New IRFU Player Contract Policy

[Neil F]

http://www.irishrugby.ie/news/25137.php

The Irish Rugby Football Union today announced some refinements to its professional player contract policy to further support the national succession strategy for the Ireland team to come into effect from the 2013/14 season.

The challenge for the IRFU in an increasingly competitive environment is to strike a long term balance between success for the Ireland team, through exposing Irish players at the highest level of the professional club game in the Heineken Cup and RaboDirect PRO12 and the needs of the provincial teams in terms of the recruitment of quality overseas playing talent to complement Irish qualified players.

The Ireland team remains the financial engine that supports each of the four provincial teams and so it is a critical objective for Irish rugby that the Ireland team remains competitive in the long term by being populated by suitably experienced Irish qualified players.

The opportunity to build this experience is primarily through time on the field in top level competitions.

To support this strategy and following an extended period of consultation which took place with the Professional Game Boards of the provincial teams and the national team management the following principles have now been agreed by the Union.

The following principles are designed to deliver at least two suitably experienced Irish players in all 15 field positions for national team selection:

- One 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.*

- For the 2013/14 season 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.

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

- All future provincial non-Irish eligible player contracts will be position specific.

* The Connacht professional side is external to this process as it has recently commenced a new programme of structural and performance development agreed with the IRFU.

The desired outcome of the changes to contract policies is that Irish-qualified players who have progressed through the provincial Academy systems will see greater opportunities for professional game-time experience, allowing both the IRFU and provinces to deliver the maximum amount of value for the €2.5million that is invested annually across the four provincial Academies.

The overall objective of the new policies is that there will be a minimum of two Irish-qualified players per position playing in the Heineken Cup and RaboDirect PRO12 as first choice selections.

The refinement in the contract policies will be operated in such a manner as to enable the professional teams to enjoy continuing success at both national and provincial levels.

IRFU Chief Executive Philip Browne said: "The challenges for the IRFU and the provincial teams are to continue to try to be successful at all levels, but balance this by recognising the model under which Irish rugby has produced that success over the last 12 years.

"The provincial teams have contributed hugely to the achievements of the Ireland team, but it is important to remember that the Ireland team is the marquee competitive outlet for the game in Ireland and also the financial mechanism that funds rugby at all levels.

"On this basis, it is essential that the Ireland team is given every opportunity to remain competitive at international level and to do that, it requires Irish-qualified players to gain continuous experience at club and provincial level.

"Equally, non-Irish qualified players have delivered much value and support to the success of the provincial teams and development of Irish players over the last number of years. The intention is that this will continue, but not to the detriment of the progress of Irish-qualified players in key positions.

"The refinements continue to allow the provinces to sign overseas players who will not alone play for the province but critically allow young Irish players to learn from these players and put this knowledge into practice by taking over the position once that player's contract is completed."

He added: "The aspirations for the IRFU are that in any single year, we would want to win the RBS 6 Nations Championship, but also have our provincial teams winning the Heineken Cup and the RaboDirect PRO12.

"The key is finding the balance to allow this to happen, but not disadvantage one over the other and always remembering that a successful Ireland team is the catalyst for success at all levels below that.

"This new strategy is essential to put Irish rugby in the best position to reach that."

[Neil F]

I think the first and third of these policies are sensible. I'm not sure what point four actually means; the second, though, seems very dangerous to me - essentially, the policy prevents the provinces plugging long-term structural gaps in squads that happen entirely naturally.

Given that Connacht rarely supplies international players these days, I have been painfully aware that, in technical positions, Ireland have largely been limited to a maximum choice of three players in each position. That there are two non-Irish tight heads at Munster and Ulster restricts the number of tight heads regularly playing rugby in Ireland and capable of representing Ireland to Mike Ross. This is not a desirable situation and I think it's good to see the IRFU moving in this manner. Similarly with replacements; although I think this may create a moral hazard of persistent selection of NIQ players in starting lineups, as they can't sit on the bench.

The concern about the fourth policy is that, for example, post-Pienaar, Ulster cannot sign a new scrum-half, regardless of the abilities of any available scrum-halves. I don't see how this can aid in helping the provinces compete in the Heineken Cup; it is restricting the ability to plug important gaps with imports; a player who isn't good enough to help a province compete in Europe is not going to represent Ireland, no matter how much game time he gets. When was the last time, for example, that Ulster produced a full back of note? Not being able to solve that problem with an import, long-term is worrying to me. I also wonder what it will be for the desirability of Irish clubs as a destination - presumably 3 years max. contract for an NIQ; no long-term chances for career and settlement here, a la Steinmetz, Contepomi or Howlett, for example. It will also be interesting to see how this is done - post-Wannenberg, for example, can Ulster just not sign a foreign 8, or is it a foreign back row player, period? Can Ulster replace Muller with another second-row, so long as he wears 5?

[Rooster]

Does that mean we can't resign Pienaar as a 9 but could as a 10 ?

[ColinM]

My thoughts exactly Rooster.


Whole thing sounds like a big argument waiting to happen. Last season we could have re-signed BJ as the other provinces had Irish THPs, but Munster came in with big money, so then they had the NIQ THP. We'd have been stuck then, BJ's agents would have had a field day.

Then what happens in Dublin when two provinces go down looking to sign a player?

And where the feck would we have found an IQ fullback this season?

[Cormac]

This is bonkers from the IRFU.

At the moment, both Ulster and Munster have NIE tight-head props. I'm guessing both players are on longer than one-year deals which means that they'll both have to depart when their current contracts run out. If they both leave at the same time, that means that, should Leinster wish to maintain 5 NIE's in their squad, one of those players would have to be a THP.

Isa Nacewa has played in five different positions for Leinster (10, 11, 12, 14 and 15). When his contract finishes in 2013, in which position will Leinster be barred from recruiting a NIE player?

What happens when two provinces feel they need an experienced NIE in the same position? Who gets priority?

This will inevitably put a huge emphasis on the players coming out of the academies.

Perhaps some form of loan deals between the three sides could compensate for needing to recruit to cover IE players for short-term injuries (3-6 months).

[Snipe Watson]

Does that mean we can't resign Pienaar as a 9 but could as a 10 ?

All future provincial non-Irish eligible player contracts will be position specific

will RP only be permitted to play 9 if his contract is renewed?

[Neil F]

At the moment, both Ulster and Munster have NIE tight-head props. I'm guessing both players are on longer than one-year deals which means that they'll both have to depart when their current contracts run out. If they both leave at the same time, that means that, should Leinster wish to maintain 5 NIE's in their squad, one of those players would have to be a THP.

This is a very interesting point - an NIQ player who signed on for three years at the start of this season will still be contracted at the start of 2013/2014. Then again, I'm sure a new three year contract could be signed before then, if one were thinking cynically. That said, I thought that the number of NIQ players was (supposed) to be restricted to 4, plus 1 project? Projects aren't mentioned here, so in reality all this means that Munster and Ulster have to find tight heads that are Irish qualified. Leinster could have 4 NIQs, one of whom isn't a tighthead. The restriction, in principle, is that there will only be 12 positions across the three 'big' provinces that have NIQs; or, 12 positions where there are only two, rather than three (supposedly) viable options for Ireland. This part seems sensible to me.

The senseless part is in restricting the renewing of contracts for NIQ players; I think this is negative for two reasons - one, it seriously stops NIQ players bedding in and having a big influence on things (see: Steinmetz) and secondly, it assumes that any gap in playing personnel can be closed in three seasons. I buy neither notion!

[RedKC]

Isa Nacewa has played in five different positions for Leinster (10, 11, 12, 14 and 15). When his contract finishes in 2013, in which position will Leinster be barred from recruiting a NIE player?

You have to feel for someone like Nacewa who may have to leave Leinster where he'll have played for 5 seasons and been consistently one of their top performers due to the fact he played once for fiji. Currently he's played 59 times for leinster and is a fans favourite. Just seems wrong to me somehow.

I want to see a successful Ireland side but I don't want to see it at the expense of the provinces. Between this and the irfu player management programmes (why are players always rested for interpro games, rest them for the away matches in wales and scotland and let the fans that turn up week in week out see the stars) there seems an increasing effort towards alienating provincial fans.

[ColinM]

We should have signed Afoa for 10 years

[AyeYerMa]

Book open on how long it will be before the acronym NIRFU is mentioned.

[scrum5]

The 1st year that no Irish province qualifies for the quarter finals of the HC it will be scraped.

[mikerob]

I predict lots of gurning about how Leinster/Munster/Ulster* always get priority over Munster/Ulster/Leinster*

* delete as applicable

[AyeYerMa]

Question raised on "social media" - Will it stand legally? Particularly if the NIQ is a European.

[Rooster]

If BJs contract runs out before Afoa's then Munster might have to buy Buckley back, his agent would be rubbing his hands as imagine if they had to pay him €500k a year

[AyeYerMa]

If BJs contract runs out before Afoa's then Munster might have to buy Buckley back, his agent would be rubbing his hands as imagine if they had to pay him €500k a year

It does. 2 years vice 2.5 and signed earlier.