Rugby union in Ireland
| Rugby union in Ireland | |
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| Country | Ireland |
| Governing body | Irish Rugby Football Union |
| National team | Ireland |
| First played | 1869, Dublin |
| Registered players | 153,823 |
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National competitions
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Club competitions
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Rugby union in Ireland is a 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. Ireland is the third-oldest rugby nation after England and Scotland respectively, and the game was organised there fractionally before in Wales.
The Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) is the governing body for rugby union in Ireland. The IRFU is divided into five branches. The four main branches represent the four provinces of Ireland: Ulster, Munster, Leinster and Connacht. Each provincial branch organises the sport within its geographic area. All four field senior teams that compete in the Pro12 (historically the Celtic League), and also field "A" teams in the semi-professional British and Irish Cup (Connacht did not participate in that competition until 2012–13). The fifth branch is the Exiles Branch, tasked with identifying and developing players living in England, Scotland and Wales who are qualified to represent Ireland through their ancestry.
Initially, there were two unions both founded in 1874 - the Irish Football Union had jurisdiction over clubs in Leinster, Munster and parts of Ulster; the Northern Football Union of Ireland controlled the Belfast area. The IRFU was formed in 1879 as an amalgamation of these two organisations and branches of the new IRFU were formed in Leinster, Munster and Ulster. The Connacht Branch was formed in 1886.
The IRFU was a founding member of the International Rugby Football Board, now known as World Rugby, in 1886 with Scotland and Wales. (England refused to join until 1890.)
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