THE LIKES OF Fintan Drury are currently at the forefront of rugby agency in Ireland due to their high-profile representation of Ireland’s leading internationals but like many of his clients on the pitch, Niall Woods could be the next big thing.
The 42-year-old earned eight caps for Ireland during a playing career that saw him tog out on the wing for Leinster, London Irish, Harlequins and the Barbarians. His single international try came against Wales in 1996 but the goal kicking specialist was forced to retire in 2001 with a recurring knee injury.
While Woods agrees that “having the rugby knowledge is a massive help” to his role as an agent, he is also quick to point out the other areas where he built relevant experience. Following his retirement from playing, Woods took up a position with the Rugby Players Association in England, representing professional players’ welfare and working interests.
In 2003, he moved back to Ireland to take up a similar role as chief executive of the Irish Rugby Union Players Association (IRUPA) and over the following eight years Woods performed admirably, bringing the IRUPA from what was described as a “dormant association” to having real power and creating many safeguards for the financial futures of player who are forced to retire early.
Woods moonlighted as a Sky Sports analyst for much of the same period, before launching his Navy Blue agency in 2011. The Ireland international’s diverse background meant he had something of a head start compared to most other agents.
When I was starting up, I wasn’t like a new face coming onto the market. I would have had a head-start because of the contacts I have. I played with the likes of Conor O’Shea and Mark McCall. I played against every other Director of Rugby in the Championship and Premiership.”
Woods has gradually built up a stable of renowned clients, including Tomás O’Leary, Andrew Conway, James Coughlan, Jordi Murphy and Martin Moore. Adding new faces to the Navy Blue roster is a “combination of word of mouth, and your network,” according to Woods.
“”It’s like any business really, if you do a decent job you get more work.”
While the perception may be that rugby agents will represent anyone who’ll pay them, Woods stresses that he is selective about who he works with.
“You have to make sure you have the right client because if you represent players who aren’t good enough, your word won’t be taken seriously.”
Another stereotypical view is that contract negotiations and transfers are always based around the player increasing his wages, but Woods points out the falsity of that belief. Highlighting the example of his client Tito Tebaldi, who took a reduced wage to join the Ospreys from Zebre, the Dublin man says every player is different.
“Some players are concerned with money, but some aren’t. I know players who have taken cuts to move club. But then some guys are all about the money. That would go across all sports I think.
“Tito wanted to come and play in Ireland or the UK, so I was asked if I’d do it. He’s the kind of guy who didn’t get coached properly in Italy. He actually took a big cut to go to the Ospreys.”
Contract negotiations are seen as a complicated, drawn-out and mysterious process by those on the outside, but Woods was happy to explain the workings.
“With Leinster for example, I would speak with Guy Easterby, who handles their contracts. The first thing I would find out is whether Leinster want to keep the player the following season. It goes from there.
Obviously, my role it to speak for the player, so if the player wants me to go and look for other options, I’ll do that. I like to get my research done early so I would find out what every club in the Pro12, Premiership and Top 14 is looking for, find out what their needs for the following season are.
“So if they’re looking for a prop and you have someone in that position available you make them aware.”
The media can sometimes be part of the process, although Woods prefers not to go public with his dealings. As we’ve seen with the cases of Jonny Sexton and Sean O’Brien, what is said in the media can often be very different to what is happening behind closed doors.
Woods is hopeful that rugby’s habit for doing deals privately remains intact.
“Everyone does things differently. Using the media and doing things through the media is standard practice in other sports like soccer. Not so much in rugby, and I try to do things behind closed doors as much as possible.
“I could do a deal and it might not be announced for three or four weeks after, depending on the club. It depends on the player too. Some are keen for things to be talked about in the media, others aren’t. I might also take the view that going to the media might affect the player’s performance in the meantime.”
Representing his clients in a commercial sense is another key part of Woods’ role as agent, helping his players to attract sponsorship deals and opening up other avenues 0f remuneration for them. The former Ireland wing also provides general advice and lifestyle management to a group of clients that also includes media figures Keith Wood and Dave McIntyre.
“Away from rugby, I work with guys like Keith and Dave. That involves arranging MC-ing, linking up sponsorship, general advice and stuff around contracts.
I link them to broadcasters abroad, as I worked with Sky Sports for four or five years. I put Alan Quinlan and Girvan Dempsey into ITV for the World Cup in 2007. I would have contacts in Setanta Sports too.”
In terms of rugby players, Woods acknowledges that foreign shores are increasingly calling. Indeed, among the Navy Blue line-up are Peter Lydon at Stade Français, Dave Ryan at Zebre and Dan Halangahu at Narbonne.
Jonny Sexton’s move to Racing Metro has opened the market, whereas before there “hadn’t been the belief that anyone would make that that move, and there is probably still a bit of that stigma attached.”
In Ireland though, there may be tough times ahead with the IRFU having had to take loans to cover the recent €26 million shortfall in earnings. While Woods is hopeful of growing Navy Blue in the coming seasons, he is realistic about Irish rugby’s immediate financial future.
“In Ireland, players were overpaid for a long time, and they probably knew that. They’ve finally copped on, but unfortunately for me I probably missed out on that.
“I have 16 or 17 rugby guys, but I couldn’t go beyond 20 personally. An ideal scenario would be 15 players at the top level. Whether we’ll get to that target, I don’t know. The economy has to recover too. The IRFU will obviously be facing a challenging time, and budgets around the provinces will possibly be tweaked.”
