CJ Stander: Money is important but people need to be happy

The relief around Munster was palpable yesterday as the IRFU confirmed CJ Stander had followed Peter O’Mahony in signing a new three-year contract to keep him at the province until at least the summer of 2021.

Yet head coach Johann van Graan has warned that the duo’s decisions, and that of fellow Ireland and Lions forward Tadhg Furlong to stay put at Leinster, will not dissuade big-spending French club owners from making audacious offers to the country’s top players.

Where Irish Rugby can succeed in their battles to resist the Top 14 predators, van Graan believes, is by offering the right environment to train and play which reduces the attraction of the additional riches on offer overseas.