IRFU Still Silent on Men’s 7s Team

(c) Jack Aherne.

The following is a guest post by Cian Aherne.

2013 marks the first year that Ireland have not entered a men’s 7s rugby team in the 7s World Cup. We knew this would be the case over a year ago but seeing the World Cup kick off in Moscow this weekend brings it back into focus again. Looking through the countries in the IRB World Rankings, I can’t actually find another rugby nation that does not have a men’s 7s team in development – certainly none in the top 20 considering Italy have now started a 7s programme.

What is the IRFU’s current stance on Irish men’s 7s rugby? There are no plans in place. Club 7s tournaments have begun and there are 7s tournaments in development on the ground in Ireland (such as the underage Umbrella 7s, the IRFU national 7s fixture list and the World Mini Games) but there are no plans at all to have a national team or to attempt to enter the Olympics in 2016. As the governing body of the sport in Ireland, the IRFU are the only entity eligible to enter international IRB or IOC competitive programmes; their permission/consent is required in order for a national team to enter.

Considering the lack of a plan from the IRFU and the likelihood that this is down to a shortage of available funding, a group of club rugby players have put forward a proposal to the IRFU for an independently-funded team to compete internationally. This has been made on the back of publicised support from the likes of high profile rugby professionals such as Matt Williams, Doug Howlett, Mike Ruddock, Tony Ward and Alan Quinlan.

One would think that the IRFU could hardly refuse consent for such a proposal considering it would not cost them anything and would be further boosting their reputation worldwide, but they have refused such independent proposals for European and World Student Championship teams in the past. The proposal is currently awaiting a response.

It is difficult to come up with reasons for the refusal of this proposal, and such a denial could be seen as taking away Irish athletes’ rights to Olympic participation. If an Irish athlete is to participate in the Olympics, they need to reach a certain standard. Imagine the Athletics Association of Ireland (AAI) point-blank refusing to permit a track athlete from competing if they made that standard… Worse, imagine the AAI actually refusing to let that athlete even try and make the standard in the first place!

The following are the Olympic Rugby 7s qualification standards and the path Ireland would need to take in order to attempt to qualify for the Olympic Games in 2016:

Olympic Qualification Standards:

–       The top four teams in the IRB World 7s Series 2014/15 automatically qualify.

–       The top one team in a continental tournament in each continent qualify.

–       A repechage tournament will be played for the remaining teams where the top one/two teams qualify for the Olympics depending on whether or not Brazil are given an automatic place.

Ireland’s Potential Route:

–       Rank in the top two nations in Europe who do not compete in the World 7s Series in the 2013/14 season, then…

–       Finish in the top 4 at the Hong Kong-based World Series Pre-Qualifier tournament on 28th-30th March 2014, then…

–       Finish as one of the top three teams at the London-based World Series Core Team Qualifier tournament on 1oth-11th May 2014, then…

–       Finish in the top four in the Sevens World Series in the 2014/15 season.

• If unsuccessful, possible to qualify as the top one from the remaining European nations.
• If unsuccessful, possible to qualify as the top one/two from the remaining repechage tournament.

While success in attempting such a route may seem unlikely at this stage, Ireland actually have a reasonable history in the 7s game. For instance, when Ireland have put a team together for 7s World Cups, they have always qualified and finished inside the top 20 ranked nations. They were even beaten semi-finalists in 1993. Furthermore, the Irish 7s team is the only national team ever to beat New Zealand.

Irish club side, The Moosa Daly Wild Geese (Twitter & Facebook), have now won the Dubai Club 7s Championship, the Kinsale 7s and several other Irish tournaments with little financial backing. The Wild Geese offer a perfect template for identifying Irish club players from all divisions who have the potential to excel at 7s if given the opportunity. High-standard club players in Ireland with international, professional and 7s experience (such as Danny Riordan, Ciaran Ruddock and Darragh Fanning) are in their rugby prime at present and, with no professional rugby career ensuing, could be a perfect fit to be the backbone of an international team.

If in reading this, you’re somehow still not convinced that Irish players should at least be given consent to try and compete for the Olympic Games, consider the Olympic creed: “The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well.” Surely there could not be a more fitting creed for the style and attitude of Irish rugby players.

If any readers are involved with the IRFU, IRB, FIRA or IOC and are interested in the proposal mentioned above, would like to read it, or put a national team through to the European circuit, please contact Cian Aherne.

Twitter: @CianAherne

The very best of luck to the Irish women’s 7s team competing in Moscow this weekend. They have performed incredibly well to qualify and are a perfect example of the potential for 7s rugby in Ireland. Follow 7s Rugby Ireland for the latest updates on 7s rugby in Ireland.

The Day Ireland Beat New Zealand

Were Munster the only Irish team ever to beat New Zealand? Read on… (c) Martin Dobey.

Ireland have never beaten the All Blacks. Each time we play the standard bearers of world rugby, we are reminded of this stat. In 27 efforts, Ireland have lost to New Zealand 26 times. The solitary draw came in 1973, a 10-10 stalemate in Lansdowne Road. At underage level, we have never beaten the Baby Blacks. Mike Ruddock’s U20 side came close last Thursday, but the record remains unbroken. Our women’s team has never beaten the Black Ferns, although they haven’t had a chance to do so yet.

It would appear that Munster are the only Irish rugby team to have beaten New Zealand, with that famous 12-0 victory in 1978. But if you dig a little deeper, there is a dirty secret to be exposed: Ireland beat New Zealand in 1973, by a scoreline of 22-18. How has this result gone ignored you will surely ask? Possibly because the game took place at the International Seven-A-Side Tournament at Murrayfield in Scotland. That’s right, sevens!

On the 7th of April in 1973, the Scottish Rugby Union held the tournament as part of their centenary celebrations. Eight international teams were involved, representing each of the IRB-registered rugby nations at the time: Scotland, Ireland, England, Wales, France, Australia, New Zealand, and an SRU President’s VII which included several South African players.

Ireland’s nine-man squad was a talented one. Vincent Becker was a lightning quick winger from Lansdowne who also represented Ireland in the 100 metres. He went on to win two Ireland caps in 1974. Arthur McMaster was a winger from Ballymena, who won 18 senior Irish caps, scoring 2 tries. Seamus Dennison was the the Limerick man who made that tackle for Munster when they beat the All Blacks. He won three Irish caps, scoring one try.

Kevin Mays was London-born but playing out of UCD. The lock won four full caps for Ireland in 1973. Donal Canniffe was the captain of Munster when they beat the All Blacks. In ’73, the scrumhalf was still with Cork Con, before later joining Lansdowne. Fergus Slattery was already a well established Irish international, and a non-capped Lions tourist in ’71. The flanker’s career finished with 61 Ireland caps and four for the Lions.

Hooker Pa Whelan was another involved in Munster’s win in ’78. The Garryowen man went on the win 19 Irish caps. Terry Moore was a big No. 8 from Highfield in Cork. He would end his career with 12 caps for Ireland. Last but not least was the captain, Mike Gibson. The Belfast man’s Ireland career had begun in 1964 and he had already toured three times with the Lions. After 69 caps for Ireland and 12 for the Lions, he went on to become an IRB Hall of Famer.

It was certainly a formidable Irish selection. In their opening game of the tournament they came up against New Zealand and duly dispatched them 22-18, having led 10-6 at the break. It’s unclear who did the scoring for Ireland, with the available records not extending to that detail. The Irish team went on to beat Australia 16-4 in their next game, before securing a place in the final with a 24-12 win over Scotland.

The final saw the Irish face an English team of considerable strength themselves: David Duckham, Steve Smith, Andy Ripley, Roger Uttley, Peter Preece, John Gray, Peter Rossborough and Keith Fielding were captained by the enigmatic Fran Cotton. The English were victorious, claiming the trophy by another 22-18 scoreline. Although the tournament was never awarded official status by the IRB, the Irish team had essentially finished runners-up in the first Sevens World Cup, and beaten New Zealand for the first time in our rugby history.

Portugal celebrate their win at the European 7s in 2008. In Ireland’s squad at that tournament were James Coughlan, Darren Cave, Ian Keatley and Chris Henry. Ireland finished 4th to qualify for the 2009 World Cup, the last time we fielded a team.

There’s more to this than just a good story. The 2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens takes place in Russia from the 28th to 30th of June, with the likes of Portugal, Hong Kong, Uruguay, Zimbabwe, the Philippines and Tunisia all involved in the party. Following the Italian rugby federation’s recent decision to implement a sevens programme, Ireland are now the only nation in the top 17 of the IRB World Rankings without a sevens team.

The developmental advantages which sevens offers to 15-a-side players are something I’ve written about before, but the fact that sevens is an Olympic sport adds even more value to the calls for the IRFU to get behind it.

Something is amiss…

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Photos: Martin Dobey, Stefanie.

What Does Irish Club Rugby Really Mean?

Two pillars of Irish club rugby, Garryowen and Young Munster, do battle. (c) Liam Coughlan.

The IRFU published their Club Sustainability Report last month, after a year of investigating the subject of payment to club players. While the central objective was addressing the development of what the report dubs a “pay for play” culture, the findings pose several questions about the general purpose of Irish club rugby, and where it is heading. The IRFU need to fully address these issues before imposing financial constraints and other criteria upon the clubs.

The report’s foreword includes mention that the Working Party (the committee in charge of conducting the report, including Billy Glynn and Ian McIlrath) members “had different perspectives on the future direction of club rugby.” Indeed, the report admits that its recommendations “were not endorsed unanimously by all members of the Working Party.” Clearly, this is a divisive issue and one that is going to take some time to be fully understood.

Regardless, the report’s recommendations have been taken on board by the IRFU and will be implemented from the 2014/15 season onwards. Amongst the changes, payments to club players will be prohibited, transfers will be strictly controlled and clubs will have to meet minimum qualifying criteria to earn involvement in the All Ireland League. Most of these changes have been explained in depth elsewhere in the media over the past week, so it’s not worth outlining each of them here.

What hasn’t really been explained or discussed is how these changes might affect club rugby in Ireland and those deeply involved in the game. The report mentions that “[f]or some time the IRFU has been working with stakeholders within schools and clubs in agreeing and defining the values of Irish Rugby.” Subsequently, those values have been listed as Integrity, Discipline, Inclusiveness, Excellence and Fun. On first reading it’s a balanced list, but when you really look at these values, there are inherent contradictions.

UCD have earned promotion to Division 1A of the AIL this season, featuring several players who aspire to play professional rugby. (c) smcclaw.

The report accepts that “the genie of professionalism is out of the bottle and cannot be replaced”. It also acknowledges that to remove all player payments “would be to militate against those clubs which have the desire to reward players and which have the necessary resources to do so.” But are the new changes not trying to replace that genie? The rulings are certain to militate against some clubs.

Two of the values mentioned above are Excellence and Discipline. The fact is that several Irish clubs run themselves in a professional way. Their players are disciplined in their pursuit of excellence. Supervised gym sessions, meetings with nutritionists and video analysis are part of the schedule. The time and effort that goes into it, particularly from players, surely deserves some reward? Does the IRFU want the All Ireland League to serve as a breeding ground for professional players? And if not, where is the playing space for those players who have professional ambitions?

Professional rugby has changed how amateur clubs and players see themselves. Sport at adult level has always been about winning, but professionalism has made it the priority. Some clubs are now aspiring to a “level which cannot be sustained.” That is backed up by the debt figures included in the IRFU’s report. But where do you draw the line for these ambitious clubs who are over-reaching? Aspiring for Excellence is one of the IRFU’s values. Can you really tell a club that they should focus on Inclusiveness and Fun rather than trying to rise as high as possible?

Lansdowne, under Mike Ruddock, were Division 1A Champions this season. (c) Liam Coughlan.

The transfer of players between clubs is one of the main focus points of the report. Player loyalty is suggested as vital, with the recommendation that players “should be encouraged to remain with their ‘mother’ club”. Much like the recent ruling at Munster Schools level on player transfers, this is a topic that needs more debate. Why should a talented player not seek to play at a higher level, to pursue Excellence as best he can? For that individual, would it not be more Fun to benefit from playing with better players and train under better coaches?

If the IRFU are going to clamp down on player transfers, then how do they offset the disgruntlement that might arise? Is there enough being done to ensure that coaching levels across the country are fulfilling the value of Excellence? If players are going to stay with their local club, are they really being given the chance to pursue their ambitions? The report suggests that payment to club coaches should continue, as long as it “encourages the recruitment and development of indigenous coaching expertise.” There’s another contradiction in that. Does payment to Irish players not encourage the development of indigenous playing expertise?

It’s a highly debatable topic and one that certainly needs further discussion. Some of the changes set to be implemented may be impossible to actually enforce. If last year’s rulings on non Irish-qualified player numbers at provincial level (and the subsequent lack of clarity) are anything to go by, then this subject is far from decided.

Please feel free to post your opinions on the proposed changes, the values of Irish club rugby and the direction you would like to see it going. It would be interesting to hear different perspectives on the matter, so leave a comment below.

Read the full IRFU Club Sustainability Report here.

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Photos: Liam Coughlan, smcclaw.

Ireland’s Date in France set for March

Ireland and France will face each other on March the 4th. (c) Martin Dobey.

Today began with completely ridiculous suggestions by the FFR that the France vs. Ireland game should be put back until September in order to avoid any clash with Top 14 fixtures . Thankfully, some sort of common sense has prevailed and the Six Nations match has been rescheduled for the 4th of March, with a kick-off time of 3.00pm Irish time.

This is the weekend we had anticipated and the one that makes most sense, although it does give both teams the difficult task of 4 games in a row. Wales are the team who will probably benefit most from this entire fiasco. They will now hope to welcome a tired French side to the Millenium Stadium on Paddy’s Day with a Grand Slam on the line.

The IRFU have greeted the Six Nations Council’s decision with disappointment. Their preference was that the game go ahead on March 3rd, in order to give the Irish team a seven day turnaround in between each of the remaining  four fixtures. Also, a Saturday match would have presumably made it easier for travelling fans.

Irish fans returning from France. Many will have to fork out to travel over again in two weekends' time. (c) Liam Coughlan.

The Six Nations Council has also stated that any fans who are unable to travel to France again for the rescheduled fixture will receive a full refund for their tickets. Hopefully, this will be some sort of consolation to the thousands of disgruntled supporters who made the original trek over. Once again, the hope is that the Six Nations Council will never let something like this happen again.

As mentioned before, four games in a row will represent a big challenge for Declan Kidney and his squad. But that is what faces them now and they must prepare for that task. The immediate focus is Italy in just under two weeks’ time. Judging on their opening games, this is a physical Italian side who lack invention and an outhalf. Ireland have enough quality to get a win on the board before travelling back to France. For now, they have to forget about the French.

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Photos courtesy:  Martin Dobey, Liam Coughlan.