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Aviva Stadium to Host Majority of Leinster Home Games in 2025/26 – Season Tickets from €115

JoeNa Connacht — Mon, 10 Mar 2025 17:10:38 +0000

Aviva Stadium to Host Majority of Leinster Home Games in 2025/26 – Season Tickets from €115

Leinster Rugby has today announced Season Ticket details for the 2025/26 campaign, confirming that the Aviva Stadium will remain the primary venue for home fixtures in the BKT United Rugby Championship and the Investec Champions Cup. Croke Park will also be available to host additional high-capacity matches when required.

As part of a broader communication to Season Ticket Holders, the following key updates were confirmed:

The RDS Arena will reopen at the beginning of the 2026/27 season with an increased capacity of over 20,000.
For the 2025/26 season, the Aviva Stadium will host the majority of home games.
Ticket prices will increase by an average of 3.9% across most categories—the first rise since the 2018/19 season.
Junior Season Ticket prices remain frozen at €115, with lower-cost entry points for adults and families also retained.

Why the Aviva Stadium Remains the Home Base for Now

Matthew Dowling, Leinster Rugby’s Chief Commercial Officer, explained the decision:

“While the RDS Arena will be available from August 2025, we’d only be able to operate at a reduced capacity—not enough to accommodate our full Season Ticket base. We’ve grown from 12,248 Season Ticket Holders at the RDS to over 15,000 at the Aviva. The aim is to include as many supporters as possible at every game.”

He continued:

“We don’t want to disenfranchise any of our Season Ticket Holders—whether they’ve been with us for 12 years or just joined—so we’ve decided to wait until the new-look RDS Arena is fully complete before moving back.”

Ticket Pricing and Supporter Engagement

Dowling said pricing decisions were made following supporter feedback through the annual Leinster Listener survey and discussions with the Official Leinster Supporters Club (OLSC).

“We’ve extended the renewal window, retained entry-level pricing for adults and juniors, and kept the family-of-five and student ticket options that were well received. Unfortunately, operational costs have increased, and after holding prices steady for over six years, we’ve had to implement a modest average increase of under 4%—but junior prices remain untouched.”

He reaffirmed that Leinster Rugby is a not-for-profit organisation:

“All revenue is reinvested—whether it’s supporting over 39,000 registered players across our 12 counties or funding the pathway from grassroots to the professional game.”

The Road Back to the RDS Arena

Looking ahead, Dowling outlined plans for the transition back to the redeveloped RDS Arena in 2026/27:

“The new stadium will have capacity for over 20,000 and promises a brilliant match day experience. Our priority will be the supporters who were with us before the move to Aviva. We’ve engaged a world-renowned consultancy to manage this return and ensure fairness for newer fans too.”

He also expressed gratitude to key partners for their ongoing support:

“We’re thankful to the RDS, IRFU, FAI, Aviva Stadium, and the GAA for their help in managing our home fixtures this season and next.”

Season Ticket Benefits

In addition to access to all home URC and EPCR fixtures, Season Tickets will include:

Admission to all home Leinster Rugby Women’s games.
Access to Leinster Rugby ‘A’ matches in the new interprovincial series (excluding play-offs).

Key Dates for Season Ticket Holders

Renewal window: Friday, 14 March – Friday, 4 April 2025
Seat relocation option: Tuesday, 8 April 2025
Waiting list sales: Thursday, 17 April 2025
General public sale: Wednesday, 23 April 2025

A Strong Season On and Off the Pitch

Dowling concluded with a reflection on what has been a standout season so far:

“The Aviva and Croke Park have been brilliant hosts. We’ve averaged over 37,000 supporters at home games. Tania Rosser’s squad kicked off the season with an interpro title and a record crowd at Energia Park. Leo Cullen’s team has continued that momentum and remains unbeaten across both the URC and the Investec Champions Cup.”

“With a return to the RDS Arena on the horizon, this is a hugely exciting time for Leinster Rugby—and we can’t wait to share that journey with our supporters.”

The Season Ticket renewal window opens on Friday, 14 March 2025, with general sale starting Wednesday, 23 April 2025.

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Five South African sides in next season’s European Rugby competitions

JoeNa Connacht — Wed, 01 Jun 2022 11:24:46 +0000

EPCR has confirmed that the five leading clubs from South Africa will compete in the Heineken Champions Cup and the EPCR Challenge Cup from the 2022/23 season and beyond.

The Stormers, Bulls, Sharks and Lions, who have qualified from the United Rugby Championship (URC), will join Europe’s top clubs in the competition.

In addition to the four qualifiers from the URC, the Bloemfontein-based Cheetahs have been invited to participate in the 2022/23 EPCR Challenge Cup.

Leinster Rugby, Ulster Rugby, Munster Rugby, Edinburgh Rugby, the Ospreys, the Cape Town-based Stormers, the Bulls from Pretoria and the Durban-based Sharks will compete in next season’s Heineken Champions Cup following impressive campaigns in the URC.

The Lions from Johannesburg and the Cheetahs will represent South Africa in the EPCR Challenge Cup.

The formats for next season’s Heineken Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup will be announced shortly, in conjunction with details of the Pool Draws for both tournaments which will be staged towards the end of the month.

SARU Chief Executive, Jurie Roux, said:

“Our five franchise teams will now play in two new territories against opponents we’ve never played before. We’ve already experienced the intensity of the URC, and now we’ll also face the top clubs from England and France. We would like to thank all stakeholders who have been involved in the negotiation process – the Board and staff of EPCR, the URC, Premiership Rugby and the Ligue Nationale de Rugby.

During the 2022/23 season, EPCR will continue to be supported by Heineken as the title partner of the Heineken Champions Cup, as well as by EPCR’s Official Logistics Partner DHL and Official Hotels Partner IHG Hotels & Resorts amongst others, with future exciting partner announcements expected in the near future.

The 2023 Finals weekend is scheduled for Dublin’s Aviva Stadium on Friday 19 and Saturday 20 May.

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Outgoing chairman says EPCR working on Club World Cup

JoeNa Connacht — Wed, 06 Oct 2021 14:17:31 +0000

The outgoing chairman of European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR), Simon Halliday has said that the organisation is working on introducing a Club World Cup, which would be held every four years.

The plans will see the Club World Cup replace the Heineken Champions Cup knockout stages in the years it would be held.

Halliday has also said that the EPCR is working to bring South African sides who are currently playing in the United Rugby Championship into the Champions Cup next year.

For now, the EPCR will use a reduced pool stage and more knockout games after deeming last season’s re-jigged format a success.

Clubs are set to play four pool games in a schedule that starts in December, and then there will be a two-legged round-of-16 tie, a quarter-final, a semi-final and a final for those who progress.

“From this new agreement, we are now working on the participation of the South African provinces and building towards a Club World Cup every four years which would replace the latter stages of the Heineken Champions Cup,” he said in a statement.

“Together with our improved formats, reduced pool matches and more knockout rugby, EPCR is in a great position to grow.

“Our newly formed Board is superbly well-equipped and structured to deliver on this growth and I wish them every success.”

Halliday will leave his role as chairman of the sporting body after six-and-a-half years at the helm.

EPCR is searching for a new chief executive after Vincent Gaillard departed earlier this year after six years as their CEO.

Anthony Lepage is currently in charge on an interim basis having previously worked as the administration and finance director.

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Heineken Champions Cup Format and Qualifiers Announced

JoeNa Connacht — Mon, 28 Jun 2021 12:30:45 +0000

The 2021/22 Heineken Champions Cup’s format and qualifiers have been announced following the conclusion of the domestic seasons in England and France.

Europe’s elite club rugby tournament is set to return with a highly competitive schedule of 71 matches for the upcoming season.

The 2021/22 Champions Cup season will begin in December when Stade Toulousain begin the defence of their title.

The competition will once again be competed for by 24 clubs across Europe’s top three leagues – the Pro14 (now United Rugby Championship), the Premiership and the Top 14.

Each league will be represented by eight teams who have qualified based on their position in the 20/21 league tables.

The clubs will be divided into two pools of 12 – Pool A and Pool B – using a draw and the tournament will be played over nine weekends with four of those rounds of matches in the pool stages.

The eight highest-ranked clubs from each pool will qualify for the tournament’s knockout stage, consisting of a Round of 16 on a home and away basis, quarter-finals, semi-finals, and a final.

The final will be held at the Stade Velodrome in Marseille on May 28th, 2022.

The draw for the pools will be carried out the same way as last season’s draw with the 24 clubs separated into four tiers based on their 20/21 league position.

Clubs from the same league in the same tier will not be drawn into the same pool.

The number one and two ranked clubs from each league will be in Tier 1, the number three and four ranked clubs will make up Tier 2, the number five and six ranked clubs will be in Tier 3, and the number seven and eight ranked clubs will occupy Tier 4.

The Tier 1 and Tier 4 clubs which have been drawn into the same pool but are not from the same league will play one another on a home and away basis during the pool stage.

The same process will occur for Tier 2 and Tier 3 clubs that are drawn into the same pool but are not from the same league.

The pool draw will be live-streamed on HeinekenChampionsCup.com and the date of the event and further details will be communicated shortly.

As previously announced, EPCR is finalising a new shareholder agreement and discussions to finalise the Challenge Cup format and future Champions Cup and Challenge Cup seasons.

These future plans include the South African URC sides.

2021/22 Heineken Champions Cup qualifiers

Premiership: 1. Harlequins, 2. Exeter Chiefs, 3. Bristol Bears, 4. Sale Sharks, 5. Northampton Saints, 6. Leicester Tigers, 7. Bath Rugby, 8. Wasps

Pro14: 1. Leinster Rugby, 2. Munster Rugby, 3. Ulster Rugby, 4. Connacht Rugby, 5. Scarlets, 6. Ospreys, 7. Cardiff Blues, 8. Glasgow Warriors

Top 14: 1. Stade Toulousain, 2. Stade Rochelais, 3. Racing 92, 4. Union Bordeaux-Begles, 5. ASM Clermont Auvergne, 6. Stade Francais Paris, 7. Castres Olympique, 8. Montpellier Herault Rugby

2021/22 Key Dates

Round One – 10/11/12 December

Round Two – 17/18/19 December

Round Three – 14/15/16 January 2022

Round Four – 21/22/23 January 2022

Round of 16 (1st leg) – 8/9/10 April 2022

Round of 16 (2nd leg) – 15/16/17 April 2022

Quarter-finals – 6/7/8 May 2022

Semi-finals – 13/14/15 May 2022

Challenge Cup Final – Friday 27 May 2022; Stade Velodrome, Marseille

Champions Cup Final – Saturday 28 May 2022; Stade Velodrome, Marseille

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