On the day that Hugo Keenan signed a new three-year contract with the IRFU, the difference in the sport between here and across the Irish Sea could not be starker.
The Welsh Rugby Union is pressing ahead to reduce salaries of players who are out of contract at the end of this season, claiming that the current model and payment structure are unsustainable.
Two of the Welsh provinces are understood to be teetering on the brink of following English sides Wasps and Worcester Warriors into administration which will present a major challenge to the United Rugby Championship and to the Irish provinces.
That this should come only two years after Wales won the Guinness Six Nations Championship and the Triple Crown is particularly shocking.
Welsh players staged a walkout at a sponsor dinner in Cardiff this week, causing major embarrassment to the Welsh Rugby Union, and there is talk of taking strike action ahead of the Guinness Six Nations game against England at the Principality Stadium on Saturday week.
Events appear to be spiralling out of control with the Union saying there is no alternative to the cuts on one side, and senior former internationals including Sam Warburton encouraging the players to take a stand for themselves on the other.
We have written before about the stark difference in fan engagement, financial return and business sustainability between the sport here and across Britain and the gap is only getting wider.
Worryingly for Ireland, the English problems could be laid in part at the private investment that led to higher wages but without the proper foundations.
Wales though operates on a similar provincial model to Ireland and while success on the pitch has protected Ireland from similar crises, that cannot always be guaranteed.
The Rugby World Cup being back in Europe will likely be a shot in the arm for the popularity of the game on foreign shores but it has never been more badly needed, even if that is not so apparent in Ireland, yet.
