IRUPA on the ball as players gear-up for retirement

A CAREER in the professional ranks is the obvious target for thousands of young rugby players and those who make it to the top can expect rich financial rewards.

But spare a thought for the journeyman whose financial reward is modest, with the threat of injury ever-present.

In that category are 41 Irish players who were released from contracts on June 30. Granted, some were moving to clubs abroad and of those retiring some had jobs lined up.

Nevertheless, 18 players had no plans for new careers by July 1, so according to Hamish Adams of the Irish Rugby Union Players’ Association, aspiring pros need to plan beyond their playing days

Adams is the Players Services Advisor for IRUPA, his job centred on dealing with players and providing career guidance for the close on 150 professional players based in Ireland.

He takes up the story: “Actually, the average rugby career is only about six years and the majority of these guys are not earning big money in terms of what we see in Premiership soccer. Nor are most of them earning really big money in terms of rugby; the facts are that these guys are going to have to work for 30 to 40 years following a rugby career, so it is imperative that they have something to go to afterwards.”

Many, he admitted, already have skills they could bringing to different work areas. He highlighted the case of Munster and Irish player John Kelly, who had a range of skills and qualifications when he called it a day.

Of the current workforce of about 150, according to Adams, 75% have degrees/qualifications or are working towards it and, he says: “that statistic actually means that our players are amongst the most educated bunch of professional players in rugby.

“That’s certainly a positive and is a reflection on the value of education in Ireland, but a degree doesn’t guarantee a job and it can only be seen as a starting point.”

IRUPA have a working relationship with many big employers and agencies throughout the 32 counties and top businessman Denis O’Brien is a highly valued non-executive member.

According to Adams, it is crucial for players to build a CV, arguing: “employers are looking for someone who is pro active; those who have been studying and are looking for work experience would tend to fare better than those who don’t.”

Some of the retired players who secured employment can’t believe, said Adams, how little time they have on hands compared to their playing days. “When you look at it, professional players do have lots of free time; they can’t train all day long, they can’t rest up all day long either, so it is important to stress to them that they can actually do something very positive with the available free time.”

Adams craves the perfect scenario and hopes to keep chipping away until the day comes when all the retiring players have something to look forward to.

“There are some,” he said, “who are finding it hard to be convinced, but there are no hopeless cases. We will just keep on working and try to ensure that everybody has something at the end of the day.”