Nov 29,2024
The IRFU is confident that Irish rugby will retain its top talent despite warning that current levels of investment will not be sustainable without additional revenue streams.
Yesterday the union announced a deficit of €18.4m for the year up to the end of July, much of that down to the costs associated with the World Cup and the loss of revenue from the November internationals in 2023.
"Without further additional revenue streams, of which there is no certainty, we simply will not be able to maintain current levels of investment across the game," chief executive Kevin Potts said.
Asked about the possibility of moving away from a centralised contracts system, and flexibility in allowing players to represent Ireland if playing abroad, Potts (below) was adamant that the structure was sound.
"I don't see that ever changing. We want to retain our players in Ireland, our players want to stay in Ireland.
"The support they get, the management, the welfare, they tell us are the best in the world. I don't see that being part of the discussion.
"I don't want you to go away with a message that we're seeking to cut programmes.
"What we're mainly saying is that if things don't get better on the revenue side, we'll have to cut our cloth. We're not at that stage.
"We're constantly reviewing our expenditure but we're not at that stage."
Ireland and Connacht centre Bundee Aki is the highest-profile player who has been linked to a move to France.
The 34-year-old has a contract with the IRFU until 2026.
"We are confident we can retain all of our top players," said Potts.
"They are happy to play in Ireland, the contract negotiations are what they should be. Robust, but collaborative. I'd be confident they'd all stay here.
"There's more than financial reasons why players might stay here.
"You can go to a France or an England and you'll end up with a shorter career, whereas here you're playing 18-22 games, your welfare is genuinely catered for and our players tell us that.
"So, to answer your question: yes, I believe that all of our top players will be retained."
Meanwhile, the union says it can't rule out ticket price increases and that the match-day experience for fans is constantly under review.
The atmosphere at Aviva Stadium for international games has been a widely debated topic over the last few years.
"We benchmark our ticket prices domestically and internationally," said chief commercial officer Padraig Power (below).
"Domestically we look at soccer, GAA, concerts, some of which are one-offs, Taylor Swift for example.
"Particularly amongst our Six Nations colleagues, we benchmark and we make sure we are not as expensive as England and France, we are a bit more expensive than the others.
"We constantly look at [improving match-day experience] .
"We’re delighted to have sold out four weekends in a row. It’s the first time we’ve had four November internationals since 2010.
"There is a sense of achievement around that.
"In the main, what happens on the pitch, the match itself is the main generator. Off the pitch, before the match, what we are trying to do is give the crowd a bit of a nudge to get behind the team, and that the match itself creates that excitement.
"But we audit and survey back of house facilities, what people want and customer satisfaction. We will listen to our customers and tweak accordingly."
