The action will get underway with a full round of the Women’s All-Ireland League on Saturday, September 25th.

The men’s league will return a week later on October 2nd, with all 50 men’s sides starting their season that weekend.

The default kick-off times for men’s games will be 2:30 pm on Saturdays and 5 pm on Saturdays for women’s games but can be adjusted based on the agreed preference of participating teams.

Speaking about the release of fixtures, IRFU Competitions Manager Kevin Beggs said: “We are delighted to announce firm fixtures for all 60 participating teams in the Energia All-Ireland League for the 2021/22 season.

“For clubs and their supporters, it means a lot to have dates to put in the diary and the chance to get back pitchside and enjoy the very best that club rugby has to offer.”

The full list of fixtures is available to view on https://www.irishrugby.ie/energiaail.

Briggs said that the fixture list is balanced to meet the needs of clubs across the upcoming season.

The IRFU Competitions Manager also stated that clubs will play localised games in preparation for the league’s openers.

“It will be preceded by localised matches in September to whet the appetite for the All-Ireland action to come.”

Women’s All-Ireland League

Two new sides will join the women’s ranks for the 2021/22 season – Ballincollig and Wicklow – and both will have home advantage in Round One.

Ballincollig will welcome Suttonians to Tanner Park while Wicklow will play host to Old Belvedere.

Defending Champions Railway Union will meet 2019 runners up UL Bohemian on October 23rd, two and a half years after they met in the last Women’s AIL final.

A nine-game regular women’s season will conclude on December 11th with a one-off modified format beginning on January 15th 2022.

A Top 4 Round-Robin will lead into semi-finals and a final to determine the 2021/22 Energia Women’s All-Ireland League Champions.

The bottom six sides will also be put into a round-robin system separate from the top four and will compete for a one-off trophy following play-offs.

Dates for the Energia Women’s All-Ireland League playoffs are subject to confirmation to avoid any clashes with the as-yet-to-be announced fixtures for the 2022 Women’s Six Nations Championship Fixtures.

The ring-fencing of all 10 participating teams will be retained as planned for the next two seasons as the IRFU continue to support the development and long-term sustainability of participating teams.

The Energia Women’s All-Ireland Cup will also return this season with details to be announced in due course.

Men’s AIL

In the Men’s AIL, there will be an 18-game regular season that will run up until April 9th 2022 and a final set for Sunday, May 1st 2022.

This move was made after a majority of clubs voted to return to the previous format of the Men’s AIL.

Cork Constitution are the last winners of the Men’s Energia AIL and kick off the defence of their 2018/19 title away to Garryowen.

By the time we get to our Energia All-Ireland League finals in May 2022, it will have been three years since those prestigious trophies were last lifted. It’s building up to be a very special season indeed.”

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The Women’s All-Ireland League will start on the weekend of September 25th while the men’s league will kick off on the weekend of October 2nd.

The Women’s AIL will be expanded to 10 teams, as announced last year and there will be no relegation for the 2021/22 and 2022/23 seasons.

Ballincollig and Wicklow will be the new sides making their Women’s AIL debuts.

All teams will have a nine-game regular season.

The table will then be split into two – the top four will play a six-match, home and away round-robin followed by playoffs for the Women’s AIL title.

The other six teams will have a five-match round-robin, followed by playoffs for a separate trophy.

This split is only expected to occur in the 2021/22 season.

The Men’s AIL will retain the five divisions – 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B and 2C and will have an 18-game regular reason for all 50 clubs based on the majority of clubs’ preference.

Promotion and relegation in the divisions will be reinstated.

Relegation will switch to a ‘one up, one down’ format “where any match is impacted by COVID-19.”

The IRFU Rugby Committee has agreed on a series of parameters to manage the impact of COVID-19 throughout the season, which has been shared with clubs.

Chair of the IRFU Rugby Committee Greg Barrett said in the announcement that “this is a really positive step towards meaningful rugby in the 2021/22 season and all 60 participating teams have a firm date to work towards.”

“These formats will facilitate the recovery of our clubs as we continue to calculate the cost of the epidemic to our domestic game and the rugby pathway and we remain ready and willing to adapt and evolve to ensure the long-term sustainability of our clubs.”

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