The Connacht rugby team that runs on to the Ericsson Park pitch in Athlone this evening for the European Challenge Cup quarter-final against Welsh side Pontypridd may be making its final appearance in Ireland as a professional team. When the IRFU Committee gathers again in Dublin in a fortnight it seems likely to bring the curtain down on full-time, paid rugby across the Shannon.
The professional era in rugby has changed the face of the game, mostly for the better, but sacrificing the weakest Irish province in an effort to balance the books may go down as one of the more foolhardy moves by the union in recent years. Already, the IRFU is beginning to feel the wrath of players and supporters and this seems certain to grow over the next few weeks.
The IRFU has won deserved praise over the last few years for its imaginative approach to the professional game. While the Welsh and Scottish unions have failed abjectly to adapt to the changed rugby landscape, the IRFU has been progressive on and off the pitch.
The union has put in place structures that allow our best players to stay in Ireland, has assisted in the recruitment of top international coaches and has developed the game at schools level in all four provinces.
While all this comes at a price, it seems extraordinary that the only way the IRFU can trim its costs is to axe one of the four provinces - albeit the most vulnerable - in the State. Surely, it must be in the best interests of Irish rugby to nurture and develop areas like Connacht where the game is in a constant struggle against competing field games such as soccer and GAA. Suspicions are emerging that the IRFU may be acting in concert with the other Celtic unions in reducing the number of provinces to facilitate a 10-team Celtic League which would be made up of three Irish sides, three Scottish and four new Welsh provincial sides.
If this is the case, the IRFU should come clean and outline its strategy to the rugby fraternity. Provincial representation in rugby has been one of the few genuinely all-Ireland, and non-sectarian, sporting activities - even in the darkest days of the Troubles. It defines the island and its people. It is part of our culture. The IRFU, given its proud history, should be one of the last organisations to consign Connacht to hell. This provocative and ill-considered move, damaging to the ethos of Irish rugby, must be reconsidered.