Ulster Bank All-Ireland League
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| Sport | Rugby union |
|---|---|
| Instituted | 1990 |
| Number of teams | 50 |
| Nations | Ireland |
| Holders | Cork Constitution FC (2016-17) |
| Most titles | Shannon RFC (9 titles) |
| Website | www.irishrugby.ie |
The All-Ireland League (AIL), known for sponsorship reasons as the Ulster Bank All-Ireland League, is the national league system for the 50 senior rugby union clubs in Ireland, covering both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The league was inaugurated in the 1990–91 season.
The league is the second highest level of rugby union in Ireland, as professional teams representing the four provinces of Ireland play in the Pro14.
Division 1 sides are allowed to field only two professional players in their matchday sides, and only one may be a forward. Professional players may not participate in Division 2 matches. Foreign professional players may not play in the League.
The league is divided into five divisions of ten teams each. Teams play each other team in the Division twice per season (once at home and once away), for a total of 18 regular-season matches. The season runs from mid-September until mid-April, with an approximately four-week break in matches from mid-December to early-January. At the end of the season, the top four teams in Division 1A enter a play off semi-finals and a final for the championship.
At the end of each season the bottom team in Division 1A is replaced by the top team in Division 1B, with the second-bottom team entering a promotion/relegation play-off with the second-placed team in 1B. The bottom two teams in 1B, 2A and 2B are relegated and replaced by the top two teams from Divisions 2A, 2B and 2C respectively.
The two teams finishing bottom of Division 2C are relegated to the relevant provincial league, and replaced by the two teams finishing top of a "round robin" tournament between the four provincial league winners. The four provincial junior leagues are the Connacht Junior League, the Leinster League, the Munster Junior League and the Ulster Qualifying League.
The All-Ireland League (AIL) was introduced in the 1990-91 season with two divisions after almost five years of discussion and consultation with clubs, Division 1 with 9 clubs and Division 2 with 10 clubs. The All-Ireland League was expanded to four divisions in 1993/94, with small variations in the numbers of teams per division in subsequent seasons. In season 2000-01 the All-Ireland League was restructured to three divisions, each with 16 teams. In 2004 the IRFU proposed scrapping the All-Ireland League and reintroducing a provincial league system in 2005-06 which would act as qualifiers for a curtailed three division AIL structure in the second half of the season, but this model did not receive the support of clubs or rugby pundits. In 2007 the IRFU agreed that the structure of the All-Ireland League would remain as three divisions with 16 clubs each for seasons 2008/09 and 2009/10. In Season 2009-10 Division 1 was split into 1A and 1B with eight teams in each as a trial and then continued in season 2010-11. In season 2011-12 Division 1A and 1B had 10 clubs each and Divisions 2 and 3 were reformatted as Divisions 2A and 2B with 16 clubs in each division.
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