Ronan O'Gara: Easing the ‘Sexton Rule’ can be a positive for Irish rugby
Racing 92’s Simon Zebo is tackled by Saracens’ Elliot Daly in the Champions Cup semi-final last month. In the final, last weekend, Zebo scored two tries. Picture: Dave Winter/Inpho
Two tries for Simon Zebo in a European Cup final guarantees another venting of the ‘Why Isn’t He Playing for Ireland’ to keep lot of folk exercised through to Christmas. Of course, he should be. Life is full of exceptions and thankfully short on inflexible policy.
But Simon’s selection in no longer in the gift of Andy Farrell, the Irish coach. The IRFU has decided, if not formally, then certainly in an unwritten rule, that overseas Irish need not apply.
Farrell’s been told this. And yet, there’s no issue with targeting the recruitment of a through-and-through New Zealander like James Lowe and grooming him to take the place of an Irish player? I don’t get that.
It leaves me perplexed. It is what it is. But there are ill-founded concerns and illogical thought processes in this debate, which I find interesting. Policies are only as good as their success.
The Top 14 or the English Premiership is nothing like the threat to the wellbeing of Irish rugby that some perceive it to be. The numbers are too small. The window of opportunity for an Irish player in those leagues is getting narrower by the season — the bar getting higher.
Ireland’s finest aren’t doing the French League a favour by moving to the continent. And let us be honest, there aren’t many Irish internationals a Top 14 club would be prepared to splash the cash on nowadays, certainly nothing as clear cut in investment terms as Jonny Sexton was when he went to Racing in 2013.
Maybe Tadhg Furlong if he was of a mind, because that level of tight-head prop is as rare as hen’s teeth in the game these days.
This season in France, the FFR allows 14 of a club’s professional squad to be overseas, or non-JIFF players. A JIFF (Joueurs Issus des Filieres de Formation) is a homegrown talent that has come up through the system. They must be registered with the FFR for at least five years before they turn 21 — or have spent three seasons in an FFR Academy.
Next season, the number of imports permitted will be reduced to 12. And only six of the matchday 23 can be non-JIFF. Six.
French clubs and their presidents have around 150 slots in total a season but they have to be very selective in who they spend money on — do they have international complications, will he be a guaranteed matchday starter?
Nowadays they can shop for the best of what England, Wales, Scotland, Georgia, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and South Africa has to offer. The market is expansive. An Irish player would need to be very, very special for a club here to go deep into their pockets.
Who would such a club go after in the current Irish set-up? Most have tested the market and had discussions with French clubs, but from a purely rugby point of view, they get paid unbelievably well and get properly looked after at home.
This phantom fear that a load of players will leave the IRFU high and dry is erroneous. If you were a Leinster player, why would you leave the province unless it was a lifestyle decision?
In my day, you might be quite flattered by the offer to go to Stade Francais, but why would you when Munster were in European Cup finals and semi-finals every year? Plus, one of the values you learn in Munster is loyalty so you must understand and respect that too. It’s a great club to be at, as is Leinster.
But lifestyle is more important to the younger generation, with all the challenges life now throws at them. They want to enrich their lives and not be penalised for it. The modern mindset takes a very dim view of being tied down or limited in their scope.
Money was never the reason Simon Zebo left Munster. He was earning well either way, his wife is Spanish, they had an opportunity to live in Paris.
How much has he looked back? Only on the days watching Ireland, which can sometimes be dark. Regret is too strong a word, but there must be genuine hurt there. His display again in last Saturday’s final defeat to Exeter has given the hurlers on the ditch a ball to play with though in the interest of balance his case hasn’t always been so compelling.
After a scintillating first season, he knocked off in season two, and is only getting going again now after injury and the lockdown. But France, a new challenge, invigorated Zebo.
There’s that part of a career missing for me. Would I have regrets about getting out when I did? I would have loved to play on as a journeyman in France for a season or two. I feel I could have squeezed another couple of campaigns out of myself. To be re-enthused by a new challenge.
Could an Irish player do both if permitted? Yes. The downsides to the Sexton experience are less relevant in 2020. Player management has improved in the interim. It’s in the club’s interest to have a happy player performing. I know how much you need to have relationships with your players.
Every case is different, which is why I disagree fundamentally with the hard-and-fast IRFU position on non home-based players. There is no harm in having some classy players overseas. If there was an Irish international at Exeter, Wasps or Toulouse, then you can quickly appreciate the benefits of him spending two seasons abroad and getting the best of that before bringing it back to international camp.
It might actually be to Irish rugby’s advantage if they were smart about it.
The policy in Ireland is all about keeping the provinces strong, and I agree, but tell me the last time the provinces played a strong side against each other? Irish managers prior to Joe Schmidt kept a bite in those games but Joe diluted that to take care of Team Ireland.
If Zebo is going to market now, he’s probably got some juicy offers on the table to weigh up after doing the business at semi-final and final stages of the Champions Cup.
But would he like to be in Dublin tomorrow against Italy? No doubt. And by the way, he’s also the best Irish full-back around this weekend.
So what Irish players would be in demand now if they could look over the horizon? Everything is predicated on supply and demand. If you are desperate for a loose or tight head, a scrummaging second row, a ball-carrying back row or a goal-kicking out half, then things can work very favourably if you are the right talent at the right time in the right place.
Given what Bundee Aki has done consistently, I am sure he has had plenty of offers. I doubt the IRFU policy influences him one way or the other. He has put his head down, performing for Connacht and for Ireland. That’s a credit to him. He’d be snapped up in a moment but has chosen to stay and that has to be acknowledged.
James Ryan would also be a serious attraction.
Me? Jeez, Earlsie if only you were a few years younger…
