Malone withdraw from Women's All-Ireland League on eve of new season

Malone RFC have withdrawn from the Women's All-Ireland League on the eve of the new season.

The Ulster side were due to face defending champions Railway Union on Saturday but informed the IRFU of their "reluctant withdrawal".

The Energia All-Ireland League Women’s Division and Cup Series will continue with nine teams for the 2022/23 season, with teams that were due to play Malone having a bye week instead.

Malone RFC vice chair Michael Kearney said: "This decision was made with the utmost reluctance. We had made a particular effort to bolster the set-up for our women and girls over the summer with a new committee, new coaches and improved sponsorship arrangements in place.

"We are confident that the club will see the results of this work over time. The structures are in place and there is a strong commitment from our executive to see us return to All-Ireland competition as soon as we can. We’ll keep pressing ahead."

Malone finished tenth in last season’s AIL but finished their campaign with a 53-0 win over Cavan in the All-Ireland Shield final.

The IRFU’s women’s development manager Amanda Greensmith said: "We engaged with all participating AIL Women’s Division clubs throughout the 2021/22 season and we could see real potential in Malone’s set-up for women and girls, particularly in their age-grade structures. There are almost 100 females registered in the club and we saw a number of players come through to feature for Ulster in this season’s U18 Girls Interprovincial Series.

"The announcement is disappointing to all stakeholders, but we accept the 11th-hour nature of the decision was due to efforts being made to take their place in the AIL as expected.

"They have our full support as they continue to develop their rugby