IRFU CEO KEVIN Potts has stringently denied that former Ireland Women player Cliodhna Moloney has been frozen out of the international picture for directing a critical social media comment at the IRFU in 2021.
The Exeter hooker was overlooked for this year’s Six Nations, in which Ireland lost all five of their games, despite calls from England for her good club form in the Premier 15s to be rewarded.
It has been suggested that Moloney is paying the price for taking aim at former IRFU director of women’s rugby Anthony Eddy after an interview in 2021 in which he rejected the suggestion that the union was neglecting women’s 15s rugby.
“I could have sworn slurry spreading season was spring,” wrote Moloney on Twitter.
Having played for Ireland in that November 2021 campaign, Moloney hasn’t featured since. There were renewed calls for the Exeter hooker to be recalled during this year’s Six Nations.
At a women in rugby press briefing today, where the union announced eight new full-time appointments in the Irish women’s rugby pathway at five provincial hubs, IRFU chief executive Potts was asked if Moloney is being silenced or if a message is being sent that those who speak out will suffer consequences.
“No, it’s not,” said Potts. “I’m not going to comment and I don’t get involved in selection.
“That’s a matter for high performance and the coaches, but it’s certainly not a case that Cliodhna Moloney is being silenced by the IRFU for speaking out. That’s not the case, certainly.”
Asked why Moloney wasn’t included, Potts replied:
“That’s a question for the high performance and the coaching staff. I don’t get involved in selection issues.”
At today’s briefing, the IRFU stressed that now ex-head coach Greg McWilliams was not sacked after the Six Nations.
“It was a mutual decision with Greg,” said IRFU head of women’s performance and pathways, Gillian McDarby.
“He wasn’t fired. I just want to put that out there. It was a mutual decision with both of us.”
Potts explained that McWilliams and the IRFU had felt the time was right to go their separate ways.
“We both agreed that it was time to bring in a new voice for the team,” said Potts. “We thank Greg for everything he has done, but collectively it was felt it was time for a new voice and we just made that collective decision.”
With former Fiji men’s boss John McKee having taken over as Ireland head coach on a temporary basis, McDarby said it will take the IRFU “a couple of months” to get the right person for the role permanently.
Potts also denied that the IRFU is a sexist organisation following a recent report in the UK’s Telegraph to that effect.
“Well, it’s a societal issue,” said Potts when asked if the report was true. “Certainly, in the organisation that I’m leading, sexism isn’t a problem. We have processes and procedures in place to deal with any allegations of that in the organisation, so I don’t think it is a problem with the IRFU.
“But on a widespread basis across Irish rugby, of course, like society, there are cases of it, unfortunately. We highlighted in our report last December and we set out a plan to deal with it.”
Potts pointed out that the recent appointment of Anne-Marie Hughes as the IRFU’s head of equity, diversity, and inclusivity is part of the union’s response to the issue.
“In Irish rugby we want to be welcoming and inclusive for everybody, and that’s certainly the commitment I’m leading and Irish rugby is leading.”
The IRFU CEO also said that an alleged comment at a recent club rugby dinner was not representative of the union’s views on women’s rugby. The Telegraph reported that a “prominent figure” in Irish rugby said, “Who gives a f**k about women’s rugby?” while Potts was speaking at the event.
“I guess my response the article, obviously nobody likes criticism but the alleged statement by somebody at the dinner certainly doesn’t represent the views or the position of anybody involved in the IRFU that I am working with or in the wider union committee,” said Potts.
“I accept for sure that we need to communicate better. I think we need to communicate what our organisation is truly like which is far more diverse and inclusive than is portrayed by some.
“So, I was disappointed by the article and I was disappointed that it gives an impression in relation to the IRFU that simply isn’t the case. But the comments are not reflective of what we stand for, for sure.”
