October end to Six Nations for Ireland as Euro finals moved
IRELAND will complete their Six Nations campaign on the final two weekends in October, before taking part in an eight-team tournament held in Europe during a bumper international window that runs from October 24 to December 5.
World Rugby vice-chairman Bernard Laporte has confirmed that plans are in place for seven Test weekends in a row, starting with Italy’s visit to Dublin on October 24 with the away trip to face France in Paris part of a rescheduled Super Saturday on Hallowe’en.
Then, it appears Andy Farrell’s men are set to take part in a one-off competition against the other Six Nations countries as well as Fiji and Japan, as the Rugby Championship teams look likely to remain in the Southern Hemisphere to play each other. Ireland were due to welcome South Africa, Australia and Japan to Dublin.
World Rugby has not yet announced its plans and may yet face objections from clubs in France and England looking to protect their windows, while all plans are subject to the approval of public-health bodies.
Meanwhile, EPCR has confirmed that Marseille will not host this season’s Heineken Champions Cup and Challenge Cup finals.
Instead, the city will welcome European club rugby’s showpiece event in 2021, with the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium hosting the final in 2022.
Tickets for this year’s final will be valid in 2021, but holders will be offered refunds. This year’s finals venue will instead be decided when the participants are known.
The IRFU yesterday confirmed its plans for domestic rugby’s return, with clubs competing in domestic competition until Christmas before the Energia All Ireland League gets under way.
Action will get under way on September 26 with teams competing in provincial conference competitions until the turn of the year.
Those tournaments will be organised on a league basis and the top sides will receive a trophy.
Non-All Ireland League clubs will be invited to join the women’s tournament conferences to bulk up numbers.
In January, the All Ireland League will get back under way with a ninegame season, culminating with a semi-final and final. There will be no relegation or promotion due to the curtailed nature of the format.
Matches called off due to the coronavirus will be declared draws.
Clubs seem unlikely to see their professional players before Christmas after the IRFU announced a full series of provincial ‘A’ fixtures to replace the Celtic Cup, which has been cancelled due to the pandemic.
The provinces will also take part in three Sevens tournaments that will put additional demands on resources.Academy players are due to return to training on July 20, following senior players back into the provincial high-performance centres.
They will do an eight-week preseason before the first round of ‘A’ interpros commence on September 12 – the same weekend as the Guinness PRO14 final.