Connacht players blast move by IRFU
As IRFU chiefs deferred a definitive decision on Connacht’s future last night, the players issued a statement in advance of the meeting, expressing their outrage at the Union’s decision making process.
“We feel the timing of this is appalling, coming as it does 48 hours before we play the biggest match in Connacht’s history, when we take on Pontypridd on Saturday in the quarter-finals of the Parker Pen Challenge Cup.
“For the past number of years we have operated on less resources than the other three provinces, yet the progress made in that time has always been on an upward curve, reaching the quarter-finals of the Celtic League in the two years since the competition started,” the players said.
“In tandem with the success of the flagship team, there has been tremendous developments at youth and schools level in the province. Is this now to be lost because of the decisions that are being considered by the IRFU? Where will the young players in the province go to in the future?
“Just before Christmas nine Connacht players featured on the Irish development squad which played Argentina, clearly indicating just how bright the future is for Connacht players. More young players are taking up the game in Connacht, more people are following rugby than ever before and massive money has been spent on the redevelopment of the Sportsground. The future has never been as bright for rugby in Connacht before. It just does not make sense to cut it off at this stage.”
However, IRFU Chief Executive Philip Browne reiterated on radio last night that no decisions have been made on the Connacht question. Browne and union officials met for over three hours at Lansdowne Road last night.
“There has been no decision made on anything,” Browne told Newstalk 106’s Off the Ball programme. “The entire professional game is being looked at in terms of where we can cut costs. The cost-cutting programme was necessary, Browne said, because the IRFU were living beyond their means. Jarred by the problems faced by the Welsh and Scottish Unions, it was imperative to ensure a similar situation didn’t arise here.
Following their meeting, a statement confirmed they had discussed “all aspects of its operations including domestic, club and schools rugby, professional rugby and overheads .... the IRFU should not plan for an operational deficit and in this regard there will need to be a reduction in overall expenditure and an increase in income to ensure the IRFU does not move into an unsustainable financial situation.” The IRFU committee said it will meet in a fortnight’s time “to give further consideration to the serious and complex issues involved”. In the meantime, representatives of the IRFU will be having a further meeting with representatives of the Irish Rugby Union Players’ Association, at their request.
The IRFU estimates it made losses of some €4m last year, and with a World Cup in Australia to come next summer, it foresees an even heavier deficit for 2003. However, Connacht team manager John Fallon believes scrapping Connacht as a professional outfit won’t even half that deficit.
“Connacht is not the only province showing a loss,” Fallon argued. “Every province has to be subsided by the IRFU, so perhaps we should look at the whole thing rather than painting Connacht as the weakest link all the time.”
Fallon says Connacht have achieved above and beyond their means in the past two years, despite being pigeon-holed as the weakest province, and a distinct lack of IRFU funding.
“We had little choice a few years ago but to accept the role of weakest province. It was a role we didn’t want, but it is something we took on board and worked with. It is the duty of the IRFU to go and develop the game in all four provinces. If disbanding Connacht doesn’t have the desired effect, will Ulster be the next to go, and we are left with only two provinces?”
IRFU spokesman John Redmond confirmed all four provinces were instructed last month to make financial sacrifices but only one, Connacht, was threatened with disbandment.
Already, Wales are planning to switch from nine clubs to four provinces while Scotland currently field three professional rugby districts.
Although Browne was adamant no decision had been taken on the Connacht issue, he made warning sounds to their supporters. “If we make the wrong decisions, we run the risk of running the game into the ground. As a sports administrator, you can’t please all of the people all of the time. If we don’t make the correct decisions, we face what happened in Wales. They didn’t take the decisions necessary to sustain the game.
“If we don’t do what is necessary, we will run the game into the ground within the next three to four years. And we won’t be thanked for that either. We have to have the courage of our convictions, whatever they may be,” Browne told Newstalk 106.
If the IRFU disband the Connacht side, players will be free to join the remaining professional provinces of Leinster, Munster and Ulster. Restrictions may be placed on the number of foreigners these sides can hire in order to encourage them to sign former Connacht players.
“This is not just a Connacht issue,” Fallon said. “There are players with two-year contracts with Connacht, and they will have to be honoured next year. And players whose contracts run out this season in the other provinces will be affected, because those with two-year contracts will have to join other provinces. Peter McKenna, head of the players association, meets with Union officials later today. McKenna said he was upset by what transpired, as before Christmas, he was given assurances by the IRFU that players would not find out any proposals through the media.
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