Garryowen coach calls on IRFU to make ‘hard decisions’

TOP coach Paul Cunningham has called on the IRFU to make decisions to secure the future of club rugby in Ireland.

Cunningham will be in the Garryowen dug-out for the AIB All-Ireland League final at Musgrave Park tomorrow against Cork Constitution and he is convinced that the only party that can rescue club rugby is the Union itself.

As a former player, and now an amateur coach putting back a lot of what he got out of the game, Cunningham believes the club scene needs to be seriously re-structured as soon as possible.

And he is not at all convinced that it will happen with a consensus from within the 48 senior clubs in the country.

It has long been argued that the premier division of the All Ireland League is top-heavy with 16 clubs. Administrators and coaches have argued that there are not enough quality players to go around and say standards have dropped as a result.

Cunningham would get no argument from his opposite number in Cork Con, Brian Walsh, although they will be in direct confrontation this weekend in a bid to land the national title. Walsh said earlier this week: “I could be accused of being selfish, but beyond a certain number of clubs, the quality of opposition isn’t there.”

Cunningham added his weight to that argument and stressed that the IRFU should make the hard decision, saying that the clubs would never solve the problem because there were too many vested interests.

“That’s understandable; it’s easy for me, involved with a top club, to talk, but the fact is that there are too many teams and not enough good players to go around to make the league competitive enough.

“I don’t want to sound elitist, I just think that for Irish rugby to prosper there is a real need for meaningful competition in the layer of the game under provincial rugby.

“The time has come for change. Clubs are struggling because there is a need for regular week-in week-out competitive games. It’s not happening at the moment, at least it’s not happening every week.”

Walsh added his pound of flesh by noting: “We’re happy to be in the All Ireland final against a side like Garryowen. We had a tough first half to the season and came through it well, thus allowing us finish the second half fairly comfortably. Garryowen had a relatively easy first half and a really tough run-in.”

Cunningham went on to say that a lot of younger players would benefit by more competitive rugby below the provincial structure.

“It should be a case that they are pushed every week rather than just a few weeks in the season. We should be involved in a competition that’s of higher intensity. Some of the quality younger players are just not getting the intensive rugby and challenges that they need to make them better prepared for what lies ahead when they move up a level.

“I really think it’s time for the talking to stop; it’s up to the IRFU to make a decision because a lot of talking over too many years hasn’t really got us anywhere.”