Munster chief, Garrett Fitzgerald: Donnacha Ryan a big loss

Munster Rugby chief executive Garrett Fitzgerald has paid tribute to Donnacha Ryan, who leaves the province at the end of this season for Racing 92 in Paris.

“Obviously you don’t want to lose your best players, Donnacha was in the prime of his career, it’s been proven that second rows play their best from 28, 30 years of age plus.

“We had a very amicable relationship with Donnacha and we still do, he’ll give us 100% to the end of the seasons, and now he’s decided to go elsewhere to play, we’ll be the first to wish him the best of luck.

“We’re disappointed to lose him but that’s what happens - you have to move on, think of the future and to realise there are other people who will get opportunities they mightn’t have gotten before. That happens in all sports.”

Fitzgerald was speaking at the opening of the new Munster Rugby High-Performance centre at the University of Limerick, which comes in the wake of the side’s quarter-final win over Toulouse last Saturday.

The centre is an integral part of Munster’s future, he added.

“Any day Munster are beating Toulouse, no matter how they’re going, is a great day. We’ve certainly gotten ourselves to the last four and we’re in with the big fish, but we’re delighted to be there and we give ourselves a chance of going further in the competition.

“The old saying is money doesn’t guarantee happiness, and it doesn’t guarantee success, either — if it did the same six teams would be winning the competition every year, because they’re throwing money at it.

“Money helps but we’re trying to develop a place here where people want to be, a culture and an organisation where people feel that they’re maximising their ability and that they’re respected. Obviously, the support they get is a huge part of that and always has been.

“You’ll always have highs and lows, but striving to be the best you can be is what we’re trying to do.

“Culture is something you build over time, but it’s challenged now in a much different way compared to years ago, through the different means of communication, social media, because of all of that, privacy is gone out of people’s lives.

"You can still build that culture but it’s challenged on a much more regular basis than it would be before.”

The Munster boss paid tribute to UL, suggesting that the partnership between Munster and the university may be a sign of the future.

“We strive to get the best people in, to have the best of facilities, and to maximise their ability. The University of Limerick goes a long way towards that in its facilities; it’s a modern university with a lot of vision and is very open-minded about where it’s going.

“They’re constantly trying to be better in what they’re doing, and that goes for the facilities they provide and the staff that they have here.

“The model of how universities align with sports teams is, I think, going to align more with the American model.

“I don’t think it’ll be too long before you see universities become more involved in commercial programmes, you see the beginning of it, with UCC sponsoring Cork City FC, on TV coverage of the Six Nations you can see universities advertise pitch side, because they have to attract students...

"There are opportunities here with this university and we feel they have the vision to move on to another level.

“The game is a matter of inches and percentages at this stage, and every team is using sports science to maximise everything they have. That’s the same the world over, and it’s going to continue.”

Fitzgerald doesn’t see Munster’s provincial identity diluted by basing their training facilities in Limerick.

“We’re in a very strong partnership with UL, but we also have partnerships with other third-level institutions around the province.

“We’re not a team of a particular county, we’re a team for the province, and that’s how it’s developed. We have players from all six counties.

"We train in UL, [but] when we play, we play as a province representing all six counties.

"The fact that we train in one location doesn’t diminish our view that we represent the province and all six counties.

“By having one specialised centre of training in a university which enhances sport, that doesn’t take anything away from what we represent, which is the province.”

The new high-performance training facility for Munster Rugby, which cost €5.5m, comprises extensive gymnasia, weight rooms, video analysis facilities, physiotherapy treatment rooms, lecture facilities, a 65-seater auditorium, changing rooms, recreation and dining facilities, as well as facilities for the entire administrative function for Munster Rugby.