Irish rugby squad, player citings and opposition to free to air proposals dominate IRFU agenda

CITINGS, squad announcements and opposition to the “free to air” proposals have dominated the business of the IRFU this week.

Declan Kidney and his coaching staff have announced an Ireland squad that includes 33 players for the 2010 Summer tour to New Zealand and Australia.

Chris Henry and Dan Touhy make the tour party as does Fergus McFadden. Ireland will have a game against the Barbarians on June 4 next in Thomond Park as the curtain raiser to their tour of the Southern hemisphere kicking off with a meeting against New Zealand in New Plymouth on June 12.

The New Zealand Maori team provides the opposition the next opposition for Ireland in Rotorua on June 18th as part of the Maoris centenary celebrations. The final game of the tour will see Ireland playing their Rugby World Cup Pool C opponents Australia in Brisbane on June 26. Squad listed below.

Meanwhile, the IRFU Disciplinary Panel will hold a hearing to consider two citing complaints emanating from the Leinster v Munster Magners League Semi final on Saturday 15th May 2010.

The first complaint is against Munster player Nick Williams who has been cited under law 10.4 (B) for an alleged stamp on Leinster player Jonathan Sexton in the 20th minute of the game.

The second complaint is against Leinster player Stanley Wright who has been cited under law 10.4 (A) for an alleged punch on Munster player Alan Quinlan in the 25th minute of the game

The hearings will take place in the Ulster Branch offices in Ravenhill office at 2.30pm (Williams) and 4.00pm (Wright) on Wednesday, May 19.

The IRFU panel will consist of Hugh Logan (Chair) and he will be assisted by Stephen Hilditch and Neil Jackson.
The player was cited by the independent citing commissioner who was present at the game. The findings of the disciplinary panel will be released following the completion of the hearing.

Huge financial losses are predicted should the proposalsof Minister Eamon Ryan come to fruition regarding the availability of certain premium rugby matches becoming “free to air”.

The statement reads…..

IRFU, SIX NATIONS & ERC DESCRIBE MINISTER RYAN’S PROPOSAL AS ‘MISGUIDED’ & CALL FOR BALANCED APPROACH TO SAFEGUARD €375 MILLION INDUSTRY

€12 MILLION ANNUAL LOSS A THREAT TO RUGBY NORTH & SOUTH OF BORDER
The IRFU together, with the Six Nations and ERC, have described Minister Eamon Ryan’s proposal to ensure that Six Nations and Heineken Cup matches can only be watched on free-to-air television in the future as seriously misguided and the greatest threat to the sport of rugby in Ireland since it went professional in 1995.

If implemented, the proposal would result in the IRFU losing 18% (€12 million) of its annual income by breaking and destabilising the international partnerships that underpin both the Six Nations and Heineken Cup competition. The IRFU say that, with all their revenues being required to support domestic rugby as well as the national and provincial sides, such a loss would unravel everything that has been built up and created over the last 10 years. 

The specific consequences of Minister Ryan’s proposal would be:

•    Irish Rugby’s best players would move abroad where higher remuneration is already on offer
•    A probable reduction in the number of professional Irish rugby teams
•    The inability of Irish national and provincial teams’ to compete at the highest levels in World Cup, 6 Nations, Heineken Cup, Amlin Challenge Cup and Magner’s League competitions.
•    Severe reductions in the €10 million annual budget for clubs and schools across the island.
•    The rapid decline of Irish Rugby into a second tier country and the end of the game’s mass appeal in this country.

IRFU FINANCES
The IRFU does not have the cash reserves to replace such a fall in income. The IRFU is a non-profit organisation, all of its annual income is ploughed back into the sport each year to support:
•    the professional teams (€36m)
•    domestic/club rugby (€10m)
•    Administration, overheads and marketing (€6m)
•    Depreciation and interest (€5m)
•    The IRFU is also at the beginning of a long term commitment to repay its share of the new Aviva Stadium.

€375 MILLION RUGBY ECONOMY
The IRFU also stressed the knock-on effect the proposal would have on the national and regional economies through the winding down of the €375 million ‘rugby economy’ in Ireland which helps to support the hospitality, travel and retail sectors around Ireland.

Speaking at a joint press conference with the Six Nations and ERC to highlight their concerns, the Chief Executive of the IRFU, Philip Browne said: “The irony is that Minister Ryan’s proposal would destroy both the sport and the very cultural events the Minister believes he would be protecting. If we do not have the money to invest in our sport and especially to be successful at professional level – well then everything else unravels as popularity declines. We can see how the loss of success leads to a loss of popularity in other Unions where they have struggled for years on and off the pitch to find the right model in what is still a new and developing sporting business.”
 

Ireland Squad (33):
Rory Best (Banbridge/Ulster)
Tommy Bowe (Ospreys)
Tony Buckley (Shannon/Munster)
Tom Court (Malone/Ulster)
Sean Cronin (Buccaneers/Connacht)
Gordon D’Arcy (Lansdowne/Leinster)
Keith Earls (Young Munster/Munster)
Jerry Flannery (Shannon/Munster)
John Hayes (Bruff/Munster)
Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster)
Jamie Heaslip (Naas/Leinster)
Chris Henry (Ballymena/Ulster)*
Marcus Horan (Shannon/Munster)
Shane Horgan (Boyne/Leinster)
Shane Jennings (St.Mary’s College/Leinster)
Robert Kearney (UCD/Leinster)
Fergus McFadden (Old Belvedere/Leinster)*
Kevin McLaughlin (St.Mary’s College/Leinster)
John Muldoon (Galwegians/Connacht)
Geordan Murphy (Leicester)
Donncha O’Callaghan (Cork Constitution/Munster)
Paul O’Connell (Young Munster/Munster)
Mick O’Driscoll (Cork Constitution/Munster)
Brian O’Driscoll (UCD/Leinster)
Ronan O’Gara (Cork Constitution/Munster)
Tomas O’Leary (Dolphin/Munster)
Eoin Reddan (Lansdowne/Leinster)
Jonathan Sexton (St.Mary’s College/Leinster)
Peter Stringer (Shannon/Munster)
Andrew Trimble (Ballymena/Ulster)
Dan Tuohy (Ballymena/Ulster)*
David Wallace (Garryowen/Munster)
Paddy Wallace (Ballymena/Ulster)

*Denotes uncapped player

See www.irishrugby.ie for more