After 17 weeks of action, the regular season of the Energia All-Ireland League draws to a conclusion this afternoon.
The end of the 2023/24 season will bring with it a mix of emotions.
For some, it will end with title celebrations and for others the pain of relegation. Another bunch of teams will land somewhere in the middle, with the frustration of missing out on the play-offs offset by avoiding a nervous relegation scrap.
For a select few the fun is only starting, with the Division 1A semi-finals and final set to follow later this month, while the promotion and relegation play-offs will define the remaining four divisions.
Here’s the state of play across all five divisions heading into the final round of games.
DIVISION 1A
Not since 2017 has Division 1A been so close heading into the final game.
While the four semi-finalists are known after Lansdowne secured fourth place with a big win over City of Armagh last week, there is still a lot of jostling for position, with Terenure, Cork Constitution and Clontarf fighting it out for home advantage in the last four.
Recent history shows just how vital a home semi-final can be. As well as drawing in tens of thousands to the club coffers, there hasn't been an away winner of a 1A semi-final since 2018.
The advantage is with Terenure and Cork Con heading into the final round of games. Defending champions Nure sit top of the table, one point ahead of second-place Con, while Clontarf are just a further point back.
Tarf – who had been top of the table all season – fell two spots to third after last Saturday’s 29-15 defeat to Nure, who are hitting top form at just the right time as they look to win back-to-back titles. Sean Skehan’s side have won 11 league games in a row and know a bonus-point win away to Ballynahinch on Saturday will them face Lansdowne at home in the semis.
A win of any kind would guarantee them a home semi-final, but if they were to win against Hinch without a bonus, it could open the door for Cork Con to climb up into first if they were to win by a large margin against Armagh at the Palace Grounds.
Similarly, Clontarf will be waiting to pounce if either Con or Terenure fail to win this weekend. The three-time champions take on already-relegated Dublin University at Castle Avenue, looking to get back on track ahead of their push for a fourth final appearance in a row.
Lansdowne, who missed last year’s play-offs after a disappointing campaign, will complete the four.
With Ballynahinch losing to Cork Con in Round 17, Declan Fassbender’s side confirmed their play-off spot.
In theory they could still climb above Tarf into third place, but it would require a bonus-point win away to Young Munster, and also for their rivals Clontarf to finish empty-handed against Trinity.
At the other end of the table, Dublin University’s eight years in Division 1A will come to an end this week. A rousing win in the Colours Game against UCD last week wasn’t enough to take their survival fight to the final game, with Shannon’s 37-22 bonus-point win over Young Munster on Easter Sunday sealing their fate.
While the Limerick side avoided automatic relegation, there is still a nervous Saturday ahead as they look to avoid the promotion/relegation play-off. The nine-time champions are level on points with City of Armagh heading into the final round of games, with Shannon away to UCD while the Ulster side face Con at home.
With Armagh boasting a much better points difference, they know they can avoid the play-off and guarantee another year in 1A if they match Shannon’s result in Dublin.
DIVISION 1B
The Division 1B trophy has already been lifted by St Mary’s whose sensational season saw them wrap up the title by 17 February.
Mary’s will return to the top flight for the first time since 2018, with the Dublin side a whopping 26 points clear of an otherwise competitive division.
Old Wesley look well-placed to finish second, which would give them a home semi-final in the promotion/relegation playoff. Morgan Lennon’s side looked in trouble earlier this season when they were docked three points for a breach of the international player clearance process, but a win at home against struggling Queens University will see them lock in second place.
The pick of the games in the final round will be in Dooradoyle where third-place Garryowen host fourth place Highfield. The pair are level on 51 points, five ahead of Old Belvedere, however Garryowen’s vastly superior points difference means they should hold on for a play-off spot, even with a defeat.
A heavy defeat for Highfield would leave the door slightly ajar for Belvo to take advantage, but only if they in turn take maximum points from Naas.
With Buccaneers relegation already confirmed, it’s between Naas and Queens to avoid the relegation playoff. It wasn't long ago that Naas looked like challenging for the promotion play-offs, but five defeats in a row, the latest against Queens last weekend, has sucked them into a relegation fight.
A win against Belvedere would secure their 1B status, but even if they fall to a sixth defeat in a row, Queens will still need to win against high-flying Wesley in order to avoid the playoff.
DIVISION 2A
Having led from start to finish this season, Nenagh Ormond’s promotion and Division 2A title was confirmed last week with a 29-12 win over MU Barnhall.
Their Tipperary neighbours Cashel could well follow them up to Division 1B this season, with the Spafield club locked into a play-off spot, while only Barnhall can pip them to that home draw.
To spice things up, the pair face the only two sides who can join them in the playoffs, as the Tipp side host fourth-place Banbridge, with fifth-place Old Crescent away to Barnhall at Parsonstown.
Crescent, who lost three of their first four games to start the season, enjoyed a great run of form to get themselves into the top four in recent weeks, but a defeat to Navan on Saturday allowed Banbridge take advantage.
Banbridge, who were relegated from 1B last season, sit two points ahead of the Limerick side going into the final round, having leapfrogged them with a win over UL Bohs a week ago.
At the foot of the table, Malone look set for back-to-back relegations, unless the Belfast side can pull off 78-point win away to second from bottom Greystones.
With Malone almost certain to take the automatic relegation spot, Greystones know that a win will put serious pressure on UL Bohs just above them.
Bohs have been in freefall in the second half of the season, losing eight of their last nine but the Limerick side have their fate in their own hands, with a win this weekend ensuring they will avoid the play-off. They host the newly crowned champions and their neighbours Nenagh, who they’ll be hoping have made the most of their celebrations this week.
DIVISION 2B
The runaway favourite for Team of the Year across the five divisions is Instonians, who confirmed back-to-back promotions last week.
Having completed a historic clean sweep in 2C last term, with 18 bonus-point wins from 18 games, they extended that winning run all the way to an AIL record 32 games, before their incredible run was ended by Sligo last month.
The fact that it took them until the penultimate game of the season to actually seal the title is testament to Corinthians, who could have been automatic promotion contenders in any other season,
The pick of the games in 2B this weekend involves Corinthians, with the Galway side away to third place Wanderers at Merrion Road. These two are guaranteed to face each other again in the play-off semi-final in a fortnight, but this afternoon’s meeting will determine who will have the all-important home advantage.
A win or a draw will be enough for Corinthians, while they could still go through with a defeat. For that to happen, they would need to get two bonus-points, and prevent Wanderers scoring four tries themselves. A Wanderers BP win will see them get home advantage in two weeks’ time.
Sligo, meanwhile, are landlocked in fourth place, and will be away to the ninth place 2A team in the play-off.
Down at the bottom, only a win will do for Dolphin if they’re to stand any chance of avoiding back-to-back relegations. The Cork side host Dungannon, but even if they win, they’ll be relying on Malahide to do the business against Belfast Harlequins at the Nerforge Sports Complex.
The battle to avoid the relegation playoff is a mess of permutations, with Rainey in sixth place still not technically safe.
To sum up the chaos of the final day, it would require a very specific set of results for them to fall into the relegation playoff; the Ulstermen would need to take zero match points and a heavy defeat away to Sligo, Quins would have to win against Malahide with a bonus-point, while Malahide would also need two bonus points, and seventh-place Skerries would also need to win away to champions Instonians.
DIVISION 2C
Twelve months on from being promoted to senior status for the first time ever, Clogher Valley now stand 80 minutes away from a place in Division 2B.
The Tyrone club, which was only founded in 1990, took to the All-Ireland League like a duck to water, and have led the way from the start of the season. Even losing bonus-point at home to Ballina will be enough to seal the deal.
In the unlikely event that Clogher Valley take a hammering against Ballina, Galwegians would still need to rack up a large win over Tullamore. Wegians will have a home semi-final as a consolation.
The two other playoff spots are locked in for Bruff and Enniscorthy, with the pair jostling for position to see who will finish third and fourth. Bruff host mid-table Clonmel this afternoon, while Enniscorthy are away to an Omagh Academicals side who are fighting for their place in the division.
One of Omagh, Ballina or Bangor will be relegated to Junior rugby this afternoon, another will face the purgatory of a playoff against the runner-up from the provincial series, while the remaining side will be cebrating safety.
Bangor, who are a point back from both Ballina and Omagh, host Midleton in their final game, and will need a losing bonus-point at minimum to avoid the automatic drop. Either way, the phones bills will be racking up at Upritchard, The Cran, and The Thomas Mellon Playing Fields.
PROVINCIAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP
While either Omagh, Ballina or Bangor will drop out of senior rugby on Saturday, their replacement will be known in the next two weekends.
Saturday sees the semi-finals of the All-Ireland Provincial League Championship, as the respective winners of the four provincial leagues come together for a shot at promotion.
Ashbourne rugby club hosts the semi-final double-header as Creggs (Galway) take on Ballyclare (Antrim) at 1pm, before Thomond (Limerick) lock horns with Monkstown (Dublin) at 3pm.
The winners of the final on Saturday, 13 April will secure promotion to the Energia All-Ireland League for the 2024/25 season, replacing the club that finishes at the bottom of Division 2C.
The beaten finalists will still have a second shot at reaching the senior ranks, via the promotion/relegation play-off final against the second-from-bottom team in Division 2C.
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