For God and, em, er, Ireland!

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The Heineken Cup! Will we be losing our grip on Europe's greatest club trophy?

It’s been tears and snotters from most provincial supporters since the IRFU announced their new directives, effective from 2013 -14,  limiting “Non Irish Eligible” (NIE) players to one per position across the three main provinces. (Connacht are exempt having already submitted a development plan last season.)

In effect this means that, for example, if Ulster have a NIE scrum half in Ruan Pienaar then Munster and Leinster must have only Irish Eligible scrum halfs and, say, if Leinster have a NIE hooker then both Ulster and Munster must have only Irish Eligible hookers etc. The more interesting part of the initiative is that any NIE’s must move on at the end of their contract, forcing the development of local players for that position.

The key purpose is to ensure that there are at least two Irish Eligible players in all positions across the three provinces and there must be at least one other in development.

To me this is a forward thinking and proactive move by the IRFU and it’s certainly one that calls the bluff of the coaches and development officers across all three provinces. It has been too easy for coaches to deny young Irish players meaningful game time by buying in “talent” to fill areas of perceived weakness and the move should force money, time and effort to be spent on developing our youngsters to fill key areas across the team. Surely it is much better option try to divert some of the hundreds of thousands of pounds and euros, that go out of the Irish game in the back pockets of foreign players, on a season by season basis, back into the local game.

However, the directives aren’t about the money, it’s all about development of our youth and strategic succession planning. I remember the morning after Ulster’s European Cup win, all those years ago in January 1999, sitting in the Hairy Lemon of St Stephens Green and commenting to my brother what a fantastic achievement it was for Ulster with a team consisting of largely born, bred and buttered Ulstermen. (Yes I know Fitzy, Wardy and Mason were not born and bred but they were certainly buttered and basted, all Irish qualified, and 100% Ulstermen.)

Make the most it“,  he replied. “There won’t be another team like that winning it again. Not in our life time.

Surprisingly perceptive from the old Bro as Ulster were the last of the truly “local” sides to lift Europe’s greatest trophy. Since then it’s been a case of travelling mercenaries filling their boots and boosting their pensions at the expense of local players throughout most of the clubs in Europe.

Of course most have bought into the ethos of their club and have been invaluable assets along the way, sharing their experience and setting their own benchmarks on professionalism.  Howlett, Nacewa and Steinmetz spring to mind, among others, but there have been others who, through lazy, or downright poor, coaching and  succession planning, have put massive blocks in the way of young Irish players forcing some to search out a career elsewhere and others to give up the game altogether.

Having watched more and more Schools, Ulster and Ireland U20’s and Club rugby over the last few years I have great confidence in the youth across Ireland, certainly in terms of skills and ability. What has let them down in the past has been the somewhat stagnating path of development compared to other countries and by the time the Irish youngsters come up against their peers at international level, in competitions like the U20 Junior World Championships, they are already lagging behind their counterparts in terms of genuine front line experience.

Recruiting sensibly across the three main provinces has to be a good thing in my book, and, lets face it, the provinces will still be allowed five front line NIE’s in the starting XV (well until 2014-15 at least) so Logan and Humphreys will not be denied their 10 year strategy of buying success!  However the success will be short lived, and to the detriment of the national side, if they do not develop local talent to build on any improvements.

Maybe, just maybe, this will be the catalyst for a local team to win the Heineken Cup again! Hopefully me and the Bro will still be around!


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