Donal Lenihan: What RG Snyman move tells us about Irish rugby's financial model

South Africa's RG Snyman holds aloft his medal following victory over New Zealand in the Rugby World Cup final. Photo credit: Mike Egerton/PA Wire.

While Munster players and supporters were absorbing the shock news that RG Snyman had signed for Leinster, I couldn’t help but note the irony surrounding a predetermined restriction imposed from on high in relation to his capture.

The IRFU’s performance director David Nucifora was happy to sign off on Snyman’s move to Dublin in one of his last big calls before handing over the reins to David Humphreys next June, but did so with the caveat that Snyman’s arrival would not have any adverse effect on development of the emerging Joe McCarthy, now a regular starter in Leinster’s engine room, alongside James Ryan.