fitzgerald did the job at the Mardyke. Conor Ryan’s development deal with Munster has shown the calibre of player coming through the UCC pathway, which is overseen by Sherry’s former Munster team-mate, Tomás O’Leary.
The students have lost some notable names to local rivals Cork Constitution over the summer, including Peter Hyland, Sean Condon, and Michael Cogan. Twin brothers Kamil and Dawid Nowak both started against Garryowen in that cup game, and are part of the next batch of emerging talent.
Recent League Meetings – Saturday, December 16, 2023: Garryowen 35 UCC 35, Dooradoyle; Saturday, January 13, 2024: UCC 10 Garryowen 23, the Mardyke
IrishRugby.ie Prediction: Garryowen to win
Preview: Another former Munster and Ireland player, James Cronin, is starting the next chapter of his career as Highfield’s player-coach. Fresh out of the professional game after three years at Leicester Tigers, the 34-year-old prop is determined to get the Cork club back firing on all cylinders.
Highfield, who finished eighth last season, advanced to the Munster Senior Cup’s last-four most recently, helped by an early try from Cronin in a 26-25 win over Young Munster. They will want to set the record straight against Queen’s University who did the double over them last year.
David Creighton has replaced Derek Suffern as Queen’s director of rugby, and James McKillop will lead a team dotted with provincial prospects tomorrow. Ulster senior-capped locks Joe Hopes and Charlie Irvine will both start, and Fraser Cunningham and Wilhelm de Klerk team up in the centre.
Recent League Meetings – Saturday, December 7, 2024: Highfield 17 Queen’s University 35, Woodleigh Park; Saturday, January 18, 2025: Queen’s University 52 Highfield 26, Dub Lane
IrishRugby.ie Prediction: Highfield to win
Preview: New signing Mark Lee will start for Instonians in their opening Division 1B fixture. The former Ireland Under-18 Sevens captain joins Inst player-coach Paul Pritchard and captain David Whitten in a high-quality back row unit. Naas skipper Will O’Brien leads their loose forwards.
Coming with a big reputation from the lower divisions, the Belfast side have started the season strongly by qualifying for December’s Ulster Senior Cup final. Johne Murphy’s Naas beat Shannon and Old Wesley away from home last year, and need to keep improving their performances on the road.
Leinster Academy newcomer Tadhg Brophy has transferred back to Naas and will start at scrum half, coming up against Inst’s Ruairi O’Farrell. Last season’s Division 2A champions have former Ulster and Ireland winger Craig Gilroy on their bench, while current Ulster star Michael Lowry is now part of the Clem Boyd-led coaching group.
Recent League Meetings – N/A
IrishRugby.ie Prediction: Instonians to win
Preview: Old Wesley and City of Armagh face off for the first time in over two years. Armagh are back down in the second tier after two campaigns in Division 1A. New signings Owen O’Kane and Noah Bell gained some experience in the Ulster Senior Cup, with full-back Shea O’Brien stepping up as captain.
Hooker Kieran O’Shea, Old Wesley’s newly-appointed skipper, reckons they are well equipped to launch a bid for promotion, dubbing this squad ‘the most talented group of players I have played with’. They lost all three of their Leinster Senior Cup matches, but got to test themselves against top-flight opposition.
It should hold them in good stead for Division 1B’s opening rounds, which includes a trip to Instonians over the October Bank Holiday weekend. Thomas Dougan is another young Armagh player to look out for, having captained Royal School Armagh last season, and played for Ulster ‘A’ a fortnight ago.
Recent League Meetings – Saturday, October 15, 2022: City of Armagh 24 Old Wesley 21, Palace Grounds; Saturday, March 25, 2023: Old Wesley 13 City of Armagh 6, Energia Park
IrishRugby.ie Prediction: Old Wesley to win
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