Wednesday, January 04, 2012
THE last thing the IRFU court is controversy.
The powers that be will therefore be seething that 2012 has started on a negative with the provinces up in arms over hasty announcement of new contract policy before Christmas.
Having covered the nuts and bolts of the policy and its potential shortcomings last Wednesday, I have no desire to revisit that again but it is clear, especially by the comments from Leinster’s Joe Schmidt and Guy Easterby and, to a lesser extent, from Ulster coach Brian McLaughlin that the provinces are not happy. For once Munster have held their counsel and are yet to put their head above the parapet on the issue. It is unusual for the constituent bodies to be openly critical but Leinster and Schmidt in particular are in a position of strength as Heineken Cup champions and current table-toppers in the RaboDirect Pro12.
Schmidt is, in effect, a direct employee of the IRFU and therefore his comments prior to Leinster’s game against Connacht on Sunday give an indication of how strongly he feels on the subject. His chief gripe appears to be a lack of dialogue with the provinces, who made it quite clear in advance that they were happy with the status quo with regard to the system for the signing of non Irish eligible (NIE) players. It is also clear that the provinces were happy to run with the decision to reduce the number of NIE players from five to four with provision still there for a special project ruling like the one that enables Leinster hooker Richardt Strauss to become Irish eligible in October.
I have read other commentators making the point that this change was inevitable given that the provinces are awash with overseas front rows but such arguments miss the point. A body was already in place — the Player Advisory Group (PAG) — to police the signing of overseas players. Under the system each province had to apply to them for permission to sign an overseas player. In doing so the province had to submit a detailed reasoning behind their desire to sign the player along with their succession planning for eventually filling that position. In that respect had the PAG been stricter in stemming the inflow of overseas props, there would have been no need for this policy change.
The net result of the proposed new policy is that the hands of the provincial coach will be tied even tighter behind his back not only on the issue of when his international squad members are made available to him but also in terms of who he can sign from overseas and in what position he can play that player. In time this could negate the attractiveness for the best foreign coaches plying their trade here. That would be a pity.
At times the mix between overseas and indigenous coaches within the system was unbalanced. At one stage Ireland was like a coaching academy for Australia, with Michael Cheika, Alan Gaffney, Matt Williams, Gary Ella and David Knox all enjoying stints in Leinster while Tony McGahan, Laurie Fisher and Jim Williams were holding court in Munster. Ulster also had Williams for a period not to mention countless other New Zealand and South African coaches who have enjoyed stints with all four provinces.
Some very good young Irish coaches were left to fight for secondary roles but have gained valuable experience while working under some excellent foreign bosses. They are now making their mark, with Anthony Foley an obvious example. If the new policy leads inadvertently to opportunities for some of our own then there are plenty waiting in the wings.
It is great to see the strides being taken by Irish coaches abroad at present having accepted that being exposed to different cultures and playing styles would enhance their coaching CVs. Michael Bradley probably stayed with Connacht too long and left by mutual consent after seven years last season. His decision to relocate in Edinburgh was both brave and challenging given their history of under achievement in the Celtic League and in the Heineken Cup. Yet in a short space of time he has worked minor miracles with the Gunners and three wins from four in the Heineken Cup this season has them on the verge of a European quarter-final for only the second time in 15 seasons.
Over Christmas I sat down to watch a live Premiership match on television for the first time in ages. Billed as the biggest game in the Aviva Premiership this season it certainly lived up to expectations in terms of attendance, if not in quality. A crowd of 82,000 set a new world record for a club or provincial game when Harlequins hosted Saracens at Twickenham on December 27.
Irish fans with a passing interest will have noted a fine performance from Peter Stringer at the base of the Saracens scrum but, of even greater significance, was the fact that the respective directors of rugby were Irish.
MARK McCALL has done an excellent job since taking over the reigns from the colourful Brendan Venter at Saracens and are in second place in the Premiership behind Harlequins, who are under the stewardship of Conor O’Shea. I have massive admiration for McCall going back to his playing days for Ulster and Ireland. Nicknamed Small because of his stature, he had to rely on a sharp brain, nifty feet and quality hands to survive in the midfield jungle which he managed to achieve for over a decade. When his tenure at the helm of Ulster went pear shaped he honourably stepped down, without financial compensation, as he felt it was the best thing for his native province. He then took up a support role in the French championship with Castres before Venter, his former centre partner with London Irish, came calling a few seasons ago to help in Saracens, McCall seized his opportunity and in tandem with the former Springbok delivered a first Premiership title for the club last season.
If he wants to retain that title this season then he will have to better another former Exiles teammate in O’Shea, who has been a revelation at the London club since taking over after the Bloodgate scandal.
O’Shea differs from Bradley and McCall in that he has learned his trade as a coach exclusively in England but in many respects I see that as a good thing. At this stage all three exiled coaches look odds on to lead their respective clubs to a Heineken Cup quarter-final which would be a marvellous achievement.
In time it would be great to see those three getting the opportunity to bring their new found experience back home, with O’Shea looking a genuine contender for the role of national coach at some stage.
In the meantime, the IRFU have a bit of work to do in bringing our provinces back on board and must recognise that continued success in Europe is an essential pre-requisite in retaining our competitiveness at international level.
That goal can still be achieved with a bit of tweaking with their new contract policy.
Happy New Year to all.
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