Rob Kearney: Money isn’t everything to Irish players

Rob Kearney has confronted the atmosphere of doom and gloom that has descended on Irish rugby in recent weeks and countered talk of players being earmarked for lucrative moves abroad by stressing the benefits of staying loyal to the provinces.

With Ireland suffering a disappointingly early, and heavy, World Cup quarter-final defeat to Argentina, and Leinster and Ulster facing steep climbs to escape their European pools, there is an undeniable air of despondency permeating the Irish game.

With the CVs of players such as Munster’s Simon Zebo and Leinster’s Ian Madigan among those doing the rounds in England and France right now, it is a pivotal time in the fortunes of the provinces, with confirmation yesterday that Rory Best has extended his stay at Ulster a welcome slice of good news.

“The perception is different now that the World Cup has finished, but there were a fair few variables that made that happen,” said Kearney who is also currently the chairman of the Irish Rugby Union Players Association (IRUPA). “You don’t become a poor team overnight.

“We can’t in this country compete financially with foreign countries so it’s important that there’s strong non- financial incentives to keep us here and, as a player who has benefitted from the management, that is a big thing to keep guys here. It’s important to note that it is working.”

The benefits of staying have been well thumbed.

Kearney, who has been better able to manage a long-standing back issue here than he would have if stationed abroad, spoke of the benefits of the IRFU’s player management programme, the lure of playing at home with friends and the use of top-class facilities.

The “softer stuff”, he labelled it. Unmentioned was the fact that to play abroad is to risk being ostracised from the national squad, though Leinster coach Leo Cullen was someone who benefited hugely from two years spent abroad with Leicester Tigers.

Cullen dismissed the relevance of his stint away, stating that Leinster was a very different, “chaotic” place at the time and that he came home “in bits”. And, like Kearney, he was keen to play down the theory that the provinces were at the start of a long and dark period.

“It’s a pessimistic viewpoint where you’d say Irish rugby is going to struggle in the next few years. There’s always concerns. There’s always fears. We have a smaller pool of players (but) the players get better managed here. That’s a fact.

“Their time, their minutes, guys (get) involved nationally. There are certain criteria around managing guys. For longevity, you’d hope guys would look at it. Okay, guys might earn more in the short-term. The longer term view is that you might get another two or three years onto your career. It is very hard to have your crystal ball out. That’s what we’re trying here with the system in place in Ireland. Up until this point, it has worked reasonably well. I’ve been overseas before. You get flogged in comparison. I’ve been through the process.”