The change was all set to stem from a meeting of the All Ireland Senior Rugby Clubs Association (AISRCA), originally set for early next week. Two options were going to be put to a vote at the gathering of the country's 48 clubs; they could either persist with the current format of three divisions of 16 clubs, or, give birth to a groundbreaking 10-team first division, with two other divisions of 19 teams.

Of course, the IRFU would have been perfectly within their rights to ignore what that AISRCA meeting came up with, but as pigheaded as they may look, and sound, at times, they're no fools. If AISRCA came up with a resounding vote in favour of the 10-team first division, the folks at Lansdowne Road would have made it happen.

This coming week should have meant all that, but it won't. A near-clandestine meeting of Munster's second and third division clubs a couple of weeks back gave voice to the initial objectors to the 10-team top flight, and later that same week the lower tier clubs from all four provinces, prompted by the stance of the Munster clubs it must be said, echoed that sentiment.

The IRFU then came in with their, belated, tuppence worth in the shape of an opportunistic letter from president Peter Boyle, assuring the clubs that they are the real third tier of Irish rugby, and not the ever expanding provincial 'A' calendar. What balderdash.

On the back of these events, the AISRCA executive had no option but to take the vote on the future of the AIB League off next week's agenda, meaning that the chance to revolutionise the club game, to ensure that the AIB League represents the third tier of Irish rugby in deed, rather than just name, has been lost. It might be resurrected again in the near future, but not without huge difficulty.

Even if it isn't, there's a couple of home truths that certain clubs need to fasten onto pretty fast. There are few more refreshing scenes in the modern game than a packed post-match clubhouse on a chilly autumn or winter evening, with a few pints being supped on the back of a half-decent game earlier that afternoon, but this isn't enough for some clubs. They still want to pay hefty sums of money to players to make their club the best in the land, the cock of the walk. It's ridiculous.

Any AIB League side out there who are paying their players anything more than a nominal expense fee should be thrown out of the league, if not for rule breaking, then for sheer stupidity. Sure, it's a professional game but the club game is the amateur branch of it. Word on the street is that more than a dozen clubs around the country are in serious financial difficulty, mostly through handing over money to players. They're not slow in telling the world about it either.

Without being overly harsh, those clubs (and not the ones in debt because of capital investment, we stress) deserve to go to the wall. Garryowen took the lead on this issue a few years ago by taking the decision not to pay their players anymore. If you wanted to don that famous sky blue jersey, you did so for pride and pride alone. If you wanted to be paid for the privilege, you could hop-neck somewhere else. Simple as that.

The funny thing is that these clubs with ambitions to take over the world, or the rugby world at the very least, appear to be the ones making it difficult for the league to become relevant once more.

If they stood back for a moment and took a peek at the bigger picture, they'd see how the initiation of a 10team first division . . . with two down and two up at the end of each season . . . would make a massive difference.

Here's a taste of what would happen. At the moment, each of the provincial squads has an average of 38 players on its books. Only 22 are on duty every weekend, leaving 16 left to their own devices on any given match day. In the overall squad, about six players will be injured at any one time, which leaves 10 players per province without any meaningful rugby to play each weekend. The four provinces also have academies, and at least 10 players per province would be of sufficient physical stature to play adult rugby.

That makes 80 fully professional or almost fully professional players available to division one clubs on any given weekend, and if you throw in a sprinkling of wannabes who've slipped through the net, and former pros who've giving up playing on a full-time basis, you've got a competition of sufficient standard to keep professionals on their toes, as well as providing the country's next generation with a stepping stone into the adult game. All this, though, will only work with 10 clubs in the top division because anything more would dilute the standards too much. Which would bring the provincial 'A' games back as the third tier.

"It's funny how things work out, " says John Dickson, the current chairman of AISRCA. "When we as an executive were discussing a change in format in the AIB League, the division one club members wanted a 12-team top flight but it was the division two and three members who pushed for the 10. We felt that if you're going to make a change, you may as well go the full way, no half-measures."

Dickson admits that the huge media coverage received last month following the floating of that 10team first division idea probably disenfranchised some clubs around the country, who felt that it represented a fait accompli. "That probably did happen to some extent, " says Dickson, "but the fact of the matter is that the AIB League hasn't received coverage like that for a long, long time, especially in September. It got people talking and moved the club game back onto the agenda."

Having sensibly postponed any potential vote on the future make-up of the league, AISRCA have regrouped.

The four provincial branches sent a questionnaire (largely irrelevant, bar Ulster's) to their clubs a couple of weeks back and now AISRCA are in the process of doing the same thing. They hope to come up with a new strategy sometime before Christmas, allowing plenty of time for the league structure to be altered in time for next season, if members decide they want change, that is.

Already, there has been some talk of a 12-team first division, with 18 clubs in divisions two and three but nothing will be fully decided without the consensus of AISRCA's members. "It's important that we get this right, " says Dickson. "We're at a very important juncture for club rugby right now. This is year two of AIB's very generous five-year sponsorship deal and we need to come up with a format that ensures that they're keen to sign another deal when this one expires."

For a change, the future of the club game lies with the clubs themselves. It's a rare opportunity they shouldn't squander.

DIVISIONS OF LABOUR: THE RACE FOR THE TITLE

DIVISION ONE Promises to be an interesting and competitive year. Three of last season's top four have been weakened slightly over the summer, but that doesn't mean they won't be there or there abouts come next May. Last year's champions, Shannon, have lost four key players in Eoin Cahill, David Delaney, Brian Tuohy and John O'Connor, but the Limerick club have a strong enough flow of talent through their own system to remain a threat. And they know well how to win come play-off time.

Garryowen, too, have lost a few, most notably Paul Devlin, but with wise heads Paul Cunningham and Killian Keane in charge, and the likes of Jerry Hurley and Conan Doyle continuing their development, they're likely to remain in the top four.

Clontarf, who lost last season's final to Shannon, have too lost players but Leinster's top division one club over the past three seasons are cute enough to remain ahead of the posse in the province.

Cork Constitution, on the other hand, have recruited heavily over the summer, principally from neighbours UCC. They have bags of talent and couple of good coaches in Brian Walsh and Terry Kingston.

Beyond those four, UL Bohemians will fancy a crack at the upper echelons with their youthful set-up, while Belfast Harlequins, with Andy Ward in charge for a second season, are well equipped to mount a challenge. Buccaneers, too, will be difficult to beat, as will Terenure, who are back in the top flight after a three-year absence. The rest will find the season a bit of a struggle. We'll say Cork Con for the title and Galwegians and Dungannon for the drop.

DIVISION TWO The scramble for division one promises to be an interesting one. Old Crescent, with former Wales centre Mark Ring as coach, look to be favourites for the title, but they'll face a stiff challenge from nearneighbours Young Munster, who came so close to promotion last season. Of the relegated teams, County Carlow appear to be more likely than Dublin University to bounce straight back, while Owen Finegan's Bective Rangers and David Corkery's Midleton will also be confident of a decent season. At the bottom, newcomers Clonakilty and Suttonians have enough quality to stay up, but you'd have to worry about Barnhall and Malone.

DIVISION THREE With eight Ulster clubs in the division, it's going to be very difficult for a Munster or Leinster club to win it. Ballynahinch have the squad to regain their Division Two status at the first time of asking, although Queen's University and Instonians have been in fine early season form in the Ulster Senior League. Banbridge, with Tyrone Howe now onboard, could also be contenders. Bruff and Wanderers, though, will fancy their chances of disrupting the northern eight, while a John O'Neill and Ken O'Connell coached Sunday's Well could go far in the club's centenary year. At the opposite end of things, City of Derry and Rainey Old Boys could struggle.