BOTH the outgoing president of the IRFU, Dr Syd Millar, and the incoming president, Bobby Deacy, who on assuming the presidency has relinquished the position of honorary treasurer, made the immense changes that have taken place in the game since rugby went "open" at the end of last August the central theme of their addresses to the annual general meeting of the Union in Dublin last night.

Unanimous support was given by the meeting to the stand taken by the IRFU concerning the television rights for the Five Nations championship.

This came after Tom Kiernan, chairman of the Five Nations Committee, addressed the meeting and pointed out that, apart from the English Rugby Union's violation of basic principles, there was a vast difference between the money offered by Sky Television to England, compared to the sums offered to the other nations.

In his report on the finances of the IRFU, Deacy revealed that payments to Ireland's international players and the team's coach last season amounted to £1.018 million. "This is a new and very significant cost and will be an ever increasing figure," said Deacy. He also revealed that, this year, grants to branches, clubs, schools and other strands of the game amounted to £2.057 million. The previous year they amounted to £872,000. He revealed that the union had an operating profit of £1.349 million, compared to £1.869 the previous season.

"On the income side, the only new revenue is the income from the European Rugby Cup and provincial matches to the amount of £1.23 million," he said. Deacy pointed out "that while the financial position is healthy, it should be viewed in the light of the fact that major capital expenditure, in the form of a stadium, must be undertaken within the next couple of years, in order that we keep pace with the other rugby nations."

The new situation in the game prompted Millar to suggest that the management structure of the IRFU needed to be addressed to cater for the changing game.

Millar described the decision of the International Board last August, which opened the way for professionalism, as "momentous".

"No union had anticipated or catered for those consequences. Pressure on players, the large sums of money generated by the game and particularly the advent of Murdoch's Super League in the southern hemisphere, were the factors which triggered that decision," said Millar. "It will take some time for things to settle down," he added.

He paid particular tribute to Billy Lavery for the work he did on players' contracts and in rewriting the IRFU laws to bring them into line with the new International Board regulations.

He also paid a warm tribute to Bobby Deacy for his work as honorary treasurer and to Tom Kiernan for his work in chairing the Five Nations Committee.

Prior to the meeting last night, there was an extraordinary general meeting of the Council to ratify the new laws of the union. Domestically, very important changes of law agreed at that meeting relate to the method by which the manager, coach or coaches of the international squad, and for all other international squads, are appointed. In future, the committee of the union shall have the power to make these appointments in whatever manner and on whatever terms and conditions are most advantageous to the administration and promotion of the game in Ireland.

John Lyons was elected honorary treasurer, in succession to Deacy who will have Niall Brophy as his senior vice president and former Ireland international team manager Noel Murphy as junior vice president.

When Murphy assumes the presidency in two years time, he will emulate his father who was union president between 1960 and 1961. In over 120 years, there have only been two instances of father and son becoming IRFU presidents.