The story of rugby in Connacht had been one of ongoing struggle. Now it is progressing as never before. When the game went professional in 1985, after many initial problems, the Irish Rugby Football Union created a structure which provided the finance and the necessary back-up resources for four professional provincial teams, writes Edmund Van Esbeck.
The provincial teams prospered, as results have shown, and the game in Connacht took on a new dimension.
Rugby at the top level has gone from being a game for amateur players to being a business. There is no sentiment in business, but as the survival of the Connacht team as a professional entity is under severe threat, this is not an issue of sentiment for Connacht. It is, as they see it, about survival.
But the books must balance, and therein lies the dilemma for the IRFU.
The structures the IRFU put in place have been rightly praised. Not only is the Connacht team competitive, but there is a level of enthusiasm for the game in the west that I have never seen in the many years I have been travelling to the area.
What is happening in Connacht was created by the money and resources put into the game there, and that must not be forgotten. Personal abuse and innuendo will not serve anyone's cause. Officially, the IRFU has not stated that Connacht is under threat. It does not not have to - drip-feed indicated the suggested deed.
It is imperative that Ireland has three teams in the European Cup, both financially and with regard to players participating at that level of competition. Connacht is the development province under that level. It has proved the ideal set-up. However, income is not meeting current expenditure. The IRFU is resigned to losing €4 million this season.
Looking ahead, as matters stand the total annual income will be €33 million. The representative game costs will be between €22 and €24 million.
Grass-roots development and the domestic game will come to between €10 and €11 million and overheads run to €9 million. That cannot be sustained. One source of income that will bring in over €20 million will be the sale, in the near future, of the 10-year tickets in the East Stand at Lansdowne Road. That, however, will not solve the problem.
Massive cuts are necessary across the whole spectrum of the game. One fall-out among many looks certain to be the Ireland A team. New sources of revenue are being sought, such as the erection of hospitality boxes behind the East Stand. The projected losses would rise to more than €7 million next season, then to €9 million and the following season to €10 million. Those are cold statistics.
The provincial squads will be limited to two overseas players, but an overall reduction in the playing squads is not a starter and would be counter-productive. The squads must be maintained to the necessary strength, numerically and in playing standard.
Yes, cutting Connacht as a professional team would save some money, but that is a route I sincerely hope will not be taken. The difficulties Connacht endured through the years were immense. Connacht was the "Cinderella" province due to a combination of circumstances.
For a start, it was very hard to establish rugby in the schools. Not only that, but rugby was even banned in some of the schools which played the game while some clubs had goal-posts sawn down in the hours of darkness. Bigotry and prejudice were alive and well.
But there were those in the province who, through the years, worked tirelessly to keep the game alive, even though there was a much smaller playing base and fewer clubs than the other provinces. Spectacular progress has been made.
The number of schools playing the game in Connacht has risen from seven to more than 40. Clubs have increased and the playing base has widened as a direct consequence of the resources provided by the IRFU.
THERE has long been a belief in Connacht that they have continually got the thin end of the wedge. They have had just nine IRFU presidents in 128 years. They have two representatives on the IRFU committee.
Meanwhile the other provinces had and continue to have four each as year after year Connacht's nominees for the election from the floor of the IRFU a.g.m. have been voted down. Only one Connacht man in more than 100 years has been elected to the five-man Ireland selection committee - P. J. Dwyer in 1980-81, Some fine players who cut their representative teeth with Connacht moved on to other provinces and got capped for Ireland. Yet the province has given Ireland some outstanding players, including two great Ireland captains, Ray McLoughlin and Ciarán Fitzgerald.
One cannot blame the current incumbents at Lansdowne Road for the injustices and hardship Connacht had to endure through the years, but neither can you ignore history. Professionalism has its downside, but it has been extremely good for Connacht rugby.
Yes, Connacht must do more to help itself by raising more revenue, but if the IRFU committee cuts Connacht off as a professional team, it could destroy all the progress it has done so much to create in the region in recent years.