Is a fifth province really such a daft idea? Hear us out for a minute.
The latest edition of the Emerging Ireland project in the autumn has got us thinking again. The sheer depth and scale of young talent across this country is unprecedented at the moment.
We shouldn’t be surprised. The Ireland U20s have been box office for a long time.
The Ireland U20 side have been box office for a long time. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
Three Grand Slams have been secured at that level in the past half dozen Six Nations. Indeed, it could easily have been a quartet of clean sweeps had the 2020 championship not been cancelled due to the pandemic. That squad had the likes of Jack Crowley, Joe McCarthy, Tom Ahern, David McCann and Cathal Forde in their ranks and were full value to finish another Six Nations unbeaten.
Can the IRFU launch a fifth province?
Anyway, we’re getting sidetracked. For quite some time, it’s been clear that an avalanche of young players are coming through the system. Talented operators who have the ability to reach the highest level.
The problem at the moment is there are only so many places in matchday squads on any given weekend.
There are only four professional teams and it means that a host of prospects are sitting in the stands on big match days. The English Premiership has 10 professional sides while France has 14 pro teams on duty every weekend, not to mention the PROD2, the hugely competitive and entertaining second tier of their professional structure.
IRFU performance director David Humphreys. Pic: INPHO/Ben Brady
Unsurprisingly, there are bottlenecks all over the provinces. Leinster’s logjam of out-halves is a constant source of debate. Their back row is crammed with international quality, too. Munster have a surfeit of second rows and backrows. Ulster are armed with a stable of top-class outside backs. Connacht, meanwhile, had so many brilliant midfielders on the roster that talented centres such as Tom Daly and Tom Farrell were deemed surplus to requirements.
This is a potential legacy project for IRFU performance director David Humphreys. Will the former Ulster and Ireland out-half be bold and do something radical?
Ireland clearly needs another pathway to offer some high-level exposure to all these ambitious young players.
The Emerging Ireland tours have served as something of a stop gap solution. Crowley, McCarthy, Calvin Nash and Jamie Osborne were the big success stories from the 2022 tour.
The class of 2024 has already seen the likes of Sam Prendergast, Gus McCarthy, and Cormac Izuchukwu get their first caps at senior level.
Ulster’s Cormac Izuchukwu. Pic: Harry Murphy/Sportsfile
There are others who look ready to step up. James Culhane, for one.
The Enniskerry native is still only 21, but he already looks like a ball-carrying beast at No8.
The problem for Culhane is Caelan Doris, Jack Conan and Max Deegan – all Ireland internationals – are currently ahead in the Leinster pecking order. That may change next summer, with rumblings about a potential move to Racing 92 for Conan. The backrow is an attritional area and Culhane, like Deegan, may opt to play the long game and bide his time.
Why wait? Surely there’s a better way. Imagine if there was another ‘development’ province which would ensure all these raw prospects were getting regular game time in the URC.
Indeed, former IRFU performance director David Nucifora wasn’t averse to such a move in his final press briefing last December.
Former IRFU performance director David Nucifora. Pic: INPHO/Dan Sheridan
‘It’s something that I feel they should never ignore,’ the Australian said at the time.
‘Obviously there was talk of that when London Irish unfortunately folded. If we had taken that opportunity then, if it was possible to do – and there were lots of other complications around that – but would we be ready to hit the ground running then and there? Probably not, but sometimes you have to take opportunities before the timing is perfect.
‘If we keep producing the way we are at the moment, in another two years we will have the firepower to be able to, I think, probably produce another team.
‘You’ve just got to be careful. If you do it too early you don’t want it to be to the detriment of the four you have already got – you want to keep them strong.
‘You’ve just got to get the timing right to be able to do something and then does the opportunity exist, what is that vehicle to be able to do it.’
It would be a huge undertaking from the IRFU. Funding a new professional team wouldn’t be cheap. We’re talking 30 or 40 extra contracts, coaching team, S&C, marketing, medical etc.
Former London Irish director of rugby Declan Kidney could be convinced to take a director of rugby role with the fifth province. Pic: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
There’s also the small matter of a stadium and a potential new fanbase. The country is booming financially, however, and private investors aren’t short on the ground either.
Indulge us for a second and imagine a ‘Midland Warriors’ team based in Athlone.
You’re killing a few birds with such a stone with that move. For starters, the midlands is an area which wouldn’t quite impinge on the Leinster juggernaut.
Crucially, it would be a very real pathway for players who haven’t come through the traditional private schools programmes. The IRFU are always talking about sourcing talent from non-rugby strongholds. What better way than to have a province which caters for rural counties. Now, the IRFU have another outlet to blood all these young players who are kicking their heels on the fringes of the other provincial squads. A new outlet for players like Culhane. Which of the Leinster No10s would blink first and have a crack with this exciting new project?
It would also be a means of bringing the numerous Irish coaches, who are making a name for themselves abroad, back into the system here.
A coaching ticket of Noel McNamara, Nigel Carolan, Donnacha Ryan, Jeremy Davidson and James Coughlan looks quite potent. Perhaps Declan Kidney could be convinced to take a director of rugby role and oversee the whole project?
Perhaps a few veterans from the other provinces would fancy a season or two on board before they call it a day. We’re thinking about characters such as Denis Buckley, John Cooney and Peter O’Mahony.
The more you think about it, the more it makes sense.
The IRFU won’t select players based abroad so they will need to get creative on their own doorstep.
Daft? It’s arguably the most logical thing Irish rugby could do.
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Author : rugby-247
Publish date : 2024-12-25 11:32:02
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