The rugby season grows ever longer and ever fuller. Already back in training since early July, most of Ireland's leading players will begin their competitive season in earnest in the next fortnight and will not say goodbye to the 1997-98 campaign for a further 40 weeks. It is an intense schedule and, maintaining the trend of recent years, the explosion of representative games continues apace. The four Irish provinces are already building up to their Inter-provincial and European Cup campaigns. At the conclusion of the latter's league stages, the four provinces will have played a total of 45 matches - which must surely be a record - with the additional hope of progressing toward the knock-out stages.

Meantime, those based across channel will play the first of their respective 22 Allied Dunbar Division One campaigns next Saturday fortnight, and the last of them 40 Saturdays later in mid-May. In between times, the majority of the Division One clubs across the water will also be involved in either the European Cup or European Conference, added to which is the inaugural League Cup, plus possible progress in the Pilkington Cup - all liberally interspersed with Irish squad sessions back home. But then, these guys are professional now, which is just as well.

Then there is the thrilling prospect of the world's greatest side, the All Blacks, coming to town in November. Admittedly, they only play one game in Ireland, a test match at Lansdowne Road on November 15th. Further shredding old traditions, the All Blacks play their subsequent test against Wales at Wembley, while one of their two tests against England will be at Old Trafford.

In a further break with tradition, Wales will also play their two home games in the Five Nations at Wembley while, for the first time, kick-off times will be scattered with two games being moved to Sundays. When you think of it, the wonder is that Five Nations games kicked off simultaneously for, charming old principle that it is, it doesn't make commercial sense in the modern world of rugby.

In addition to the All Blacks, Ireland will also meet Canada in November, on a date still to be finalised due to the re-arranging of the game against New Zealand, while Brian Ashton has a third preparatory game for the Five Nations against Italy in Bologna on December 20th.

As can be gauged from all of this, the season's graph builds steadily upwards for our leading players until the end of the year. However, for those players who have remained with Irish clubs, the graph suddenly drops at the turn of the year when the AIL resumes for the fourth series of matches (the opening three rounds will be played between the New Zealand and Italian internationals). With the best will in the world, the AIL can in no way maintain the playing standards of the European Cup and international rugby.

Just as sharply, after six successive weeks of the AIL after Christmas, the Five Nations arrives on the scene with the opening home fixture against Scotland on February 7th. There follows a further three weeks of the much-maligned AIL prior to the second Five Nations encounter in Paris after which the AIL is completed on a fortnightly basis in and around internationals.

Dates for the semi-final and final of the AIL have yet to be finalised.

Then, for a less than thrilling denouement, there is the prospect of the provincial cups to round off the season, to be played in front of the proverbial two men and a dog (at least outside of Limerick). Here layeth proof that some pillars of the old ways remain sacred in the professional game.