A 5th Irish Province
My reasons for suggesting this, which those of you outside Ireland may be interested to know:
- Historical basis: The provinces work well in Ireland because they have a historic and cultural basis. You may think there is no reason to change this but there is actually a historical and cultural basis for a 5th province in Ireland, the royal province of Meath. It was roughly North Leinster, with the High King of Ireland seated in Tara (Meath). (See old Irish crest with 5 provinces, The royal province of Meath in the middle, represented by the High King).
I would use this inspiration to create a 5th province which effectively splits Leinster in two using the River Liffey as the midpoint (flows thorugh the middle of Dublin).
- Untapped potential: Those of you from outside Leinster/Ireland may think that Leinster already represents the province/population so well, and with such a strong team, then why change this?
Firstly Ireland's playing poulation as a whole could probably sustain another team. Even if it were just a Leinster 'b' team they would be very competitive and this would aid player development, but this isn't the only reason I'd suggest it.
The population of North Leinster (Liffey as mid point) : ~1,123,000.
The population of South Leinster: ~995,000
Breakdown of the 62 players in Leinsters senior squad and academy:
North Leinster: 4 (Usanov, Spicer, Soroka, Ericson)
South Leinster: 58
As you can see there is a massive discrepancy in representation between the two areas. There are many historical and cultural reasons for this but I also believe there is a (natural) bias in the Leinster pathway to players from South Leinster. Leinster really is representitive of Greater South Dublin (South Dublin, South Kildare, Wicklow and Wexford a small amount.) The truth is it's hard for one rugby club to represent such a large and populous region. For this reason, I don't think it would significantly weaken Leinster in any way, while simultaneously opening up a pathway in an untapped area.
- A Fifth Team: There is a clear openness to another team in Irish rugby. There have been talks about the IRFU getting involved in London Irish. I can't help but think down the line this will be an ongoing discussion point. Irish rugby is generally in a good place and is a growing sport in Ireland. A 5th province to match the likes of New Zealand has real potential.
In Fact, the success of the Waikato Chiefs is quite a good proxy for this idea. A region just off the country's main capital city (Auckland) with strong historical and cultural precedent, which leans into that old spirituality or 'mana'. (I'd confidently say Maori Chiefs are far more culturally significant in New Zealand than a High King is here in Ireland but still I think it is an interesting comparison.)
TLDR: History, Representation and Development.