Women’s U18 Interprovincial Championship Fixtures Announced

4th August 2023 By The Editor

Connacht U18’s Siofra Hession, Munster U18’s Niamh Crotty, PwC Partner Doone O’Doherty, Leinster U18’s Rebecca Brennan and Ulster U18’s Ruby Starrett ©INPHO

The IRFU is delighted to confirm the fixtures for the 2023/24 PwC Women’s U18 Interprovincial Championship, with the tournament now positioned alongside the senior Vodafone Women’s Interprovincial Championship to further underline its importance in the development pathway.

All four Provinces are entering the final stages of preparation for the PwC Women’s U18 Interprovincial Championship, which kicks off on Saturday, 19 August and runs over three weekends of round-robin action before the knockout stages take place in February.

For the first time, there will be three double-header match days as the PwC Women’s U18 Interprovincial Championship and Vodafone Women’s Interprovincial Championship run side-by-side.

Munster host Connacht in the opening game of the U18 Championship at Musgrave Park on Saturday, 19 August (Kick-off 12.45pm), before the Provinces go head-to-head at senior level at the same venue (Kick-off 3.15pm).

At Energia Park on the opening weekend, Leinster face Ulster (Kick-off 3pm) in the U18 Championship, following on from the Province’s meeting in the Women’s Championship earlier in the day (Kick-off 1pm).

The semi-finals and finals of the U18 Championship will be played in February, ensuring players have exposure to high-level game time in advance of Ireland’s U18 Women’s Six Nations Festival campaign later in the spring.

The 2023/23 Championship was launched this week at the IRFU High Performance Centre with Siofra Hession (Connacht), Ruby Starrett (Ulster), Rebecca Brennan (Leinster) and Niamh Crotty (Munster) in attendance, alongside IRFU President Greg Barrett and Doone O’Doherty, PwC Partner.

Speaking ahead Championship, Amanda Greensmith, IRFU Women’s Development Manager, said: “We are excited to be launching the fixtures for the PwC Women’s U18 Interprovincial Championship, which continues to evolve into an important development platform in our Women’s pathway structure.

“It is important we positioned the competition alongside the Women’s Championship in the season calendar, and the addition of double-header match days at Energia Park and Musgrave Park to the schedule is the result of lots of hard work from all stakeholders involved.

“We look forward to three rounds of exciting and competitive round-robin action, which provides our best young players from around the country with access to top-class coaching and the high-level exposure required to fast-track their development as rugby players.”

Enda McDonagh, Managing Partner, PwC Ireland, commented: “At PwC we are proud to support the U18 Women’s Interprovincial Championship, a key component of the development pathway for the next generation in women’s rugby.

“Supporting excellence and recognising talent is paramount to the future success of business and all of our communities.

“Sponsoring this Interprovincial Championship strengthens our support for Irish sport and, in particular, reinforces our commitment to increasing the profile and participation of women in sport. We wish all four Provinces the best of luck in the upcoming Championship. #FutureIsGreen”