Connacht dismay!

[browner]

Connacht dismay at attempts to boost representation

25/06/2005

By Barry Coughlan
NOT for the first time, the Connacht branch were sent back to the west last night without the spoils from an Irish Rugby Football Union AGM.

Connacht proposed that they be given a third representative on the union committee, but despite an impassioned plea from former IRFU president Don Crowley, the proposal was turned down after 62 delegates held a secret ballot.

Sixteen members voted in favour of Connacht's motion and 46 voted against but the secret ballot was in itself controversial, with one Leinster representative suggesting it was unconstitutional, while an Ulsterman later expressing outrage at the way the issue was handled.

The outcome of the vote was far from satisfactory for the Connacht contingent, who have over the years seen efforts to boost their representation on the committee fail at every turn. They will be back next year to fight again, this time hoping for an open vote. Apart from trying to have a bigger say in Irish affairs, the Connacht argument was that the workload had increased to such an extent it was unfair to leave it all to two people.

Meanwhile, the Celtic League could include Italian teams for the 2006-7 season, according to IRFU chief executive Philip Browne. Having resolved difficulties with the Welsh Rugby Union, the forthcoming league will take the same format as last season, with each team playing 20 matches. The fixture list will be made available next week and Browne believes the agreement with Wales to continue the tournament was a good decision.

"We came to a pragmatic agreement after our disagreement. There was no point cutting off our noses to spite our face but we did have to raise the issue that we, ourselves, Scotland and Wales, were equal partners in this Celtic League venture. We didn't feel that Wales had taken due account of that.

"But in every partnership you will have tiffs, we had a tiff with Wales but I think they understand our position better now and we intend to move forward together."

Browne is convinced that the Celtic League has a bright future and said the Italian clubs could well be part of that future: "There is a lot to discuss but it's something that will be discussed by all the partners and the Welsh have accepted that this may be a possibility. We want the door to be kept open for the Italians."

Though the Celtic League has so far failed to attract a major sponsor, it has not had a detrimental financial effect on Irish rugby.

The union remains in deficit, with annual losses of around €3 million. Despite the inflation rate, the losses were down by half a million from two years ago and over three million from last season's figure of €6.3 million.

The IRFU has managed to stem the growing costs of running the professional game, which cost the union €23.5 million last year, just over €200,000 up on the previous year.

Elite player development now costs almost €2 million and the IRFU's contribution to domestic and community rugby runs at just short of €8 million.

The union is happy that expenditure increased by less than 5% over the last couple of years, while income rose by over 6%. At least the IRFU is keeping ahead of the posse, although there will be tough times ahead as preparations for a new Lansdowne Road stadium move ever closer.