IRFU performance director David Humphreys has confirmed that Ireland will tour Georgia and Romania next summer while the Lions are in Australia.
Sitting in the beautifully appointed library in Northwood school in Durban, the former Ireland outhalf had just returned from Cape Town where he had hoped to take in Ireland’s Under-20 World Cup pool match against Australia. The game was cancelled due to a flooded pitch in the Athlone stadium, the upshot that Ireland qualified for a semi-final against England on Sunday (3.30pm Irish time).
Humphreys sat down for a briefing across a wide range of topics that included confirmation that from next year provinces will not be able to sign non-Irish qualified (NIQ) frontrow players and that he sees a significant role for the clubs as part of an integrated playing system in Irish rugby.
“At this stage the fixture list is for Georgia and Romania, it’s still to be confirmed exactly how it’ll look, but we’re very keen to, from a touring point of view, get an opportunity for those players who aren’t [with the Lions]. It’s a really good opportunity for some of our senior coaches to work with those players.”
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There’s a strong chance that Ireland might play a couple of Tests against Georgia and one against Romania to derive maximum benefit from the tour. Ireland have never played in Georgia – all five Tests between the countries have been played in Dublin or Bordeaux – while they have only once travelled to Romania, a game they won 37-3 in Bucharest in the summer of 2001.
Humphreys explained that the provinces will not be permitted to sign NIQ frontrows from next year.
“It’s not about putting pressure on the provinces, but they need to develop props to ensure that they are competitive, both now and as they need to replace some of the more senior players coming through.
“There’s every likelihood because of the challenge we have in the frontrow positions, that from next year onwards there won’t be frontrow forwards coming into the provinces that won’t be Irish qualified.
“Andy [Farrell] can’t go out and sign foreign players, so we have got to find ways to make sure that, yes, we have a national responsibility, but that starts with the provinces and the pressure will be on them.
“You have got to deliver those players to make you be competitive. If they do that, because of the way our system is structured and the game time and opportunities, those players will come through and develop into international players.”
Humphreys has already spoken about his desire to see players play as many matches as possible and to do that requires a framework and pathway. There will be an increase in Ireland A matches but he’s also looking to create a more proactive and receptive relationship with the clubs.
“There are any number of players who nobody would have expected to make the progress they have but they’ve got the opportunity because of injury and all of a sudden, they’re international players.
“There’s an element of luck but also of planning [in] the opportunities we will try to create, whether that will be at provincial level. But I also see a very strong role for the clubs and the All-Ireland League and how that gives, particularly some of our younger players, the opportunity to test themselves outside of a provincial setting.
“It also brings value because our provincial teams are all coached in a similar sort of way. When you’re thrown into an All-Ireland League club setting where you’re only training maybe one night a week, it’s that ability to adapt to what’s in front of you. There’s a huge value not just in minutes but that experience outside of a fully professional environment.”
Sevens will remain an integral and important development pathway, continuing the crossover of personnel between the codes. Humphreys paid tribute to the Sevens success which will hopefully continue at the Paris Olympics, and the role of his predecessor David Nucifora.
“Undoubtedly, it will play a key role in giving players who might not be in the academy system but equally I see it very much as a vehicle when you see the skill set to play Sevens, particularly for some of our outside backs. It’s a really fast learning process and gives them skills they can definitely use when they come back into 15s.”
He was also keen to overhaul the Irish qualified (IQ) system to try and ensure that greater numbers of players funnel through, while ensuring that they are of a requisite quality. He said: “That’s a big part. One of the areas we’ve been looking at is how we resource it, how we populate it with our staff and how we expand it.
“There’s more Irish qualified rugby players within the M25 circle [in London] than there are playing in Ireland. That was the view 20 years ago. We have to become creative in terms of players. But you will hear me repeat this time after time – retaining the identity of our four provinces is something I believe underpins the success of our provincial system and national system.
“We will always be looking to bring players and drive whatever changes are necessary to develop those players.”
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