The launch and draws for the 2024 Student Sport Ireland / Irish Rugby Football Union Men’s and Women’s 3rd level senior rugby cup competitions were held this morning at the Aviva Stadium.

This year 42 college and university rugby teams will participate in six cup competitions coordinated by Student Sport Ireland and the IRFU.
Players, coaches, and representatives of third level colleges and the IRFU attended the launch.

In his address, Mr. Matthew Dossett, SSI President, said that he is very much looking forward to another year of great competition. This is the 8th year of the SSI IRFU Men’s Cup competitions and the 6th year of the SSI IRFU Women’s Cup. There are more teams competing each year, with new teams joining this year.

Mr. Eoin Hogan, IRFU Head of Participation, thanked everyone involved in the 3rd level sector for their contributions to sport. He said that 3rd level sport plays a crucial role in supporting students in their rugby careers and wished everyone the best of luck in their upcoming games.

Mr. Donal McNally, Director of Sport, SETU Carlow which will host the cup finals on March 20th said “The Aviva really sets the tone for the launch and it is great to expose student athletes to the facilities. We are looking forward to seeing everyone in Carlow, and we hope to replicate the finals day at University College Cork last year. I hope everyone gets the draw they are after”.

In the Brendan Johnston Cup, the premier Men’s Competition, the opening round has four very tasty ties as follows – TUS Midlands v Garda College, University of Limerick v University College Cork, Technological University Dublin v Dublin City University, Queens University Belfast v South East Technological University Carlow

The Women’s Tier 1 Cup, the 7 team competition is split into two groups as follows:
Group A – University of Limerick, University of Galway, Trinity College Dublin, SETU Carlow
Group B – Dublin City University, University College Dublin, University College Cork

The full draw for Brendan Johnston Cup, Men’s Tier 2 and Tier 3 Cups can be found here, and the Women’s Tier 1/2 and Tier 3 Cups can be found here. Action gets underway on February 7th and will culminate in South-East Technological University Carlow on March 20th.