Fading club scene a victim of European success story
The introduction of the Heineken Cup has provided the biggest plus from the game going open. Losing out on Grand Slam and Triple Crown -- my, haven't we come a long way -- was disappointing, yes, but the gloom hanging over Irish rugby since last weekend's double Heineken Cup defeat sums up where priorities now lie and just what the premier European competition means to rugby folk and, indeed, to folk generally on this island.
The flip side of the Heineken coin is, of course, the All-Ireland League. As the provincial competition goes from strength to strength, the club game erodes ever further.
Today the club season reaches its climax with the Division 2 and 3 finals in Anglesea Road and the main event, the Division 1 final in Athlone's Dubarry Park.
Sponsors AIB have, as ever, been doing their bit in drumming up interest. But their radio jingle, though well intentioned and applicable to other codes, is within a rugby context very wide of the mark -- "behind every great player is a great club."
That used to be the case in rugby, every bit as much as in the GAA, but not any more.
When did Brian O'Driscoll last play for Blackrock, Ronan O'Gara for Cork Con or Paul O'Connell for Young Munster? But that is as it should be. Heavyweights should not compete with lightweights and in a sport based on physical impact, the analogy with boxing certainly holds. A confrontation between a full-time professional and a strictly amateur player could well result in serious injury.
Abuse
As things stand, the 'availability system' is loose and wide open to abuse, with some clubs exerting pressure on professional players (associated however tenuously) to line out for them when Magners League and Heineken Cup allow.
It makes for a most unfair playing field, particularly in cross-provincial matches whereby, say, certain Leinster fringe players might be available (if the province was playing on a Friday), yet Munster players (with a Saturday kick-off) probably not. Or vice-versa. It is, quite frankly, a mess.
There was a time when it seemed there was room for a premier club league embracing full-time fringe players, academy elite and the best of part-time club professionals, but the full-time game has moved on much too far now for that.
The introduction of the British and Irish Cup has effectively drawn that curtain down. To be fair, and much though I wish it were different, an 'A' team competition is essential to give fringe players meaningful game-time at a level close to the Magners League,
There is encouragement, however small, in the comments of Evan Ryan and Hugh Hogan, captains of Con and St Mary's respectively, ahead of today's Dubarry Park showdown. Both acknowledged that the Union experiment to split Division 1 has been a success in terms of increasing the quality and intensity of club rugby.
No doubt the RDS will be packed close to capacity for Leinster's final game of the Magners League regular season against Edinburgh tomorrow, while only diehard Mary's supporters will make the trek to Athlone. The fact that Munster are in Wales to play Cardiff (also tomorrow) will not make a whit of difference as only the Con faithful will journey up from Cork.
What we are seeing is the emergence of two separate games. Professional -- embracing Academy and 'A' -- as distinct from amateur and part-time, embracing the best of the rest. Maybe that is no bad thing.
I will be in Dubarry Park because I believe in the club game and everything it entails. I fear greatly for its future in that we are losing touch with what it is that has taken us to where we are. Rugby is unrecognisable from what it once was, but take away the club tier and that fear will become well founded.
Promotion from Divisions 2 and 3 has already been decided so the heat is off at Anglesea Road. However for Mary's and Con this is their big day -- the Division 1 decider and, for once, with no Magners League or Heineken Cup distractions.
And if ever the All-Ireland League needed a boost in the build-up, it just got that with Blackrock's announcement that former Leinster, Worcester and Welsh Grand Slam-winning coach Mike Ruddock would be taking up the reins at Stradbrook for next season. Ruddock is a fantastic acquisition for Irish club rugby. Not only is he a top operator and a good communicator, but he has no self-obsessed agenda whatsoever.
While Barry Gibney will be stepping down as head coach, it is imperative he is not lost to the game. As I understand it, Emmet Farrell will still be involved when Leinster time allows.
I would urge the IRFU to tap into Ruddock's vast experience and proven expertise by bringing him on board to oversee the development of young coaches.
Gibney, after close on a decade coaching at 'Rock, is one such talent we simply cannot afford to let drift.
Far be it for me to tell Stephen Aboud his job as national coach development manager, but when someone of Ruddock's ability and proven track record comes our way, then no stone must be left unturned in enticing him on board. Over to you, Stevie.
- Tony Ward
Irish Independent
