The media swirl of rumour around Jonny Sexton’s move has proved to be just that. The Leinster and Ireland player will be lining out for Racing Metro for the start of the French club season in mid August.
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[ismember]An Irish Times report on Saturday based on ‘sources’ in France gave hope to Leinster fans but in fact had not taken account of machinations around the April 15th deadline before which clubs are not permitted to publicly announce a transfer. The denials from Paris had come about after the IRFU announced publicly that they could not match the sums being offered the 27 year old.
The original reporting of the deal had concentrated on previous examples where Irish international players had enhanced their contracts at home by flirting with overseas clubs but this was always going to be more substantive, as we wrote at the time.
The danger for Irish rugby now is that the shift of players for money has overtaken the previously more Corinthian spirit that had existed in rugby.
Ireland has been protected from the greater shift of players that has happened in England, Scotland and Wales by virtue of the provincial structure and the pooling of resources to create teams that could draw big crowds, attract sponsorship and marketing interest, and fund player contracts from within an international set up.
It may have damaged the next tier of club rugby here though where the professional game has stripped key talent and most importantly, fan support.
Jonny Sexton is a player with the St Mary’s College Club in South Dublin but his entire professional career has been with Leinster and Ireland. Now on a contract of €750,000 a year without bonuses, some perspective is gained by considering that is likely more than the entire annual turnover of his club.
A famous line from a 2006 study of NFL players revealed that 78% were divorced, bankrupt or unemployed within two years of leaving the pro game. That is a stark illustration of the ‘firefly’ professional existence that sport provides. The instinct has to be to make the most of it as an individual to protect against retirement in your early 30’s.
Rugby has traditionally attracted professional classes that could go on to forge a career in business based on a solid education. The professional game has diluted that to some degree and it is very unlikely that Sexton will be the last marquee name to move away, perhaps even this season.
The challenge now will be for Leinster, Munster, Ulster and Connacht to retain enough ‘star’ talent to maintain the crowds and the excitement of domestic competition.
As was pointed out by Six Nations CEO John Feehan over the weekend, the IRFU has an obligation to develop structure and young talent. Individual mega contracts are quickly moving out of its reach, and the momentum is moving in only one direction.
Soccer internationals were once the pinnacle of the sport in Europe and around the world but now the club game, bolstered by massive personal and TV investment dwarfs the day to day administration of the sport and the movement of the players. Rugby may never achieve the same scale but many of the commercial rules will alter in the same way at its level and how Ireland adapts will be a source of much anxiety over the next decade.[/ismember]
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