Leinster Team Talk Thread (Love you Furlong time)

So because the other provinces can’t throw money at teenagers (who are from and produced by Leinster) that’s some kind of grand unfairness in Leinster’s favour?

Even though- oh wait that’s right, they can. They actually have the option to do exactly what you’re suggesting and to offer senior contracts to these academy age guys if they want to - just like Connacht did with Sam Illo.

I didn't say it was a good idea to change it. I said its an advantage Leinster have.

You can point out an advantage without advocating for change. And to be clear, i'm not advocating for change.

I was asked what in built protections leinster have and this is the main one.

Yeah, sure, I’m the one who is flailing here.

The bigger issue is the defeatist attitude from the fans of the other provinces that they can’t seem to compete with Leinster by producing their own talent, and the only conceivable option for them is to take from Leinster to help themselves. That’s a pretty big problem right there.

As we’ve covered, already, quite a few times now, they absolutely have the option you’re touting for here. They have an option to make offers and gazump Leinster (the proof of this is the fact Leinster have already had to give Prendergast a senior deal to fend off other provinces). But even within that, they can’t be stupid about it and throw stupid money at these kids because there is absolutely no such thing as a can’t miss prospect (not Prendergast, not Brian Gleeson, no one).

The reason the IRFU have that policy is to effectively not needlessly compete with themselves and just create silly wage inflation amongst their own player base, something that would actually serve to effectively either (a) shrink the player base because there’s less money to go around or (b) mean there’s less money to be invested in development etc because now they’re needlessly paying players 20% more or something like that across the board.

Its not an absolute rule - because as we’ve said multiple times now, there is an option available to try and lure talent away, but as has been clearly shown it takes more than just cash, you’ve got to be able to convince these players they’re going to be better off in every way by making the switch.

We’re pointlessly going around in circles now and achieving nothing.

It would affect the provinces who are most dependent on sourcing their players from elsewhere. It would least affect the province who are most successful at producing their own players.

But overall - it would negatively impact all four provinces and Irish rugby at all levels. We wouldn’t have any more professional senior players from which to choose (in all likelihood we’d have less) and we’d further dilute provincial identity by just spreading more Leinster players across the four provinces.

It would make the best players and ones with most potential more expensive (by a good bit, maybe 50% more) and the average ones less expensive. Open markets tend to work that way where there is a premium on the top 10/15%.

Its very hard to see that affecting Leinster the least.

The market would make them.