Rugby Union in Ireland - Competitions

Competitions

The Irish National team competes in the Six Nations tournament and Summer and Autumn tests series' which are held every year, and also The Rugby World Cup which is held every four years. The Ireland "A" (second-level) national team, from February 2010 known as Ireland Wolfhounds, have in the past competed in a smaller tournament called the Churchill Cup, although they did not play in either of that tournament's final two editions in 2010 or 2011.

Irish provinces compete in the RaboDirect Pro12 (originally the Celtic League before gaining sponsorship first from Magners and now Rabobank's RaboDirect subsidiary) against Welsh regions, Scotland super-districts, and from 2010–11 Italian franchises. Currently, Leinster, Munster and Ulster also compete in the Heineken Cup. Connacht normally compete in the European Challenge Cup, but made their Heineken Cup debut in 2011–12 by virtue of Leinster's 2011 Heineken Cup win. Similarly, the all-Irish 2012 Heineken Cup final resulted in Connacht returning to the Heineken Cup in 2012–13.

Competitions have taken place since the late 19th century with the modern day Inter Provincial Championship between Munster, Leinster, Ulster and Connacht first contested in 1920, with the oldest interprovincial match held between Leinster and Ulster.

Another focus for the domestic game in Ireland is the All Ireland League. This was started in 1990 and has now expanded to four divisions - 1A, 1B, 2A and 2B.

Irish provincial "A" teams from Leinster, Munster and Ulster have taken part in the British and Irish Cup competition since its inception in 2009-10, with Connacht "A" joining when the competition expanded from 24 to 32 teams for 2012–13. Following this expansion, the Cup also includes four clubs from the Scottish Premiership and all 12 clubs from both the Welsh Premier Division and England's RFU Championship.