Players sign contracts

The Irish international contracts for the coming season were signed in Dublin yesterday. Although yesterday's press release carried a confidentiality clause, and therefore few details were divulged, it is believed the IRFU will be putting roughly £1.3 million into the players' pool.

The 35 international squad members have been divided into five categories, ranging from a retainer of £50,000 and a car, plus bonuses, for a few home-based internationals, to a basic salary of £12,600 for non-international, England-based squad members.

There are, apparently, two home-based internationals believed to fall into the first category, namely Dennis Hickie and Peter Clohessy. They will be paid £50,000 and a car. The rationale, one presumes, behind Hickie's inclusion is a desire to keep him in Ireland, while Clohessy was considered as an original selection for the Lions.

It is not clear which category Eric Elwood will be placed in, pending a decision by the Galwegians and Connacht out-half due to his heavy workload as a representative for Guinness.

This would leave 10 home-based players in the squad of 35 who fall into category two, which carries a retainer of £35,000 and a car. The four Irish Lions have been placed above their fellow England-based players, with a basic retainer of £24,600.

The remaining 18 England-based squad members have been divided into categories four and five, i.e., internationals and non-internationals. The former, to be paid £14,600, include Jonathan Bell, David Corkery, Paul Burke, Gabriel Fulcher, Simon Geoghegan, Rob Henderson, David Humphries, Paddy Johns, Ross Nesdale, Conor O'Shea, Nick Popplewell and Jim Staples.

Category five players will receive a retainer of £12,600: they are Kieran Dawson, David Erskine, Justin Fitzpatrick, Kevin Maggs, Barry McConnell and Malcolm O'Kelly.

In addition to the salaries, and in a reversal of last season's policy of £3,000 for a match fee and a £1,000 bonus for a win, this season's match fee will be £1,000 with a bonus of £3,000.

It is expected that there will be about 12 squad sessions, beginning with weekly Wednesday sessions in Dublin on September 17th. There will be seven internationals, against New Zealand and Canada at home, Italy away, followed by the Five Nations campaign.

Theoretically, therefore, a category one player could earn up to £78,000, although as this includes a victory over the best side in the world, the All Blacks, and a Grand Slam, perhaps a more realistic haul would be around the £66,000 mark for category one players. Category two players would be looking at £51,000, given seven appearances and three victories. Of course, players can be upgraded while others could be added to the squad, for which there were several precedents last season.

Having picked the squad in mid-June, the IRFU have had protracted negotiations with agents representing the home and England-based players respectively, from Proactive Sports Management Ltd and ESP (Euro Sports Promotions).

The ultimate agreement of approximately £1.3 million is an increase of around 50 per cent on last year's investment by the union, and matches the £1.3 million they are expected to plough into the provinces this season. For all the criticism of the union in the professional age, it is considerably more than any other Irish sporting association has ever paid to both its overseas and domestic players.

Commenting on the agreement, Billy Lavery, junior vice-president of the IRFU and chairman of the contracts sub-committee, said: "I am very pleased that agreement has been reached on this critical issue. I believe the contracts offered reflect a fair and equitable conclusion to the discussions. "The arrangements made will ensure that our management and players can continue to plan their development in a professional manner and so be as thoroughly prepared for international rugby as any other group of players in the world."