Interprovincial Championships 2026
Munster and London Irish take the honours in the Interprovincial Championships
Last Saturday saw the first major event of the Irish Touch season with the 2026 Men's and Women's Interprovincial Championships taking place at the Sport Ireland campus.
In the Women's competition, Munster took home the Gold Medal, beating Connacht in the final. After the initial round robin stage where each province played each other once, Munster topped the table with three wins from three. Connacht pipped Leinster for second place on scoring difference with a 4-1 win against Ulster and a draw against Leinster and thus qualified for the final against Munster. It proved to be a tight and tense battle with Aoife Purtill putting Connacht in front before Tania Rosser equalised soon after for Munster. The sides thus finished level at 1-1 at the end of normal time. The game then proceeded to a 'drop-off', a two-minute period of extra time where both sides drop down from 6 players to 4. Munster took control at this point and two tries from Eileen Russell and Eimear Gorman secured the title for the Southerners.
Despite finishing on the losing side, Connacht's Aoife Purtill took home the Tournament MVP award for the second time having previously won it in 2024. Aoife was also joint top scorer with Eileen Russell and Cara Summerbell of Leinster on 3 tries.
In the 3rd place play-off, Leinster took the Bronze Medal with a 2-1 win over Ulster.
Winning Munster captain Rachel Duggan thoroughly enjoyed the experience. 'It was great to have so many players involved in the Interpros which is a testament to the women's division. The games were really fast-paced with only a score or two in the difference. A massive thank you to all involved in facilitating us to play at such a high standard.'
In the Men's competition, the four provinces were joined by a strong London Irish side containing English-based players who are either Irish-born or Irish qualified. After the round robin, London Irish topped the table with three wins and a draw against Leinster. Ulster finished second with wins over the other three provinces and a defeat to London Irish.
In what turned out to be a pulsating final, Ulster started strongly, putting 'Irish' under pressure early on. They duly took the lead with a try from Rory Fulton. Elliot Ghent soon hit back for London Irish before James O'Donnell put them in front for the first time. Ulster fought back to equalise when Joe Ballance got on the end of a 'scoop play' to score. London Irish had left something in reserve for the home stretch however and they clinically finished off two more tries from Liam Halpenny and Stephen Frank to take the Gold Medal. Ulster's Rory Fulton was named Tournament MVP while Leinster's Seán Ballance was top scorer with 7 tries.
Munster took the Bronze Medal beating Leinster 6-4 in the 3rd place play-off.
The inaugural Touch Interprovincial Championships were held in 2024 and they are now a firm fixture in the Ireland Touch Association (ITA) calendar. This competition showcases a very high standard of Touch as well as helping to identify and develop the next generation of international players. With the European Touch Championships coming up in Vichy in July, both Ireland Men's and Women's Open Head Coaches, John Ennis and Mike Cowan were watching the action on Saturday with interest.
The Interprovincial Championships is the brainchild of main organiser Brian Leveau and he was delighted with the quality of the sport on display. 'I thought the standard of the games was through the roof and having the Men's and Women's games side-by-side was really cool.'
Ireland Men's Open player James O'Donnell of London Irish concurred. 'Interpros 2026 was the highest standard of touch at a domestic competition that we have ever had. It is fantastic to see so many under 18s and under 20s playing at the Opens level, especially in the women's division. Huge credit to Brian and all the organising team for orchestrating the event.'
Anyone who wishes to catch a further glimpse of high-level Touch Rugby in Ireland can come along to the Sports Ireland Campus on Sunday February 1st for the 2026 Mixed Interprovincial Championships. See www.irelandtouch.ie or Ireland Touch on Instagram and Facebook for more details on this or anything to do with Touch Rugby in Ireland.
2026 Women's Touch Rugby Interprovincial Championship Results
Ulster 1 Connacht 4
Leinster 0 Munster 3
Leinster 3 Ulster 0
Connacht 2 Munster 3
Connacht 1 Leinster 1
Munster 3 Ulster 1
3rd Place Play-off: Leinster 2 Ulster 1
Final:
Munster 3 - Tania Rosser, Eileen Russell, Eimear Gorman
Connacht 1 - Aoife Purtill
Referees: Tonka Selby, Delwyn Ledingham, Brad Goodey
Women's Interprovincial Teams
Leinster Women: Allie Flynn, Annabel Redmond, Cara Summerbell, Diana Doyle, Jennifer Kennedy, Lia Hulin, Lianna Prizeman (captain), Niamh Summerbell, Nicole Condon, Wiktoria Dolgoruki, Robyn Summerbell.
Top Scorer: Cara Summerbell, 3 tries
MVP: Robyn Summerbell
Munster Women: Anna Power, Aoife O'Boyle, Danielle Borie, Eileen Russell, Faye St. Leger, Kat Evans, Mathilde Colombié, Rachel Duggan (captain), Sherren Long, Michelle Mulcahy, Eimear Gorman, Tania Rosser, Elizabeth Fogarty.
Top Scorer: Eileen Russell, 3 tries
MVP: Eimear Gorman
Connacht Women: Aoibhín Tynan, Aoife Purtill, Eimear Murphy, Emerald House, Georgia Codyre, Katie Harmon, Kelsi McGrath, (captain). Molly Copelin, Neasa Newell, Risa Egerter, Amelie Birrell.
Top Scorer: Aoife Purtill, 3 tries
MVP: Aoife Purtill
Ulster Women: Aimee Shaw, Alexandra Garvey, Ashleigh Currie, Christina Finlay, Claire Rafferty, Hazel Jordan, Jordan Fox, Katie Fry, Kerri Edwards, Lisa Lindsay (captain), Méabh Cahill, Rebecca Magill.
Top Scorer: Ashleigh Currie, Lisa Lindsay, Aimee Shaw, 1 try each
MVP: Ashleigh Currie
2026 Men's Touch Rugby Interprovincial Championship Results
Connacht 2 Leinster 2
Munster 5 Ulster 6
London Irish 4 Connacht 2
Ulster 6 Leinster 5
London Irish 3 Leinster 3
Connacht 1 Munster 2
Leinster 2 Munster 5
Ulster 2 London Irish 5
Munster 1 London Irish 2
Connacht 3 Ulster 5
3rd Place Play-off: Munster 6 Leinster 4
Final:
London Irish 4 - Elliot Ghent, James O'Donnell, Liam Halpenny, Stephen Frank
Ulster 2 - Rory Fulton, Joe Ballance
Referees: Brad Goodey, Feidhlim Byrne, Frank Ennis
Men's Interprovincial Teams
Leinster Men: Cian Mollen, Andrew Mays, Andy King, Brian Leveau, Calvin Quinn, Finn Standing, James Pearson Evans, Jamie Maher, Louis Lalor, Lukas Lalor-Ryan, Luke De Renzy, Isaac Young, Mark McAuley, Ronan McGovern, Patrick Coyle, Seán Ballance (captain).
Top Scorer: Seán Ballance 7 tries
MVP: Andy King
Munster Men: Sam Bewley (coach), Ben Harris, Ben Horgan, Cristian Cortes, Donnacha Fox, Gary Hynes, Serge Broughton, Leon Prete, Riley Harrison, Ron Degani, Tighe Brennan, Toby Venning, Kristian Lacina, Douglas Rauth.
Top Scorer: Ben Horgan 4 tries
MVP: Riley Harrison
Connacht Men: Matt Kennerson (coach) Ben Porter, Cian Copelin, Cillian Daly, Conor McNamara, Conor Murphy, Garry Ennett, Jac Griffiths, Jack Gordon, Joshua Fowden, Darren Curran, Nigel Burke, Paul Gavin, Ben Layden, Michael Forde, Gavin Gleeson.
Top Scorer: Cillian Daly, 3 tries
MVP: Joshua Fowden
Ulster Men: Andy Langford (coach), Andrew Haslett, Andy Shaw, Ben O'Connell, Cathal MacGearailt, Darren Broderick, Joe Ballance, Hugo Harbinson, Matt Lindsay, Michael Kearney, Michael Kelly, Nathan Cassidy, Nick McCavery, Patrick Lesson, Rory Fulton, Seán Cunningham.
Top Scorer: Rory Fulton, 4 tries
MVP: Rory Fulton
London Irish Men: Nathan Bourke (coach), Conor Fitzpatrick, Daniel Thompson, Elliot Ghent, Gearóid O'Callaghan, Hugo Hannigan, James O'Donnell, Liam Halpenny, Conor Cosgrave, Oliver Da Silva, Seán O'Sullivan, Stefan Fletcher, Stephen Frank, Stephen Troy, Tim Hogan, Tom Flanagan.
Top Scorer: James O'Donnell, 6 tries
MVP: Elliot Ghent
