Irish Interprovincial Rugby Championship

The IRFU Interprovincial Championship was a rugby union competition between the four provinces of Ireland – Ulster, Leinster, Munster and Connacht – and, for a brief period the Irish Exiles, run by the Irish Rugby Football Union.

History

Original competition

The Interprovincial Championship, often shrotened to the Interpros, was run as a distinct competition from 1946–47 to 2000–01,IRFU Team History Archive
Interprovincial Championship Results
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/ref> with the 2001–02 fixtures being fulfilled by the match-ups in the newly formed Celtic League. For a time in the 1980s, the IRFU ruled that Irish diaspora players should play for Connacht, in an attempt to strengthen the weakest of the four provinces. The Irish Exiles took part for four years (1992–93 – 1995–96). Fixture pressure meant the competition ceased after the 2001 edition.

URC Irish Shield

In 2021, the United Rugby Championship introduced regional shields with the Irish provinces competing for the URC Irish Shield. Initially the pool included results against other non-Irish sides but from 2023 onwards, the URC announced that the regional pool shields of the competition would be decided only by results between the teams within each pool. With this change, the URC effectively reintroduced a form of the Interprovincial Championship as the (URC Irish Shield competition) in its original format for the first time since 2002 (albeit with professional, not representative, teams).

Championship wins

* There was not a full set of matches to complete the competition in 2001–02. The rules for deciding placing used for the Celtic League/Magners League/Pro12 for that season were used to decide the placings in the interpro table.

Won-lost record

League placings

Results

1946

1947

1948-49

1949

1950

1951

1952

1953

1954

1955

1956

1957

1958

1959

1960

1961

1962

1963

1964

1965

1966

1967

1968

1969

1970

1971

1972

1973

1974

1975

1976

1977

1978

1979

1980

1981

1982

1983

1984

1985

1986

1987

1988

1989

1990

1991

1992

This season, the IRFU Interprovincial Championship was sponsored by Cara Computers, and for the first time included the Irish Exiles.

1993

1994

Munster beat Ulster in an Interpro for the first time since 1980.

1995

The 1995 IRFU Interprovincial Championship was the first to be held since rugby union was declared open to professionalism. At this stage the Irish provinces were still representative teams, not professional clubs. Many involved in the game were concerned that domestic clubs could not afford to pay players, who could be lost to professional teams in England. In September, the IRFU confirmed that, for this season, only senior international players would be paid, with a one-year moratorium on payment for club and provincial players. As the situation developed, match fees became available for Heineken Cup and Interprovincial matches. Leinster won the Interprovincial title for the first time in twelve years.

1996

The 1996 Interprovincial Championship was sponsored by Guinness in a three-year deal worth £115,000, taking over from the previous sponsors, Smithwicks. The Irish Exiles were no longer able to compete as matches clashed with club games in England.

At this stage the Irish provinces were still representative teams, not professional clubs. However, the provinces were now offering contracts and match fees for Heineken Cup and Interprovincial matches, although these contracts sometimes conflicted with players contracted to clubs in England.

1997

The IRFU offered new contracts for provincial players for this season. Full-time players would receive a retainer of £25,000, plus a win bonus of £500 for Heineken Cup matches. Part-time players would be paid a retainer of £7,500, plus a match fee of £400 for Interprovincial matches and £800 for the Heineken Cup, and a win bonus of £450 for both competitions."Seventy six players win IRFU contracts", ''Irish Independent'', 17 July 1997 Each province could have a maximum of 30 contracted players.

1998

This season, the tournament adopted a new format, with each team playing each other home and away. The tournament points system was adopted from Super 12 and the Tri Nations, with four points for a win and two for a draw, a bonus point for scoring four or more tries in a match, and a bonus point for losing by seven points or less.Grant Robbins, "Restructured Interpros puts emphasis on attack", ''Evening Herald'', 14 August 1998 This led to an average of over four tries scored per match.

The tournament was strengthened by a drive by Ireland coach Warren Gatland to bring Irish players who had signed contracts with English clubs back to Ireland to play in the Interprovincial Championship and Heineken Cup. The provinces would have squads of 30 players, most of whom would be full-time professionals.

The title came down to a decider between Leinster and Munster at Donnybrook, with both teams level on points going into the final weekend. Munster took the title with a win, thanks to a man-of-the-match performance by Alan Quinlan.

Tony Ward, writing in the ''Irish Independent'', selected the following as Team of the Championship:

1. Peter Clohessy (Munster),
2. Mark McDermott (Munster),
3. Angus McKeen (Leinster),
4. Mick Galwey (Munster),
5. Eddie Halvey (Munster),
6. Ian Dillon (Connacht),
7. Andy Ward (Ulster),
8. Alan Quinlan (Munster),
9. Conor McGuinness (Connacht),
10. David Humphreys (Ulster),
11. Girvan Dempsey (Leinster),
12. Pat Duignan (Connacht),
13. Jonathan Bell (Ulster),
14. John Lacey (Munster),
15. Brian Roche (Munster).

1999

2000

2001–02

The 2001–02 IRFU Interprovincial Championship was a transitional season before the competition was superseded by the Celtic League. Pool matches between Irish provinces in the 2001–02 Celtic League counted towards the championship. The remaining Interprovincial fixtures were originally scheduled to take place in December 2001, but were postponed because IRFU director of fitness Dr. Liam Hennessy felt that the schedule, between the Celtic League, the Heineken Cup and the Autumn internationals, was too onerous and players needed a period of rest and recovery to prepare for the Six Nations. They took place in April and May 2002.Aidan Corr, "Munster face into a hectic season", ''Limerick Chronicle'', 24 July 2001

Celtic league Interprovincial matches

Additional matches

See also

* 1872 Cup — Scottish club rivalry

References

{{Ulster Rugby

Rugby union competitions in Ireland
Rugby union competitions in Europe for clubs and provinces