Mike Ross hopes to sign two-year contract with IRFU

Mike Ross is seeking a two-year contract extension from the IRFU. Thirty-five next month, the Cork tighthead reinforced his current worth to Irish rugby on Saturday with a gruelling 74-minute performance against the Springboks after 30 days nursing a groin/abductor injury.

To put that in context, Ross has played 25 games for Leinster since September 2013 but only two have gone over the 70-minute mark due to the arrival of the currently injured Marty Moore.

The player’s agent, Ryan Constable from Esportif International, met Ross in Carton House yesterday, presumably to brief him about the ongoing negotiations with IRFU performance director David Nucifora.

“I wouldn’t mind two more years,” says Ross. “You’re dealing with one person now, it seems to be, David Nucifora is the main man, he handles that sort of thing so that simplifies matters a bit.

“I’m probably talking earlier than I would have been in previous seasons. They’ve taken stuff from previous years on board and I think it’s for the better.”

Earlier this week Rob Kearney became the latest elite player to secure a three-year contract from the union but Ross, despite his ongoing importance to Leinster and Ireland, is unlikely to get such a lengthy deal in what could prove his last professional contract.

‘A balance to be struck’

“You want to achieve your market value and you also want to be happy with the deal you’re doing. There’s a balance to be struck there,” says Ross.

The option of him leaving has not been entirely ruled out.

"I would never rule anything out but I'm happy here and we just won a Six Nations championship and we've a World Cup to look forward to, so . . ."

Despite the difficulties Ireland suffered against the South African pack, Ross’s market value appears to have increased following the 29-15 victory.

“I hadn’t scrummaged against the Beast before. I got a few primers there (laughing) cause you can’t leave him come around you as he goes from zero to 60 like that (clicks fingers). It’s not like you feel the surge coming. It’s there.

‘Chained to a wattbike’

“I actually didn’t feel too bad. I had 30 days off of contact as well. I think that helped. I spent a good bit of that chained to a wattbike so believe me I was glad to get back on the pitch.”

Despite the set piece problems, Ross was keen to accentuate the positives.

“If you look at the two tries we scored they were from set pieces so we were able to pull it together when we needed to. Don’t get me wrong I wasn’t too happy after the game even though we won, a bit bittersweet, but better than if we lost.

“It’s mixed emotions. If we lose and the set pieces had gone well I’d probably sleep a bit better. When we win and the set pieces haven’t gone the way we needed them to there is self-recrimination going on. It’s a unit thing, you have to do your bit.”

It doesn’t get any easier on Sunday with the arrival of a gnarled Georgian pack who all play club rugby in France.

"Dudu Kubriashvili is at Stade Francais. I remember him playing for Toulon and doing a job there. He's still going strong at Stade and still quite young (28). Then you have Mikheil Nariashvili over at Montpellier. I was watching a tape of him; a gnarly old customer.

"If you look into their athletic backgrounds, wrestling is a very popular sport in Georgia and it lends itself to rugby . . . they also have a history of strengths sports. When you have that background . . . you tend to produce a lot of props.

“Whereas we are more GAA, soccer and the rest. You are going to get the benefits of that.”