Long-term approach central to IRFU plan

NEWS:EDDIE WIGGLESWORTH, the IRFU director of rugby, has responded to criticism by provincial coaches of the newly refined player contract policy.

Last Monday Leinster coach Joe Schmidt voiced his disappointment with the manner and timing of the announcement by the IRFU to significantly reduce the number of foreign players, and scope to recruit them, from the 2013/14 season onwards.

“The IRFU have a responsibility to deliver for the national team,” said Wigglesworth. “Joe is not one of these guys who just takes a personal view in terms of what is best for him. He has a very holistic and long-term approach but, at the end of the day, he is only going to be here for four or five years.

“We have been around for 130 years and we have to be around successfully for another 130 years. We have to take a much wider scope of things.

“That is the key to this: a provincial coach will only look, with the best will in the world, two or three seasons forward because that’s the landscape in terms of their contract. The national telescope, when it goes up, has got to look to the 2015 World Cup and 2019. That’s the difference.”

Schmidt also wondered aloud if the four guiding principles (see panel) were a direct reaction to defeat by Wales in the World Cup quarter-final. He believes the current contractual system in Irish rugby needs minimal fine-tuning.

Ulster coach Brian McLaughlin expressed disappointment at the exclusion of the coaches from the decision-making process before the IRFU announced their new plan on December 21st.

Despite these objections, the IRFU will not be reviewing their new stance, although Wigglesworth conceded exceptions will be made in special circumstances.

“The four guiding principles that we have down are non-negotiable. However, if there is a situation where a province is weak, either because of a range of injuries, or where we have sat down and identified that their succession strategy has been deficient and the consequence of which is they haven’t got a second line player of the quality that would enable them to continue their current level of success in Europe, then obviously we would have to be quite pragmatic and adjust the policy within the framework.”

Wigglesworth stated that a main aim in all of this is to pressurise the provinces into bringing through Irish talent wherever possible.

The main concern from a coaching point of view is whether the development of Irish props can be rapid enough to maintain provincial success in Europe.

At present no club appears capable of winning the Heineken Cup without four international standard props. As a result, Irish provinces have invested heavily in recruiting South African and New Zealand scrummagers.

“The frontrow situation is, in essence, a rollover from the fact that in the last eight to 10 years Munster had provided the Irish frontrow,” Wigglesworth explained. “We have had a natural blockage which has occurred on merit, because the guys that were there deserved to be there.

“We recognise we have a difficulty there. We will be conciliatory and flexible over the next two years in relation to those positions, so it is not like we are suddenly turning off the tap on the 1st of January.”

An obvious debate is which province gets to recruit a world-class player in the same position; a situation that will inevitably occur.

“We will have to make a decision. We have to have a situation where at least two Irish eligible guys are playing (in all 15 positions) for three of the provinces. That is an absolute minimalist approach.

At present, both Munster and Ulster have international tightheads, BJ Botha and John Afoa, wearing their number three jersey. Neither player will be offered a new contract. Nor will Isa Nacewa in Leinster.

“This process will make the provincial coach realise that the second level guy in the position has to get adequate game time because as soon as John Afoa or Wian du Preez’s contract is up he is going to be the guy that’s playing European Cup.

“What we are hoping between the player welfare programme for international players and injecting this pressure into the succession strategy at provincial level is that the guys will become more conscious that the Jack McGrath’s and the Adam Macklin’s have to get more game time.”

Wigglesworth also pointed out that the IRFU’s priority will always be to the national team because it generates 84 per cent of revenue at 14 per cent of total cost, while the provinces are currently responsible for 41 per cent of overall cost to the union.

“We have to have provincial rugby and that’s why there is never an issue about funding it. But this is about getting the balance right.”

Four guiding principles to deliver at least two experienced players in all 15 field positions(from Leinster, Munster and Ulster) for national selection:

1One non Irish eligible (NIE) player only in each of the 15 field positions across the provinces of Leinster, Munster and Ulster e.g. one foreign player allowed across all three teams per position.

2For the season 2013/14 and onwards, for any given position involving a contracted NIE player, a province will not be permitted to renew that NIE player contract or bring in a new NIE player into that same position in its squad.

3All future provincial injury replacement players must be eligible for selection for Ireland.

4All future provincial NIE player contracts will be position specific.