DONAL LENIHAN: Decisions that will shape Irish rugby future
He immediately empathised with Declan Kidney.
Winning with Ireland has always been pleasurable, with the attendant goodwill that accompanies success always shared by those in the corridors of power.
Defeat, however, can be a lonely place for management and the telltale signs that so often signal the end of a coach’s reign came flooding back to Gatland. He felt that isolation over a decade ago. The fact that so many familiar faces are still in place made him appreciate even more that he was no longer accountable to the systems that run the professional game in this country.
After years of stability, high achievement and worldwide recognition, rugby in Ireland at both provincial and national level is facing its biggest challenge since the exodus of our best players to the UK in the aftermath of the game going professional in 1995.
If the defeat by Argentina in the World Cup quarter-final play-off game in Lens in 1999 was the catalyst for widespread change in the priority given to the national side — up to that point it was focused on bringing the provincial sides up to speed in order to compete in Europe — recent failings have highlighted the need for a radical overhaul.
The IRFU has a whole series of issues to deal with, not least the failure to appoint a national scrum coach after the difficulties highlighted in Twickenham over a year ago. There’s also the lack of interest in the fresh tranche of ten-year tickets for the Aviva, dissatisfaction with the match day experience at the new stadium with a high percentage of supporters getting soaked against France, the premature withdrawal of gear sponsors Puma and falling revenues due to difficult economic circumstances at both provincial and national level.
Women’s rugby is about the only good news story at present. Participation is everything, especially when it comes to attracting funding from the Irish Sports Council and both women’s and seven’s rugby offer a fresh source to grow the numbers.
All of a sudden €1.1m has been sourced to support a women’s sevens bid for the Rio Olympics and that is brilliant to see, but what about a similar investment in the men’s version where young players could be given the opportunity to develop their skills, perform under pressure in front of massive crowds and test themselves against the best the southern hemisphere has to offer?
Of more immediate concern is the restructuring of the governing body and specifically the appointment of a Performance Director along with a Professional Game Board.
We are told the appointment of both is imminent and that the approval of the IRFU committee to formulate the Professional Board has already been granted. That is a step in the right direction.
The board will be made up of a chairman, who will be a voting member of the IRFU committee, and up to seven further voting members of the same committee but to include; (A) a member with experience in managing the professional game at provincial level, (B) a member who is a recently retired professional player, (C) a member from outside professional rugby with experience in high performance sport, (D) the chief executive.
In addition, the newly-appointed Performance Director and other professional staff will be in attendance as required along with the chairman of the existing Management Committee.
The terms of reference of the newly-formed board would be to manage the professional game on behalf of the IRFU committee with the aspiration of overseeing the introduction of a world-class high performance system that will deliver consistent success for the national team.
Their role is to advise and make recommendations to the IRFU committee on policy and strategy in relation to the professional game, with the aim of ensuring that meeting the aspirations for success of the professional provincial teams is balanced appropriately with the primary need for a successful national team — that should be interesting. However, that policy and strategy still needs to be approved by the IRFU committee.
As well as issues such as formulating and reviewing a strategic plan for the professional game, along with the allocation of annual budgets, specific responsibilities of the new board include:
(1) the recruitment of the head coach of the national side.
(2) the recruitment of the head coach of the provincial sides — done in conjunction with the existing Provincial Boards.
(3) the recruitment of the national team manager.
(4) putting in place the mechanism for assessing the national coach and his staff.
(5) putting in place the mechanism for assessing the provincial coaches and their staff.
(6) putting in place the mechanism for appointing the coaches/management of all the national teams below the Ireland and Wolfhounds teams.
(7) monitoring and assessing the performance of the Performance Director.
That is a comprehensive and wide ranging list, but, on closer examination, my concern is that with a chairman and up to seven voting members appointed by the IRFU, only three of that potential board of eight will be drawn from outside the existing committee set-up.
The key appointment will be that of the Performance Director and of even more importance is the job description that accompanies that crucial role. It is my understanding that the role, as it is currently envisaged, is far too broad and if that proves to be the case could impact on the ability of the successful candidate on having the impact required. As a consequence it could dissuade the best people from applying.
With Declan Kidney’s contract due to expire in June, his fate is still in the hands of the National Team Review Group. It would have been far better if the Performance Director was in place at this stage and that he, working in tandem with the newly constituted Game Board, would either reappoint Kidney to the next World Cup or decide who was going to replace him.
We could now end up with a management team in situ for the 2015 event in England, none of whom were appointed by the newly proposed professional leadership group. That is hardly ideal. We are now in the 18th season of professional rugby in this country but the systems governing the game are still coming to terms with the demands presented.
The clubs of Ireland have essentially been left to their own devices, without leadership from the top; as a result some are in appalling condition. The game in this country would be better served by having separate entities within the IRFU system running the amateur and professional strands. If the role and importance of the clubs in this country is diluted any further, the very foundation of the game will come under severe pressure.
As Gatland surveyed the post-match chattering in Murrayfield, he must have been alarmed at how little has actually changed since he was forced to pack his bags all those years ago. Attracting the quality needed to fill that all-important role of Performance Director will ultimately depend on how much autonomy the successful candidate is offered. I just wonder how much those in power are willing to let go.
