Leinster Rugby has this morning announced two new cup competitions for the 2021/22 season, as part of suite of early season cups, which will kick start the return of Junior club rugby in the 12 counties of Leinster.

The Bank of Ireland Leinster League Cup (Colm O’Shea Cup) and the Bank of Ireland Metropolitan Cup will both be played over four weekends preceding the commencement of league competitions.

Starting on the weekend of August 21, both cup competitions will be run on a knock-out basis with both finals taking place as a double-header on Saturday, 11 September, hosted by Lansdowne FC.

Speaking at the launch, Bill Duggan of the Competitions Committee said, “The last 18 months have seen the decimation of the domestic rugby programme across all levels of the game and as we look to return to rugby, we felt that there was an opportunity with cup competitions such as these to offer vital game time ahead of the start of the league action later in the year.

“More than that though, it’s about getting people to re-engage with their clubs and their communities and the buy-in from the clubs has been superb. I would also like to acknowledge the support of Bank of Ireland and their continued support of domestic rugby in the province and support for the ‘From The Ground Up’ mantra that everyone in the grassroots of the game live and breathe.”

The finals of the Bank of Ireland Com O’Shea Cup and Metropolitan Cup will take place in Lansdowne FC, as a double-header on the back pitch of the Aviva Stadium.

The Metropolitan final will open proceedings followed by the Colm O’Shea Cup final.

The Colm O’Shea Cup will be presented to the winners of the Bank of Ireland Leinster League Cup final (made up of teams from the Leinster League Divisions 1A and 1B).

Colm O’Shea passed away in September 2020 and was a former chair of the Leinster Competitions Committee, and valued member of the Junior and Rugby Committees and of Lansdowne FC for many years. Lansdowne FC are delighted to host this prestigious event in recognition of their esteemed club member.

On behalf of Bank of Ireland, Director, Area East, Joann Hosey, said, “Bank of Ireland are a proud sponsor of Leinster Rugby at all levels and we’re delighted to support initiatives like this that look to inject life back into rugby in Leinster.

“So many events and competitions have been impacted by Covid-19, but we never lost our focus on the importance of competing and living up to our ‘Never Stop Competing’ mantra. So we are all now really excited for a new season of rugby and we look forward to finals day in Lansdowne RFC on September 11 as part of that return to competitive action for our clubs.”

Bank of Ireland Colm O’Shea Cup Competition – Round 1

Mullingar v Cill Dara
Tullow v Seapoint
Dundalk v Boyne
Longford v Clondalkin
Gorey v Bective Rangers
Ashbourne v Co Carlow
Monkstown v Kilkenny
Suttonians v Wicklow

Bank of Ireland Metropolitan Cup Competition – Round 1

Greystones v Blackrock College
Clontarf v Lansdowne
Navan v Naas
MU Barnhall v Dublin University
Terenure College v Wanderers
UCD v Old Wesley
Enniscorthy v Old Belvedere
Tullamore v St Mary’s College