IRFU won’t be held to ransom

IRFU chief executive Philip Browne has declared that the union will not bankrupt itself in its attempts to persuade the country’s top-shelf internationals to ignore the lure of lucrative contracts from abroad.

The union has been engaged in discussions with a number of high-profile players for a number of months now and has already secured deals with the likes of Ronan O’Gara, Donncha O’Callaghan and, more recently, Cian Healy.

Others, such as Jonathan Sexton, Jamie Heaslip and Sean O’Brien, are known to be targets for some of the wealthier Top 14 clubs in France and Browne conceded that the Irish union has no chance — or intention — of competing in a bidding war with such suitors.