Rugby League Ireland is running the country’s first ever College Rugby League tournament, in Ulster and Munster during February and March.

On Wednesday 29 February Queens University hosted UUC in the first colleges game ever to take place in Ulster. The game provided many of the participating students with a valuable opportunity to gain some experience ahead of the final Ireland Students trial which took place on Sunday 4 March. On March 14 a gala day will take place at the Limerick Institute of Technology when LIT will host the Cork Institute of Technology and the Tralee Institute of Technology in a three-way tournament.

On Wednesday 21 March a Student Inter Provincial Rugby League Series will take place in Belfast when teams from Ulster, Leinster and Munster come together to compete for the inaugural title of Ireland Student Inter Provincial Champions. The Munster and Ulster teams will be selected from the college teams that compete in the matches scheduled to take place in February and March and a Leinster team selected from the 30+ students currently training with the Ireland Students Team will complete the line up.

“Rugby League Ireland is delighted to see its plans for a college competition coming to fruition for the first time and is looking forward to not only a successful 2012 college season but to growing the competition through the addition of new teams in the years ahead,” said general manager Gordon Matthews.

The development of the college’s competition will help to ensure that the Ireland Student Rugby League team continues to develop and to compete successfully with England, Scotland and Wales every year in the Student 4 Nations Competition