Playing rugby in Ireland: the All-Ireland League, provincial leagues, visas and clearance
Ireland is the simplest move a British player can make: no visa, the same calendar as home, and a national club league with a clear rule on who counts as an overseas player. It is also amateur by design, with the IRFU keeping its contracted professionals out of the club game. This guide covers the season, the divisions, the visa position for players from outside the UK and EU, the clearance every player needs, and what a club can realistically offer. Every figure was read from the linked source on 29 September 2026.
The season
The men's Energia All-Ireland League opens on Saturday 26 September 2026 and runs to the finals on 25 April 2027. Clubs are back in pre-season from August. A player arriving from the northern hemisphere loses nothing on timing; one arriving from the south lands in the middle of a season and should expect to join a squad already picked.
The leagues
Fifty clubs play in the All-Ireland League. From 2026/27 the IRFU has regionalised the bottom tier, replacing Divisions 2B and 2C with a north and a south section.
| Division | Teams | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1A | 10 | Top division; IRFU-contracted professionals may not play |
| 1B | 10 | |
| 2A | 10 | |
| 2B North | 10 | New for 2026/27, replaces 2B |
| 2B South | 10 | New for 2026/27, replaces 2C |
| Provincial leagues | Varies | Run by Leinster, Munster, Ulster and Connacht below the AIL |
“By reducing travel and related costs, easing demands on players, we foster a more sustainable league.”
Who counts as an overseas player
The AIL regulations are the document to read before a club promises you anything. Regulation 9.14 limits each club to one overseas player, and it defines the term narrowly: a non-EU national on a work visa of at least a year, registered before 1 October. EU and British passport holders are eligible outright and do not use the slot. The same regulations bar IRFU-contracted players from the league altogether.
“In the AIL, a club is permitted one overseas player.”
“IRFU Foreign Contracted Players may not play in the All Ireland League.”
Visas
A UK citizen needs nothing. Irish and UK citizens have the right to live, travel, work and study within the Common Travel Area, so a player from Cardiff or Newcastle can sign for a Cork club on a Monday and start work on the Tuesday.
A player from outside the EEA who will be paid needs a Sport and Cultural Employment Permit: 500 euro for a permit of up to six months, 1,000 euro for up to 24 months, and the pay must be at the national minimum wage or above. The permit page does not describe an unpaid amateur position, so a non-EEA player intending to play without pay should confirm their entitlement to be in Ireland separately, and remember that only a player on a work visa of at least a year fills a club's overseas slot in the AIL.
Clearance
Every player moving between unions, amateur or professional, needs a World Rugby clearance before the IRFU will register them:
“A Player leaving or proposing to leave his Current Union to play in another Union shall not be Registered or eligible to participate in competitions organised, recognised or sanctioned by that New Union until the New Union has received the original version (or a facsimile copy of the original version) of a Clearance.”
What clubs offer
AIL rugby is amateur, and the union's rules keep it that way at the top by excluding its own professionals. The realistic offer from an Irish club is a place in a squad at a known level, help finding work, and sometimes a room for the first weeks. The Ireland directory page marks each listed club that offers housing, visa help or job support, which is the fastest way to see who is offering what.
Players who have made the move from Britain to clubs across Europe describe the same pattern: packages exist, but they are paid in help rather than in wages.
“it is much more common in the UK and Europe for clubs to offer their rugby players monetary packages”
How to get picked up
Four steps, in this order:
- Build a profile with clips and your full playing history, then apply to the clubs on the Ireland directory page.
- Ask the club which division it plays in and what it will help with. If you are a non-EU national, ask whether its overseas slot is free this season.
- Have your current club and union sign the World Rugby clearance before you travel.
- Arrive for pre-season in August. The AIL starts in late September and squads are largely settled by then.