IRFU wants better financial planning to ensure Munster problems not repeated

Irish provinces to get additional funding in bid to break Anglo-French hegemony

Daire Walsh

The IRFU are working with Munster Rugby in an effort to resolve the province’s financial predicament, the union’s chief executive revealed yesterday.

Speaking at the launch of the logo for the 2017 Women’s Rugby World Cup, Philip Browne stressed that the IRFU needed to ensure that the situation in which Munster currently find themselves did not arise again.

“The issue with Munster is pretty clear,” he said.

“The results didn’t go their way, the gates fell away and it left them with a difficulty. So, the difficulty for this year has to be resolved in some shape or form.

“We’ve worked with Munster in relation to that.”

Browne added: “Obviously, in terms of the go-forward, the situation is that Munster are going to have to work with the IRFU to ensure that the situation doesn’t arise again, and that’s going to require good financial planning, good budgeting and making sure that you live within your budget.

“That’s the same really for the other three provinces as well.”

With poor income and stadium debt playing its part in an underwhelming campaign, the future of Munster chief executive Garrett Fitzgerald has been brought into question.

Sid down

Browne explained that he would a sit down with Fitzgerald after the Cork native had produced a financial plan with the Munster branch, and he added that he was eager for all four provinces to close the gap on the English and France clubs.

“We’re working with Garrett. He’s going to produce a financial plan for us with the Munster branch and we’ll sit down and discuss all of that in terms of the future.

“In relation to what happens next year, we’ve actually provided additional funding to all four provinces to try to make sure they can at least keep their heads above water, and stem, or at least close, the gap that’s there with England and France.”

Browne also offered a response to the comments by the new vice-chairman of World Rugby, Augustín Pichot, who expressed a need to change rugby’s current residency rule – which allows players to line out for an adopted nation if they have lived there for a minimum of three years.

Widespread

Browne stated that the IRFU would be more than happy with an increase to five years, but that he hadn’t noticed any widespread problems with the current rules.

“We have discussed this with other unions and our position is that it seems fine,” he said.

“There is not a huge flow of players across the borders. The rule is three years, and we are happy with the rule at three years.

“If the rule is changed to five years, we would be happy with the rule at five years. As it stands at the moment, it is three years. Gus [Pichot] has a view, other Unions also have a view. He has pronounced his view, which is fair enough.”

Showpiece

In addition to the Women’s World Cup taking place in Ireland next year, a bid for the 2023 men’s World Cup is also on the IRFU’s agenda.

Browne feels that staging the 2017 women’s rugby showpiece will have a positive impact on their bid for the men’s tournament. “I think it will have a substantial impact,” said Browne.

“I think we have to be able to show that we can run an international tournament across the island of Ireland, involving governments, making sure that the logistics are right, and making sure that the quality of what we do is right up there.”