SATURDAY WAS Leinster’s day in what has been a season of memorable triumphs for Irish rugby. Leinster, whose grit and resilience has often been questioned by critics, finally came of age in Murrayfield as a team of worthy champions. The club rewarded its many supporters who had kept faith with their team in times of adversity. The Leinster team gave a province a reason to celebrate. And it produced a sporting performance of which all Ireland can be rightly proud in a year when most of the news has been bad news.
For Irish rugby, 2009 has been the most successful year ever for club and country. Leinster, after the previous successes of Ulster and Munster, became the third province to become European champions. In March, for the first time in 61 years, when winning the Six Nations championship, Ireland won the Grand Slam. In April came international recognition of that achievement, with 14 Irish players selected in the British and Irish Lions squad for its tour to South Africa this month, and with Paul O’Connell chosen as captain.
The Duke of Wellington, a Leinster man, once said the Battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton. Leinster’s European success has been achieved after some epic encounters on different playing fields, not least Croke Park. Of course, the seeds of that rugby success were sown off the field as well; not only by Michael Cheika and his coaching staff, but also by the long-term vision of some other unheralded heroes.
First, the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU). It deserves great credit for creating the conditions for Ireland’s rugby renaissance. More than a decade ago, when rugby became a professional game, the IRFU decided to use the existing provincial structure to create four professional teams. It introduced a system of centralised contracts for professional players, which allowed the rugby union to manage these players. That strategy has been a critical element in the development, improvement and success of Irish rugby.
Second, great credit must go to another Leinster man, Charlie McCreevy. As minister for finance in 2002, he changed the tax laws to encourage gifted sports people to remain in Ireland. Qualifying players who are tax resident here can, on retirement, reclaim tax on their earnings from sporting activity in Ireland. For rugby, that tax break helps explain why Ireland has retained so many of its best players, why Ireland has enjoyed a success out of all proportion to its rugby playing population, and, indeed, why Leinster won last Saturday.