Niamh Byrne wants to put on a show for 'surreal' Aviva final

Sunday's Energia All-Ireland League finals day will be a little bit different.

For the first time ever, the IRFU have paired the men's and women's finals together for a double-header at Lansdowne Road, as they look to build on what was a record crowd for an Aviva men's final last year, when 8,642 people watched Terenure College defeat Clontarf.

Terenure will be looking to go back-to-back in the men's final at 4pm this Sunday, but before that Railway Union and UL Bohs will contest the women's final, kicking off at 1.45pm.

Neither Railway nor Bohs are strangers to the big days; Railway are in their fourth final in a row, and looking for their third title in that time. Bohs, meanwhile, are on the hunt for a record 14th title, with the Limerick side back in the decider for the first time since 2019.

Sunday's final is a repeat of that 2019 showpiece, when Railway beat Bohs 13-8 to become champions for the very first time.

Captain Niamh Byrne and her team have become used to prepping for finals, but she admits the prospect of playing at the Aviva has take all of them out of their comfort zones.

"It's massive, we have all been out doing some photos, and it’s really exciting," she said earlier this week at a the photocall for this weekend's games.

"Even being here today, it’s building, it’s getting better each year and I think it will be really exciting to go out and play on the Aviva pitch on Sunday for the first time."

Byrne, who won her sole Ireland cap against England in the 2022 Six Nations, says playing at the Aviva isn't a dream come true, partly because it wasn't something she thought was on her radar.

"To be completely honest, up until this, I never really thought we would have a women's AIL final here but it’s great," she