Royal Dublin Showground
Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Royal Dublin Showground, Dublin, Ireland — opened 1881, 2 rugby league games hosted, home of Leinster Rugby (rugby union, since 2005) -- rugby league had no tenancy here, just a single promotional day.
Ground facts
| Opened | 1881 (The Royal Dublin Society relocated its Dublin Horse Show to this Ballsbridge site in 1881; today known as the RDS Arena, currently mid-renovation (regeneration began September 2024, targeted for completion by August 2026). Capacity was 18,500 for rugby prior to the current redevelopment. Primary tenant since 2005 is Leinster Rugby.) |
| Home club | Leinster Rugby (rugby union, since 2005) -- rugby league had no tenancy here, just a single promotional day |
| Games hosted (rugby league, on record) | 2 |
| Top recorded crowd | 5,716 |
| Capacity | 18,500 (pre-redevelopment) |
| Years used | 1995 |
| Location | Dublin, Dublin |
Name history
- Royal Dublin Showground — 1881-present (also known as RDS Arena)
Rugby league history
Ireland's first-ever home rugby league international was staged here as a deliberate double-header on 13 August 1995: Ireland (the "Wolfhounds") beat Scotland 26-22 as the curtain-raiser to the sport's traditional English pre-season fixture, the Rugby League Charity Shield, in which Wigan beat Leeds 45-20. Both matches shared a single gate of 5,716 -- reported as a record crowd for an international rugby league match on Irish soil, though we could not trace that specific claim back to an original primary source. This was rugby league's marquee attempt to establish a foothold in Ireland during the sport's mid-1990s international expansion; the venue itself is far better known for horse racing/show-jumping and, since the 2000s, Leinster Rugby, with this one day in 1995 standing as a historical footnote rather than any ongoing rugby league connection.
Sources
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
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