Interesting one for the Ulster clubs as well, as after years of neglect and under-performance, we finally have a few clubs in 1B, and the aim this year seems to be to concentrate resources in these clubs to get them back to the top tier. The result is that this year's 1B is a bit of a cracker for Ulster clubs with Ulster derbies all over the place - kicking off on 6th Oct with Ballymena vs Malone...
1B: Ballynahinch, Ballymena, Armagh, Banbridge, Malone
2A: Queen's
2B: Belfast Harlequins, Rainey, Dungannon
2C: Bangor, City of Derry, Omagh
Other things to watch down the divisions: can QUB pull together a decent squad and get up the divisions? It's would be nice to see some big clubs come to play at such good facilities.. Have 'Quins stopped the rot? Very poor show from them over the last few years, they need to get their act in gear..
To anyone who has never bothered checking out the AIL, I can actually highly recommend it. If you're an Irish rugby anorak, it's a good way to see how academy / fringe squad players look up against the kind of gnarly campaigners you get in 1A and 1B, as well as against their peers from the other provincial academies, and these days the quality of matches is pretty reliably high (at least in 1A/B). You can even get a seat out of the elements at Ballymena, Queens and Quins (possibly elsewhere) and shout out to the Binmen who have done a cracking job on the bar
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