During the dark days of the pandemic, rugby’s professional tier kept the show on the road, albeit with echoey stadia. But they were altogether grimmer times for the club game. There was the odd smattering of friendlies when restrictions were marginally eased, but between Corinthians beating Sligo 24-8 on March 7th, 2020 and Old Belvedere’s 16-13 win over Naas on October 1st, 2021, there wasn’t an AIL ball kicked in anger in the intervening year and seven months.
Days like last Saturday would have seemed fantastical. Big crowds attended make-or-break semi-finals and relegation first-leg playoffs at 15 venues …
- April 30, 2022
