IRFU CEO Philip Browne was in no mood to allow the IRFU to be seen as a father figure who issues cash like an ATM after confirming that the country's governing body injected funds into each province.
Munster have reported losses of up to €2 million this season, and the €500,000 which the IRFU has given to each team should ease a lot of the financial worries for most.
But Browne was at pains to stress that the provinces shouldn't get used to this type of bail-out, and they shouldn't view the IRFU as a 'bank of last resort'. Browne said that although Munster have to deal with the fall-out from the Thomond Park redevelopment - they suffered a perfect storm this season:
The difficulty for Munster this year was, there was effectively almost a perfect storm. There were issues around trying to get the gates to hold up during the World Cup.
Then there was a lot of bad results before Christmas, and inevitably, what they had budgeted for the rest of the season had to be altered, and their forecast had to be adjusted.
The bottom line is, the IRFU cannot consistently be the bank of last resort because we simply don't have the resources to do that.
It speaks volumes for the state of Irish rugby that Browne's comments on Irish Rugby's finances come on the same day that the Top 14 announced it had sold the TV rights to the tournament from 2019 to 2023 for a whopping €97 million a year.
It's perhaps no wonder that Browne was non-committal on the new deputy vice president of World Rugby, Agustin Pichot's comments about the residency rule. Browne said the IRFU are happy with the current rule as it stands, which makes sense given that it helps keep Ireland as competitive as possible.
We have discussed this with other unions and our position is that it seems fine. There is not a huge flow of player across the borders. The rule is three years and we are happy with the rule at three years. If the rule changes to five years, we would be happy with the rule at five years.
Gus has a view, other unions also have a view. He has pronounced his view which is fair enough.
Interestingly, Browne also gave Nucifora the green light on the controversial player movement between provinces. Cian Kelleher's move from Leinster's academy to Connacht has angered some in Leinster - but Browne's comments suggest that there may be more to come in the coming seasons, and it should be welcomed:
You’ve got to understand that we’ve four provinces that are in competition with each other so it’s not unrealistic that there would difficulties and tensions at times.
David Nucifora said that those players with the ambition who want to progress within the sport have to look at the opportunities that are available to them and if Cian Kelleher or others like him – Cian wouldn’t be the first – if they see a better opportunity to develop as a professional they have to be selfish about it.
It’s not our job to stand in their way. I understand fully that individual provinces who are in competition with each other may not like it but we should not hold back the development of young players.
See Also: The IRFU Set To Hand Province's Euro Hopes A Big Boost
Picture credit: Diarmuid Greene / SPORTSFILE
