IRFU announce new A-League to replace British & Irish Cup

According to an interview with David Nucifora during the Australia tour series, the British and Irish Cup will be replaced by a new A-League at the start of next season 2017-18. Players on the fringes of the provincial first teams will play a seven-game league run over as many weeks from the start of next season. The IRFU have invited the four Welsh regions into the eight-team league.

“The thought behind running the league over seven weeks is that it will mimic the intensity of a Pro14 regular season,” David Nucifora, the IRFU’s high-performance director, said. “Our ambition is that the A-League would complement the AIL, allowing for the best players not playing Pro14 week-to-week to be available to play club rugby.”

Scottish rugby doing its own thing with their Super teams, and Premiership starting their A-League from next season.

I take it the Welsh have accepted the invitation?

Isn’t this what the newly announced welsh regional U23 teams will be playing in? Or is that something else?

It came out a while ago, I don't think the IRFU invited the Welsh team to join, but rather the Provinces and Regions worked together to come up with a better proposal that would benefit their player development better, and fit both needs but still work with the domestic leagues.

The WRU Competition Review proposed "regional under-23 sides as a means of creating a more seamless development pathway into the professional game"
The IRFU wanted a development League with Welsh and Scottish teams, 18 games, but also wanted to try and bridge the gap between the Ulster Bank league and Pro 14

It appears they got together and came up with a solution that fitted both, Under 23, 7 games but played over consecutive weeks to create a professional recreation of intense games over a short time, but not to long a time as they are developing, which also means the players are free for domestic league action.

https://theoffsideline.com/pro14-investigate-development-league/

Its a combination of Welsh and Irish needs, benefiting both.

How Scotland or if they will fit in in future is unsure, Even with the Super 6 they did plan to play 5/6 games a year with "A' sides for players returning to fitness at first just entering them in the under 23 development League would give them the games they wish, but it would have to be under 23 players, which doesn't suit Scotlands needs.
They cannot enter a player returning from injury in the Super 6 (as they do not want it to involve full time professionals) and if they are over 23 cannot play in the development league.
I think Scotland will be going on there own on this.

Sorry, so just to clarify is the A league discussed in the OP the same as the U23 development league, or different? Only because I don’t think the regions have A teams as well as U23 teams. There wouldn’t be enough players left to make up a full seniors squad!

If it is the same, would U23 (Welsh) vs A team (Irish) be an issue? Might be a bit one sided (to the Irish)!

The Irish teams in it will be under 23 as well. Its a under 23 A league. It should mean players appear in UBL and Welsh Prem more. But still have a series of intense games for under 23's

Gotcha. Yep, sounds good.

Good to see the Irish and Welsh in collaboration, rather than at loggerheads over something. Fingers crossed it stays that way.

I believe a capped amount of more senior players will be allowed in each side too - I'm guessing these will be players returning to fitness or needing some game time.

munkian wrote:I believe a capped amount of more senior players will be allowed in each side too - I'm guessing these will be players returning to fitness or needing some game time.

That's good news. I suggested previously that I'd prefer A teams to U23, for the same reason i.e. to give over 23s a chance to regain fitness, etc. so that's good news. I understand the argument that if you're over 23 and haven't broken in to the squad then you might not be good enough for pro rugby anyway, but there's also the injured players returning from long lay offs, players who are good pros who might have lost a bit of form or been temporality leapfrogged by others players, etc. It would be daft not to give them an opportunity at this level, which is above the Welsh prem level as far as I can tell.

This Nucifora lad...he's the real deal.  

I hope if Joe decides to stay after 2019 (methinks that will be doubtful as he seems the kind of guy that fears stagnation and he seems to have stayed longer than he already planned) - but I hope if Nucifora persuades him to stay that Nucifora himself will linger around too ('NO!' says Ulster!).  
They do seem a good admin partnership and are revolutionising the 'professionalism' of Irish rugby.
We've had a bedrock of sorts before either turned up but between the two of them they cut out the insular 'traditional' crap and are attacking now the 'Provincialism' crap.  So I think they are shovelling a lot of crap to one side, telling the Irish bluntly how much it's all holding back true success.  But I fear if they leave too early, the old habits will rush back in like the Red Sea over Hannibal Lector - or was he the lad that crossed the Andes with a herd of Giraffes?  I know I got one analogy wrong there somewhere

SecretFly wrote:This Nucifora lad...he's the real deal.  

Just not when it comes to the women's game......

He's a Lad. The women should have their own parallel structure within the IRFU. Equal- ITee is a word with meaning if people really meant it. They should have a female 'Nucifora' going directly to IRFU CEOs and demanding their share of everything................ but not MORE than their share. They have to generate income as well as demand resources. So over to the women on that score. A female Nucifora.