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The 42
is the home of quality journalism for passionate Irish sports fans, bringing you closer to the 2025 Six Nations through insightful analysis and sharp sportswriting.
IF THERE WAS anything good to come from Ulster’s miserable defeat at home to Zebre on Sunday, it was the fact that it happened the evening before David Humphreys gave his state-of-the-nation media address at Ireland’s training camp in Portugal.
The dire 15-14 loss in Belfast underlined the first major challenge of Humphreys’ tenure as IRFU performance director. The gap between Leinster and the three other Irish provinces is wide.
The Ireland squad for the Six Nations is another indicator of the issue. 23 of the 36 players selected for the championship play for Leinster, five for Munster, five for Connacht, and three for Ulster.
While Leinster have made three consecutive Champions Cup finals and can add world-class players like Jordie Barrett and RG Snyman to their cast of homegrown stars, the other provinces appear to be going backwards.
Munster won the URC in 2023 but have struggled to keep pace since. Connacht didn’t qualify for this season’s Champions Cup and currently sit 14th in the 16-team URC, with Ulster also in the bottom half of the URC after winning just one of their four games in the Champions Cup pool stages.
And there are fears that the gap between Leinster and the rest could grow wider.
Humphreys recognises the issue and said that it’s crucial for the IRFU to help the other three provinces to catch up.
“At this moment in time, Leinster have been unbelievably successful,” he said yesterday at Ireland’s team hotel in the Algarve.
“Everyone around the world of rugby is looking to what Leinster are doing in their system to produce the players and the success they’ve had. For me, it’s about making sure that Leinster remain where they are.
“We want Leinster winning Champions Cups, we want Leinster in finals of the URC, as we want all the provinces, but at this minute in time, that’s the level they’re competing at.
“So it’s much more a case of maintaining Leinster where they are, but making sure the support that goes to the other provinces allows them to continue their progression.
“Munster have been, in URC terms, very competitive for the last couple of years, it’s just making sure that I believe long-term Ireland success is very much supported by all of our provinces being really competitive.”
Humphreys revealed that the worrying signs aren’t just at senior professional level.
Right now, 50 of the 100 young players involved in the Ireland U18, U19, and U20 squads hail from Leinster.
There are 23 from Ulster, 17 from Munster, just seven from Connacht, and three more are Irish-qualified players based abroad.
“50% from one province is too much,” said Humphreys.
“Our system isn’t working properly but again it’s a credit to Leinster, so what we’ve got to try and do is reduce that reliance on Leinster across all our squads.”
Ulster were beaten by Zebre on Sunday. Laszlo Geczo / INPHO
Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO
What Humphreys was keen to stress is that the IRFU doesn’t want to impact Leinster’s ability to keep doing what they’re doing.
There has been a change in that regard anyway, with the provinces having to contribute 30% of national contracts from their provincial budgets for the first time this season, whereas they contributed nothing before now.
Leinster have 10 players on national contracts so that has had an effect on their budgeting but they still have financial powers that exceed the other Irish provinces. While all four Irish provinces get the same base funding from the IRFU, Leinster are able to supplement that strongly by doing things like taking their game against Munster to Croke Park in October, earning them a €1.7 million payday.
Leinster have a big population base to work with and a world-class schools system feeding players into their academy. They have done excellent work in fully harnessing those advantages.
Humphreys pointed out that the other provinces don’t have these elements in their regions and feels they must figure out their own wasy of doing things rather trying to mimic Leinster.
“I think the big message is that Leinster are where they are, they have a lot of unique parts to what makes Leinster successful, capital city and everything that comes with that.
“So rather than compare the other provinces and say, ‘Leinster have got this, the other provinces haven’t got that,’ it’s what’s right for each of those provinces and that’s very much going to have to be driven by them.
“They’re the ones on the ground. They’re the ones that are working in the schools and the clubs and at the grassroots, so it’s about trying to put a longer-term… as part of our strategic plan talk, we’ve talked about winning teams.
“Yes, of course, it’s Ireland teams but it’s also about getting our provinces back and what’s right for one isn’t necessarily right for all four. But we have to ensure the provinces close the gap to where the current difference with Leinster is.”
Non-Irish-qualified [NIQ] signings are one obvious way to boost the other Irish provinces, with Ulster bringing in powerful South African back row Juarno Augustus this summer.
But it seems that Munster, Connacht, and Ulster are in an increasingly weak position when it comes to competing for the top stars on the market.
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Humphreys spoke about how the IRFU needs to be flexible when it comes to NIQ signings but his priority is clearly on ensuring the other three provinces are bringing through more homegrown players who can compete for green jerseys. There is a sense that the provinces can save funds for better NIQ players by reducing the amount they spend on their wider squad players.
Humphreys was also keen to underline that encouraging more Leinster players to move to other provinces is not the solution.
Leinster's Michael Milne is set to join Munster. Andrew Conan / INPHO
Andrew Conan / INPHO / INPHO
While that will always be part of the Irish rugby system – Leinster front rows Michael Milne and Lee Barron are set to join Munster this summer – Humphreys doesn’t believe it’s the key to improving the other provinces.
“In a high-performance system, you want your best players playing as often as you can,” said Humphreys.
“No question, that will help their development and the competitiveness of the other provinces but it’s never simply a case of ‘this player will move and we move him’.
“We will only move players who want to move and, again, the message back last summer was that when you don’t move, players are sending a very clear message around where their ambitions lie.
“Some players will, when they stay, accelerate their development. A bit of luck, bit of injury, form.
“What we can’t do… none of our other provinces can rely on that being the solution to some of their problems.
“The challenge with them is to make sure that we will continue to work with them to develop their pathways, to give other players opportunities to come through to allow them to develop the depth to be competitive across the length of a season.”
One tweak that Humphreys may pursue is more loan moves, whether from province to province or to clubs abroad in some cases.
He supported Leinster out-half Harry Byrne’s current loan move to Bristol given that the 25-year-old had barely played for his province this season amid strong competition for the number 10 jersey.
Humphreys said we could see more of that in the future if Leinster have other logjams.
“It’s definitely a potential tool. In an ideal world, all our players would be playing in Ireland but when there’s not opportunities, there is definitely an element where we have to get players game time.
“I’ve always maintained that, especially players in the spine of a team, you can train as hard as you like, you can experience really good training, but you’ve got to get out on the pitch, you’ve got to be put under pressure. We all know what a good player Harry is and to continue his development was making sure he got the appropriate game time. When this came along, he was keen to explore that option.
“Ideally, we have players playing in Ireland but we’re always open to opportunities that arise both short-term and long-term.”
Harry Byrne is currently on loan in Bristol. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
Humphreys did confirm that there will be no change in Irish players falling out of consideration for the Ireland team if they move abroad permanently.
There is a recall clause in Byrne’s loan deal in Bristol, meaning he remains Ireland-eligible right now, but anyone who signs longer deals abroad won’t be considered for national team selection.
“That won’t change,” said Humphreys. “To be very clear, this is a short-term loan. Players who decide to leave the system, we won’t be selecting players from outside Ireland.”
The hope is that Byrne, who is contracted to Leinster for next season too, will return to Irish rugby having improved and make an impact again, even if that is with a different province.
As for the bigger picture, Humphreys and the IRFU hope to see Leinster continuing to compete for trophies as Leo Cullen’s men aim to end what will be a four-year wait for silverware by the end of this season.
And they know there is major work to be done to get the other provinces back into the mix.
There is optimism that Munster will be in a good place next season as they welcome in some good signings and push talented young players into more prominent roles and while Ulster and Connacht are seemingly coming from further back in their development, Humphreys knows it’s pivotal that they improve as soon as possible.
“When you talk about the four provinces being competitive, you’re talking about them all being in the Champions Cup,” said Humphreys when asked how the IRFU will gauge progress.
He also hopes to see the provincial breakdown of those underage squads and the senior national team becoming more balanced.
“That’s how we’re going to measure what success looks like in terms of closing that gap while also challenging Leinster to continue doing what they do.
“In terms of performance, the challenge is that you can’t ask all four provinces to set a goal of winning the URC. They might internally but from our point of view, you’re going to have three that then fail.
“So it’s more about making sure our provinces are competitive, Champions Cup rugby, and there’s just so many elements in the Irish system that come with how we define success which is retaining players, giving them opportunities, the player management system, having that level of durability for our players who are fit for key parts of the season.”
Humphreys has a big job on his hands.
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I always thought with communism when the shop’s were empty, nothing but Soviet B.S. on the state run telly, There was nothing to do but screw.! ( At least it was free).!
@Jams O’ Donnell: Well that would account for a higher birth rate than they have. Then again, no place has a birth rate like the Irish. (My father had 15 brothers and sisters….)
Take that story with a grain of siberian salt.
A Russian colleague once summed up her country’s attitude to sex as follows: ‘in Russia we have no God, no hell or heaven and no concept of sin. If we have an itch, we scratch it.’
There again, anyone who hoped to escape probably wouldn’t want to risk leaving hostages behind. I’m fairly sure that no one was allowed to travel abroad in the past, unless their husband, wife or children stayed behind.
I don’t think its too far removed from the old Irish Catholic view about sex.. it was deemed inappropriate and shameful even to talk about it. Thankfully that has changed but, i still won’t covet my neighbour’s wife.
@Maggie O’Connor:
The Irish did not talk much about sex but had plenty of it judging by the numbers of unmarried Mothers, Shotgun marraiges and very large families. Follow the evidence.Sex is like most activities, the more you practice the more you learn and the more you learn the better it gets.
Horrible small minded Government, even today Putin would have a new Soviet Empire all the way across Europe but he knows the Americans would wipe them off the map if he tried
@The decline of Manchester United: How, Russians aren’t allowed outside Russia without Visas even in Europe, while Americans are allowed everywhere visa-free “for 90 days”
Might be true for older people (40+), but I’m pretty sure that’s not the case with the young. I know a few Russians and I’d say they are pretty open about the subject. Homossexuality though I think it is still a taboo like it was in my country (Brazil) 20 – 15 years ago
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