IT’S NOT PERSONAL, IT’S BUSINESS
The game is in a precarious state and the IRFU will have some tough contract calls to make in the months ahead...
YESTERDAY’S announcement from the EPCR board was no major surprise. European chiefs confirmed the inevitable when they announced the indefinite suspensions of the Heineken Champions Cup and Challenge Cup tournaments. It remains to be seen when, or if, the knockout stages can be accommodated later in the year.
For now, professional rugby is on lockdown across the globe. From the Pro14 to the Top 14 in France to the Japan Top League, the Covid-19 crisis has halted all action as the world tries to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
Public health is always paramount and everything else is secondary, but there is no getting away from the many problems and issues that every professional club is now trying to resolve.
A host of English Premiership clubs confirmed pay cuts of 25 per cent last week while the IRFU announced last Friday they would be implementing pay deferrals ‘based on an equitable sliding scale which ranges from 10 per cent to 50 per cent’, beginning from April.
It is understood that the union’s higher earners — those players on lucrative central contracts such as Johnny Sexton, Conor Murray and Tadhg Furlong — would be taking the biggest hit in the coming months.
The IRFU did state its intention ‘to return to full pay, and repay any deferrals, as soon as possible.’
Easing the strain on cashflow is top of the agenda at the moment, but there are other issues ahead for the IRFU. These are uncharted waters...
NEGOTIATIONS
IN seasons past, the IRFU would usually have most of their contract negotiations completed by now. After months of talks, Rob Kearney finally agreed a oneseason contract extension last May, which kept the veteran Leinster fullback on the books until the end of the current campaign.
There was much speculation about Kearney’s future but the 33-year-old, the most decorated Irish rugby player in the professional era, would eventually agree to play his 15th season in Ireland.
The potential problem for Kearney and his Leinster teammate Devin Toner, who is also out of contract this summer, is negotiating a new deal in this current climate.
Both 33 — Toner is set to turn 34 in June — their age profiles and place in the international pecking order meant that IRFU extensions were always highly unlikely.
If they choose to remain at Leinster, then it would appear that the province would have to foot the bill for any potential new deal, similar to Ulster in recent weeks when Jack McGrath signed a new two-year contract with the province — coming off a far more lucrative IRFU central contract in the process.
The suspension of all professional activity, pay deferrals and uncertainty over the state of the current season has made any future negotiations over contracts very difficult.
In normal circumstances, Toner and Kearney would be looking to England, France and further afield for new opportunities. The issue now is the Premiership and Top14 clubs are struggling to stay afloat during these trying times and big-money recruitment looks highly unlikely in the coming months.
Toner, in particular, will fancy his chances of a new deal but Leinster are well stocked at lock with James Ryan, Scott Fardy, who is contracted until 2021, Ryan Baird, Ross Molony, Jack Dunne and Josh Murphy on board.
Then there’s Joe Tomane, who is reaching the end of his two-year deal with Leinster soon. The Wallaby utility back had a difficult first season at the province after signing from Montpellier. But Tomane was finally hitting his straps with Leinster in recent months, only for the season to go into indefinite hiatus. It’s an issue facing many players across Europe at the moment. With contracts set to expire in the summer and no games to showcase their talents to prospective new employers, it is a worrying time to be carving out a career in the professional game.
CENTRAL ISSUE
AS things stand, there are currently 14 players on IRFU-funded central contracts across the four provinces: Cian Healy, Tadhg Furlong, Devin Toner, Iain Henderson, James Ryan, Peter O’Mahony, CJ Stander, Conor Murray, Johnny Sexton, Robbie Henshaw, Bundee Aki, Keith Earls, Jacob Stockdale and Rob Kearney.
David Nucifora, the IRFU’s performance director, completed some big business back in November when Connacht centre Aki committed to a three-year deal, keeping him on Irish shores until at least 2023. Aki became the first Connacht player to sign such a deal in the process.
The New Zealand-born midfielder joined Robbie Henshaw, who is contracted until June 2022, on the IRFU payroll with Garry Ringrose believed to be the next cab off the rank prior to recent events.
Ryan was the next big name to get locked down on a big deal in February when the Leinster and
Ireland lock signed a three-year IRFU contract up until 2023. Quite the feat for a player who only made his Test debut in the summer of 2017. But Ryan, 23, is a major part of the Leinster and Ireland operations, going forward. Jacob Stockdale would follow suit and sign up until 2023 as well.
Rory Best’s retirement after the World Cup and Sean O’Brien’s move to London Irish took two big earners off the IRFU books with Aki, Ryan and Stockdale moving onto the big bucks in the following months.
Contract talks have been majorly impacted by the current situation, but the likes of Ringrose, Josh van der Flier and Andrew Porter are prized real estate that the IRFU will look to tie down sooner, rather than later.
Further afield, there are a host of players out of contract in June 2021 - including Healy, Furlong, Henderson, O’Mahony, Stander, Sexton and Earls.
IMPORTS
AS mentioned earlier, Wallabies forward Scott Fardy put pen to paper on a one-year extension to
‘Easing strain on cashflow is top of the agenda’
remain with Leinster earlier in the season, but the fate of Joe Tomane, who is out of contract in the summer, remains an unresolved issue for now.
At Munster, South African flanker Chris Cloete is signed up until 2022 but his compatriot Arno Botha is out of contract in June.
Kiwi hooker Rhys Marshall, who is now qualified to represent Ireland on residency, is signed up until June 2021.
Jean Kleyn, capped last year by Ireland after also qualifying on residency, is recently signed a new deal, keeping the South African at Thomond Park until June 2022. World Cup-winning Springboks RG Snyman and Damian de Allende are due to arrive in the summer as well as Matt Gallagher, an Irish-qualified full-back from Saracens.
Ulster have retained the services of their brilliant Springbok backrower Marcel Coetzee until June 2022 while Alby Mathewson and Ian Madigan will ply their trade in Belfast next season.
Connacht are set to lose talented Australian flanker Colby Fainga’a in the summer.