30 Jun Fixtures Announced for Energia AIL Div 2B North for 2026/27
The IRFU has officially released the schedule for the 2026/2027 Energia All-Ireland League (AIL), signaling the dawn of a highly anticipated new era for club rugby across the country.
This season marks the debut of the newly restructured Division 2B North and 2B South Conferences in the Men’s Divisions. Designed to directly address player feedback regarding heavy travel demands, this geographical conference split aims to enhance club sustainability, drastically cut financial expenditures, and boost overall player welfare by minimizing extensive journeys and overnight stays.
To form the Conferences, a notional line will be drawn between O’Connell Bridge in Dublin and Eyre Square, Galway. Clubs north of this line will participate in 2BN, while clubs south of this line will participate in 2BS.
The IRFU will ensure an even spread of clubs across both divisions should future relegation/promotion affect the balance.
Navan RFC will compete in the Division 2B North Conference alongside six Ulster clubs, one from Connacht, and two fellow Leinster sides. Under the new guidance of incoming Head Coach Dan Van Zyl, the Navan men will look to harness their youthful, homegrown squad depth to mount an aggressive challenge in this highly competitive, localized arena.
The Local Footprint: Who’s in Division 2B North?
The 10-team Northern Conference sets up a fascinating blend of familiar rivals and tough northern trips:
- Leinster (3): Navan, Malahide, Skerries.
- Ulster (6): Ballyclare, Banbridge, Clogher Valley, Enniskillen, Malone, Rainey.
- Connacht (1): Sligo.
Opening Block: A North-East Derby
The schedule makers have delivered an absolute blockbuster to kick off the campaign. Navan RFC will start their journey on Saturday, 26th September, with a massive North-East Leinster derby away to Skerries, before returning to Balreask Old the following weekend to welcome Clogher Valley for the first home game of the season.
Full Navan RFC Energia All-Ireland League Div 2B North Fixture List
All fixtures are scheduled for Saturday afternoon 2:30pm Kick-off, barring any subsequent changes:
2026 First-Half Fixtures
- Round 1: 26th Sept — Skerries (Away)
- Round 2: 3rd Oct — Clogher Valley (Home)
- Round 3: 10th Oct — Enniskillen (Away)
- Round 4: 24th Oct — Ballyclare (Home)
- Round 5: 31st Oct — Sligo (Away)
- Round 6: 7th Nov — Rainey (Home)
- Round 7: 28th Nov — Malahide (Away)
- Round 8: 5th Dec — Malone (Away)
- Round 9: 12th Dec — Banbridge (Home)
2027 Resumption & Reverse Fixtures
- Round 10: 9th Jan — Banbridge (Away)
- Round 11: 16th Jan — Malone (Home)
- Round 12: 30th Jan — Malahide (Home)
- Round 13: 6th Feb — Rainey (Away)
- Round 14: 27th Feb — Sligo (Home)
- Round 15: 6th March — Ballyclare (Away)
- Round 16: 20th March — Enniskillen (Home)
- Round 17: 27th March — Clogher Valley (Away)
- Round 18: 3rd April — Skerries (Home)
The Post-Season Play-Off Regulations Explained
While geographical conferences protect clubs on a weekly basis, the IRFU has maintained a highly competitive, high-stakes promotion and relegation framework to link the tiers together. Here is exactly how the post-season pathway works for our division:
The Promotion Pathways
- Automatic Promotion: The teams finishing 1st in 2BN and 1st in 2BS will face off directly on 17th April. The winner of this game earns automatic promotion to Division 2A (replacing the team finishing 10th in Division 2A). Home advantage goes to whichever side finished with the higher total regular-season points.
- The Promotion/Relegation Play-Off: The losing side of the 1st-place play-off gets a second bite at the cherry. They will enter a four-team Promotion/Relegation Play-Off alongside:
- The team that finishes 9th in Division 2A.
- The team that finishes 2nd in 2BN.
- The team that finishes 2nd in 2BS.
- Key Promotion Dates: Semi-Finals take place on 24th April, with the high-stakes Final scheduled for 1st May.
The Relegation Scenarios
- The Bottom Tier: The team finishing 10th in Division 2A is automatically relegated to either 2BN or 2BS for the following year.
- The 10th v 10th Survival Match: At the bottom of the conference standings, the teams finishing 10th in 2BN and 10th in 2BS will play a direct relegation play-off on 1st May.
- The Drop to Junior Rugby: The unsuccessful side in this 10th v 10th match is immediately relegated out of the All-Ireland League into their respective provincial junior competition (replaced automatically by the winner of the All-Ireland Provincial League Championship).
- The Promotion/Relegation Final: The winning side of that 10th v 10th match survives the initial drop but must play one final game against the runner-up of the All-Ireland Provincial League Championship to defend their AIL status for the following season.
Back the Navy and Sky Blue!
With significantly fewer cross-country miles to log this season, there has never been a better opportunity for the Navan RFC community to travel and support the team on the road, while turning Balreask Old into an absolute fortress for our nine home fixtures.
Block out your calendars, dust off your club jerseys, and let’s get ready to give Dan Van Zyl and the lads our unequivocal backing from week one!