Is there life after Munster ...or Leinster for that matter?

THE English Premiership (EP) may have its critics, with Sky Sports the greatest culprits in creating the illusion that it’s the best league in the world. In terms of marketing, stadium atmosphere and match-day colour, sure it’s in a league of its own, but question marks have always stalked the EP in terms of quality and standard.

On this side of the pond we can easily turn our noses up at it: the Magners League is enjoying unprecedented good press, boosted no doubt by the inclusion of 27 of its players on 2009 British and Irish Lions. Its credibility has soared, but despite all that the Premiership has become a very attractive and, for some, lucrative destination for Irish players down through the years – particularly those in search of reviving stalled careers.

Ever since the advent of professionalism in August 1995, England and many of its cash-rich clubs provided a home for those intent on making a career out of rugby. The first exodus, however, happened out of necessity more than anything else. When the game went open, a conservative element within the IRFU was slow to embrace the idea of professional provincial contracts. The All Ireland League (AIL) may have been booming as a competition here, but it wasn’t professional and the flight of Irish rugby’s first wild geese over the first 12 months of professionalism initiated this country’s love-affair with the Premiership.