25-609: IRFU or Irfu may refer to: Irish Rugby Football Union , governs rugby union on the island of Ireland Interprovincial Rugby Football Union , the eastern predecessor of the Canadian Football League Institute of research into the fundamental laws of the Universe (CEA Irfu), based near Paris Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with
50-631: A significant issue. In 1925 the union designed their own flag, incorporating the arms of the four provinces. Although it had the same elements as the Flag of the Four Provinces , it was not identical, instead having them separated on a green background with the IRFU logo in the centre. Even so, the call to fly the Irish tricolour at Lansdowne Road continued. In 1932, despite the IRFU insisting that only
75-772: Is owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union . Ravenhill Stadium opened in 1923. It features an ornate arch at the entrance that was erected as a war memorial for those players killed in World War I and World War II . Prior to 1923, both Ulster and Ireland played games at the Royal Ulster Agricultural Society grounds in Belfast. Ravenhill has been the annual venue for the Ulster Schools Cup final since 1924, which
100-659: Is still used by the Ireland rugby union side, albeit with the logo updated in the middle. At the 2011 Rugby World Cup , the Ireland team entered the field of play at the beginning of their matches with the Irish tricolour and the Flag of Ulster . Similar to the flag and logo compromise, since The Rugby World Cup in 1995 , the Irish rugby team has sung both the Irish national anthem " Amhrán na bhFiann " and " Ireland's call ". There are currently approximately 95,000 rugby players in total in Ireland. There are 56 clubs affiliated to
125-717: Is the body managing rugby union in the island of Ireland (both Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland ). The IRFU has its head office at 10/12 Lansdowne Road and home ground at Aviva Stadium , where adult men's Irish rugby union international matches are played. In addition, the Union also owns the Ravenhill Stadium in Belfast , Thomond Park in Limerick and a number of grounds in provincial areas that have been rented to clubs. Initially, there were two unions:
150-505: Is traditionally contested on St Patrick's Day . The stadium is traditionally the venue for the Ulster Towns Cup , played on Easter Monday . Ravenhill has hosted 18 international matches, including pool games in both the 1991 and 1999 Rugby World Cups. The most recent Ireland international played at the stadium was on 24 August 2007 against Italy in a warm-up match for the 2007 Rugby World Cup. Prior to that match, Scotland
175-521: The 1999 World Cup at the ground. The next full International played at Ravenhill was the Rugby World Cup warm-up match against Italy in August 2007 due to the temporary closure of Lansdowne Road for reconstruction. The four provincial branches of the IRFU first ran cup competitions during the 1880s. Although these tournaments still take place every year, their significance has been diminished by
200-539: The 2017 Women's Rugby World Cup Final was played at the Kingspan Stadium. New Zealand beat England 41–32. The semi-final matches and some play-off matches of the Women's Rugby World Cup were also played at the stadium. The new stand at Ravenhill was officially opened on 9 October 2009 by First Minister Peter Robinson , before a match between Ulster and Bath Rugby . The stand has however been in use since
225-547: The IRFU . In 2011, the Northern Ireland Executive announced that it had granted £138m for various stadium redevelopment projects throughout Northern Ireland. Ulster Rugby received £14.5m, which was used to redevelop Ravenhill and expand its capacity from 12,000 to 18,000. In 2012, Ulster Rugby confirmed that three new stands would be built at Ravenhill, with work commencing in late 2012. Two new stands at
250-795: The Irish Football Union , which had jurisdiction over clubs in Leinster , Munster and parts of Ulster and was founded in December 1874, and the Northern Football Union of Ireland, which controlled the Belfast area and was founded in January 1875. The IRFU was formed in 1879 as an amalgamation of these two organisations and branches of the new IRFU were formed in Leinster, Munster and Ulster. The Connacht Branch
275-811: The Ulster Branch; 71 to the Leinster Branch; 59 to the Munster Branch and 23 to the Connacht Branch. In addition, there are 246 schools playing rugby: Ulster (107), Leinster (75), Munster (41) and Connacht (23). The IRFU also has an Exiles branch tasked with developing "Ireland-qualified" players (i.e., eligible to play internationally for Ireland as members of the Irish diaspora ) living in England, Scotland and Wales. Volunteers provide coaching, administration and development under
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#1732772342030300-576: The IRFU flag was flown at home internationals, pressure continued such that the Minister for External Affairs in the Free State asked to meet with the president of the Union. The result was that on 5 February 1932, the IRFU unanimously voted to fly both the flag of the union and the national flag at Lansdowne Road at all international matches in Dublin. The IRFU flag, as designed in 1925, is that which
325-536: The United Kingdom). To maintain the unity of Irish rugby union and the linkages between North and South, the IRFU purchased a new ground in 1923 in the Ravenhill district of Belfast at a cost of £2,300. The last full International at Ravenhill involving Ireland for more than a half-century took place in 1953–54 against Scotland who were victorious by 2 tries (6 points) to nil. Australia played Romania in
350-510: The advent of an All-Ireland league of 48 Senior Clubs in 1990. The four provincial teams have played an Interprovincial Championship since the 1920s and continue to be the focal point for players aspiring to the international level. These are Munster , Leinster , Ulster and Connacht . All four provinces play at the senior level as members of the United Rugby Championship . The Irish Rugby Football Union represents
375-581: The basis of the full 32 Irish counties and the traditional four provinces of Ireland: Leinster (12 counties), Ulster (9 counties), Munster (6 counties), and Connacht (5 counties), as they had been whilst all in the United Kingdom. This led to the unusual, but not unique, situation among international rugby union teams, where the Irish representative teams are drawn from players from two separate political, national territories: Ireland (an independent, sovereign state) and Northern Ireland (a part of
400-477: The early twenties, when the Irish Free State was established, the union was left in the position of governing a game for one island containing two separate political entities. A controversy ensued as to what flag should be flown at international matches. For a side that played both in Dublin and Belfast (the former being in the Free State, the latter being politically part of the United Kingdom) this posed
425-527: The first home match of the 2009–2010 season, against Edinburgh Rugby . The stand is on the Mount Merrion side of the ground, and consists of a terraced area, over 500 premium seats, and 20 corporate boxes. The terraced area is now covered by a roof for the first time in the stadium's history. The cost of the project is approximately £4.5 million, and has been funded by a mixture of public-sector funding, sales of premium tickets and boxes, and loans from
450-462: The island of Ireland and the emblems and symbols it uses have reflected its association with the whole of the island of Ireland since its formation. Some elements have changed since 1874, but what has remained consistent throughout the history of the union is the use of the shamrock in its emblems. Originally the Shamrock was a five-sprig emblem covering most of the lefthand side of the jersey and this
475-467: The official match programmes from the 1920s to 1954, showing a single shamrock surrounded by an oval had no relation to the official jersey emblem. The only time an Irish jersey had a single shamrock was when the Ireland side toured Chile and Argentina in 1952 and Argentina in 1970, and in both series no caps were awarded. Although the use of the shamrock has been a constant, albeit with modifications to design, other elements of symbology have changed. In
500-480: The supervision of a paid development manager. Ravenhill Stadium Ravenhill Stadium (known as the Kingspan Stadium for sponsorship reasons) is a rugby stadium located in Belfast , Northern Ireland . It is the home of Ulster Rugby . With the opening of a new stand for the 2014 Heineken Cup quarter-final against Saracens on 5 April 2014, the capacity of the stadium is now 18,196. The stadium
525-536: The title IRFU . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=IRFU&oldid=1234077599 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Irish Rugby Football Union The Irish Rugby Football Union ( IRFU ) ( Irish : Cumann Rugbaí na hÉireann )
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#1732772342030550-702: Was formed in 1900. The IRFU was a founding member of the International Rugby Football Board, now known as World Rugby , in 1886 with Scotland and Wales . (England refused to join until 1890.) Following the partition of Ireland in to what is now the Republic of Ireland (an independent country) and Northern Ireland (a region of the United Kingdom), the then Committee of the Irish Rugby Football Union decided that it would continue to administer its affairs on
575-545: Was the last visitor in the 1954 Five Nations Championship . Ravenhill also hosted the 2007 Under 19 Rugby World Championship final in which New Zealand defeated South Africa. Ravenhill hosted memorable Ulster games in the Heineken Cup . Ulster beat Toulouse 15–13 at Ravenhill in the quarter-finals of the 1998–99 Heineken Cup. Ravenhill then hosted the 1998–99 Heineken Cup semi-final in which Ulster defeated Stade Français 33–27. The most memorable moment in that game
600-450: Was used until the 1898 game against England in when it was replaced with a white shield with a sprig of four similar sized shamrocks. In 1927 a new crest was introduced, with the shamrock design altered to a sprig of three shamrocks of a similar size within a smaller white shield. This was the official crest until 1974 when the centenary logo was used, and which continued to be used with only a slight modification made in 2010. Logos used on
625-535: Was when out half David Humphreys ran from the Ulster 10-metre line to score a try. On 5 June 2014, Ulster signed a 10-year contract with the Kingspan Group for the naming rights to Ravenhill, meaning that the stadium will be known as the Kingspan Stadium until 2024. On 30 May 2015, the 2015 Pro12 Grand Final was played at the Kingspan Stadium. Glasgow Warriors beat Munster 31–13. On 26 August 2017,
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