Nenagh Ormond to face Clonmel in rugby return
The start of the 2020/21 season moved a step closer with the announcement of fixtures for the Energia Men’s All-Ireland League and Community Series.
The action gets underway on the weekend of Saturday 26th September with the start of the Energia Community Series - a standalone competition that will pit AIL teams from within the same province against each other in league format.
Nenagh Ormond will be in division 2 of the Munster Conference and will begin with a Tipperary derby at home to Clonmel on the last Saturday in September. The following Saturday they will travel to old foes Midleton before welcoming UL Bohemian to Lisatunny on Saturday 10th October. There will be a weekend break before Nenagh resume with a trip to Irish Independent Park to face Dolphin on 24th October before welcoming Bruff to Nenagh on Saturday 7th November. Two weeks later Nenagh will make their second trip to Irish Independent Park to take on Sunday’s Well. The top two teams in the division will meet in the final.
Stage 2 of the season will commence from January 1st and sees the easing of travel restrictions for teams in line with the IRFU's principles of player welfare and COVID-19 Risk Mitigation.
The first All-Ireland competition to commence will be the Energia All-Ireland Junior Cup on January 2nd 2021. That’s followed a week later by the return of the Energia Men’s and Women’s All-Ireland Leagues with Nenagh Ormond resuming in Division 2A prior to the cancellation of the leagues.
Teams that finished in the top two within their respective divisions in 2019/20 will be rewarded with five home games in the nine game season in 2021.
Greg Barrett is Chair of the IRFU’s Rugby Committee: “Our national competitions have a regional focus in Stage 1 of the season and that brings with it unique opportunities and classic derbies,” he said.
“At the same time, clubs are returning to rugby in a safe and responsible manner and the season’s structure is an extension of that.
“Where clubs will meet again in the Energia All-Ireland League in 2021, the fixture has been reversed so we can expect a lot of clubs looking forward to returning the favour in terms of both hospitality and friendly rivalry from January onwards.”
Fixtures have been issued directly to clubs and will be available at https://www.irishrugby.ie/all-ireland-leagues/men/fixtures-results/.