All-Ireland LeagueGerry Thornley finds expert support for his argument that the AIL still has much to offer
So the AIB League is back, and open warfare between the clubs and the IRFU appears to have been averted - for the time being at any rate. No one in the union having flown in the face of history by admitting they actually got something wrong, their volte-face in the face of resistance to their much-derided, provincial-league-based structure will lead us almost back to square one, but that ultimately makes this quite an important season for all 48 clubs.
Final standings this season will lead to a grading upon which the three-divisional format of 16 teams - in which each division will be divided into two conferences of eight - will be based. So where a club finishes this season will potentially have a ripple effect into next season and beyond.
The truth of the matter is that the changes will largely be cosmetic, though the clubs' own counter-proposal is inestimably better than what the union thought up.
Rather than dig their heels in and refuse to recognise the All-Ireland Senior Rugby Clubs' Association, the union would do well to take on board the ideas of those prepared to offer them - especially if they have the club game at heart.
The club game needs to break away from the provincial leagues, where mismatches are the norm, and have clubs of similar standard meeting more regularly than at present. It would do the weak, as well as the strong, much good, and after two months of provincial leagues one imagines virtually all 48 clubs will greet the dawn of another AIL campaign with open arms.
Overlooking the murky world of finances, and the justifiably dire warnings from the union that too many clubs are overstretching themselves, on the pitch the club game is doing alright. Sure, recalling the halcyon days of yore when end-of-season deciders in front of full houses - especially down Limerick way - were the norm portrays the current set-up in a bad light.
But those days were a blip for the club game, and ultimately served the provinces well, especially Munster.
The club game will never attract bumper crowds like those again, save for the play-off stages, which themselves need more importance and better marketing. But as a breeding ground for the provinces, whether helping the education of talented young players identified in the academy system or bringing through players from outside that schools-orientated conveyor belt, the clubs can still have a vital role. Not to mention expanding the map of the club game.
The signs for this season suggest this developmental aspect can only improve. The Leinster management are on record as saying they will encourage players not involved in their match-day 22s to play for the clubs, and the regionalisation of the IRFU's Academy should help their young players get more game time.
It's an easy league to knock, but in light of the current struggles and the debate as to where the league should go, it's interesting to hear the views of a relatively dispassionate coach who has had 3½ years of hands-on experience in the front line of the AIL.
Tony D'Arcy, the one-time Irish scrummaging coach, will shortly be ending his tenure at Ballymena to head back to Australia, where he will take up a role as coach to the New South Wales Academy.
The Australian is a true gentleman and one of the nicest people you could have met in the Irish rugby circuit over the last few years, and bearing in mind how precarious an existence rugby coaching is, you can understand that he is "absolutely delighted" over his appointment.
Nevertheless, D'Arcy sounds genuinely saddened to be leaving, and his sense of debt is also palpable.
"I know I never would have got such a position if I'd never been to Ireland. I'm a better coach for working under Eddie O'Sullivan and working in Northern Hemisphere conditions, which are different."
Aside from the working relationship, friendships and attachment he's developed at Ballymena, D'Arcy says: "The club has a passion for excellence. They've never said no to anything I've put forward."
In his time at Eaton Park, Ballymena have been as cyclical and transitional as any club. Relegation material on his arrival, they regrouped, grew stronger and won the league two seasons ago, but the increasing demands placed on Ulster by the expansion of the Celtic League - from seven pool games to 22 last season - put a strain on them and all other high-profile clubs.
Yet, despite this, interestingly, D'Arcy is adamant the competition has got tougher.
"We had a good team last year, but we didn't get any easy games. It's very hard to compare standards, but I think the Irish rugby community should be pleased with the standard. It's getting stronger."
He attributes this to the greater effort clubs have placed on recruitment, and also the work of the IRFU Academy. "And I think there's a buzz about Irish rugby across the board. The national team has been doing well, and so have the provincial teams."
His experiences of the AIL are probably the better for not having witnessed the so-called glory years.
"The first-division clubs are a natural stepping stone to the professional game. I would be a strong advocate of a strong, national, first-division club competition. I would probably support regional competitions below that, though that's purely a personal point of view. I'm not sure there's much value in City of Derry travelling all the way down to Clonakilty. They struggle to get guys on buses for those trips."
D'Arcy describes Ballymena as "part of the food chain" and cites several young players, either brought through the ranks or recruited, who have benefited from the AIL stepping stone to Ulster, most notably Andy Maxwell, Brian Young, Mike McComish and Andrew Trimble, with, he hopes, the likes of Andy Jackson and Ireland under-19 player Jamie McGruggen to follow.
Comparing Irish club rugby to Australian, D'Arcy reckons the AIL game is more forward-orientated, more physical at the breakdown, if less adventurous, with Australian club forwards perhaps more skilful in open play, but not so effective in pure forward encounters.
As for the oft-debated AIL structure, he says: "Every region needs to be represented in the top division. Size does matter, but I don't know that there are enough quality players (for a 16-team first division)."
If D'Arcy were allowed an AIL wish list, top of it would be "that clubs have a 22-match premier league competition".
"I wouldn't be as strong on the number of teams as I would be on the number of games."
Although he stresses he is very supportive of the IRFU in general, he points out, "there was a strong push for the provincial leagues (as AIL qualifiers) last season but we've been scoring upwards of 80 and 90 points a game against some of our senior provincial clubs and games have been cut short. The level of competition provincially isn't of a standard that's required to support the professional game. That's my personal opinion."
He sees some logic in having provincial leagues as a build-up to the AIL. "But we don't need to play 10 of them (matches). We play 10 of those and 13 AIL games. Brian Young and Mike McComish and Qandy Trimble need to play more Division One rugby games. It's a great competition. It is knocked, but it's a fabulous competition."
The next fortnight will provide D'Arcy with his last two games. Nice easy ones too. Somewhat fittingly, his final home game will be against Clontarf today, evoking memories of their memorable Lansdowne Road decider the season before last.
"That was a great match. Club rugby can do that, and can have more of those games."
It was perhaps, the best final of all, and easily the highlight of his time here.
"To see grown men cry is something I'll never forget. They were so touched by it, and they certainly touched me."
Clontarf lost eight out of 13 and finished in the bottom half last season, but many of those defeats were suffered in the last throes of injury-time and, having recruited well, they will, D'Arcy believes, be contenders again. He also reflects the general sense of confidence in Eaton Park about their own chances, having completed the adjustment to living without their full-timers by generating what he believes is a good squad, thanks in the main to "having a good second XV, which we haven't had in my time here".
The shortlist to succeed him is impressive: Adrian Thompson, who was assistant coach to the Queensland Reds and head coach of Australia A; Tom Barker, who has won four Brisbane Premierships and spent a year as Eddie Jones's Super 12 assistant; and the former Connacht coach Steph Nel.
D'Arcy's final game as Ballymena coach is away to last year's beaten finalists, Cork Con, and he expects them to be up there along with his own club, Shannon and Buccaneers.
"It depends on who gets their act together really, doesn't it." He'd like to leave with a couple of wins. "It'd be nice, wouldn't it."
