IRFU PERFORMANCE DIRECTOR David Nucifora said the union had hopes of contracting Ireland and Leinster tighthead prop Tadhg Furlong for longer than one year but understood the Wexford man’s decision not to accept a longer-term deal.
Furlong was the last of the Irish players on central IRFU contracts to be re-contracted beyond the end of the current season and opted for just a one-year extension through to the summer of 2022.
With player salaries having been reduced due to the financial effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, Nucifora suggested that Furlong is hopeful of negotiating a better deal in a year’s time.
“The players all looked at the contract negotiations differently,” said Nucifora, who underlined the IRFU’s hopes of keeping Furlong in Ireland into and beyond the 2023 World Cup.
“We would have liked to have contracted Tadhg for longer than one year, but that was his choice to be able to sit back and say maybe the landscape will have changed in 12 months and it will be different. That’s his prerogative to do that.
“We’re obviously happy he’s staying on and hopefully when we get back to the negotiating table with him and other players, we can convince them that staying in Ireland is the best choice for their rugby.
“All we can do is operate within the financial boundaries and capacity that we have. What we’ve tried to do over the last five or six years is continue to develop players to try and make sure we’re not depending on one player as much, as much as they’re all important.
“A few years ago when Mike Ross was the tighthead, who would have thought we’d have two tightheads on a Lions tour [Furlong and Andrew Porter].
“So, player development underpins what we do. We’re hopeful, I know the players appreciate what Irish Rugby does for them but at the end of the day it’s an individual decision as to where they want to play.”
Nucifora stated his happiness at how the IRFU had managed to keep hold of every player they had wanted to retain once delayed negotiations got underway earlier this year – barring CJ Stander, who made a surprise decision to retire.
The IRFU performance director said Stander’s decision had nothing to do with the value of the union’s offer to the Munster number eight.
“I’d never divulge private conversations but after we made an offer to CJ, he came back and was appreciative of the offer he was given and conveyed that personally,” said Nucifora. “It had nothing to do with the financial offer that was made.
“He has been a valuable player for Ireland, we’d love to have seen him play on. He made a personal decision that was important to him. They all have different drivers, money is one of them but it’s not everything. CJ has been an important player and we wish him well.”
Munster have moved to replace the outgoing Stander by signing South African forward Jason Jenkins on a one-year deal.
Springboks-capped Jenkins is best known as a second row but can also play in the back row, with Nucifora stating that the IRFU understood Munster’s desire to bring in a replacement once Stander’s decision to retire had been revealed.
“It’s not a matter of blocking it, we sit down and look at the rationale and judge every case individually on how it benefits the system and the teams,” said Nucifora.
“With CJ leaving at short notice, it disrupted their planning. Their plans to bring players through and what exposure they get, they were based around CJ staying.
“We looked at a particular type of player that was suitable, the term of contract that was suitable – a one-year contract was agreed as suitable and that’s how we came up with the decision that was made.”
There will be a number of other departures from Munster this summer with the likes of James Cronin and JJ Hanrahan heading for the exit door.
Nucifora said it is impossible for Irish rugby to hang onto every single player.
“Rugby is a business, you get to a point where you’ve got to look at affordability. Sometimes you get to a point with talent coming through and the decision is made around cost-benefit and that’s the brutal truth of professional sport sometimes.
“You have to say ‘We can’t afford to pay that amount for a particular player, we have X or Y coming through underneath that, they’re going to be worth more over time, they’ve got longevity in the position’ and we have to keep that churn in particular positions going.
“It’s unfortunate because you’re dealing with people but at the same time, it’s a business and you’ve got to make business decisions while trying to look after them as people.”
