Leinster Team Talk Thread (Love you Furlong time)

I think youre purposely misreading what I wrote. Cops come out of templemore and are told where to go, teachers find jobs where they find them and move, same as nurses, many of whom move to Australia. What I wrote about the IRFU is that they could initiate a system where players are invited to one of the academies and offers come with a commitment to stay at the province for x number of seasons. Academy invitations are spread among the provinces. Any kid is free to pursue a career outside the country but in Ireland there is one professional rugby employer and they can arrange things however they choose to. No-one is being 'reassigned' anywhere, they are being assigned to somewhere as part of their initial recruitment, there is no employment law issue with offering someone a job in Galway.

More likely that you didnt even read your own post.

Mine referred to the Byrnes and you started off your response with:

I think people are unrealistic about this, quite frankly, including players. There is one professional rugby employer in Ireland, players don't have a choice who they work for on the Island.

Then you say:

The idea that players have a natural veto over where they work in Ireland is not a natural fact, the IRFU could change it any time they liked.

And:

Players could be sent wherever the union wanted them to go

You repeatedly talk about players in broad terms throughout your post and then only mention the academy players idea at the end of your post.

When you say 'Academy invitations are spread among the provinces.' does that mean that an individual who wishes to work in that industry can only work in a particular geographical area for a predetermined minimum period and this has been determined by the govering body of that industry. Like the Army / Aer Corps / Naval Service ?. Would non Irish players also have to apply to the IRFU for employment, not knowing to which Branch they will be allocated to ?.

Owes no one anything anymore.

What an absolute legend.

On the cusp of retiring at one stage he manages to go on and play an insane 10 more years.

Congrats on a stellar career.

Absolute legend of the game who will go down as one of the best loosehead props to play the game but I think it was time for him to retire. Jack Boyle, Paddy McCarthy and Alex Usanov need the game time to develop and it was hurting Leinster and Ireland having Porter play up to 70 minutes a game. We have some really exciting talent that deserve to play.

Thank you Churchy!

As a season ticket holder of 20 years, I have a soft spot for young Mr. Healy.

I remember him emerging on the scene in Celtic League games back then, as a bit of a phenom, a new breed of schoolboy players arriving almost fully formed and taking his seat on the bench as he began coming on for Reggie Corrigan and lighting up the pens of the great old rugby correspondents of the day.

That he made it to 37 years of age as a prop forward, with some of the injuries on his chart that would have been career-enders for any other man, is a tribute to his ethic, his physical uniqueness, and his love of the game and his teams.

The stories of Cian being down on Dollymount Strand tossing and dragging tractor tyres on the sand, as he recovered from having torn his ham-er clean off the bone have become almost the stuff of legend down D3 way. But the Proper Church wasn't willing to draw a line at 27 years old. He sweated blood to get back. And here is still is, 11 years on.

So thanks, Cian, for the memories, for the moments, for the pirate's haul of silverware, for the revolution in performance and success that marked your tenure as No. 1. Number one indeed.

The last service he could do for his province and his country is to offer a sample of his DNA. Because somebody should bottle it.

it’s one employee offering jobs! Pretending it’s an industry with some sort of nefarious actor skewing competition to serve corrupt interests is make believe. Basic draft thing. We have 20 positions in 4 locations, those offered positions may have to move!

I was only seeking clarity. Opening the conversation on how the Union might act to bring a more equal approach that enables the Branchs to compete will draw reactionary criticism, but that was not my intention. There won't be any simple solutions, and mandatory actions may be all we have left.

He was a competitive shot putter too, right? Agree here, its always inspiring to see an old war horse shift aside for the younger player but remain as a mentor and team player til the end, doing whatever is needed.

No Gunne or P McCarthy is an odd one.

Because that's the agreement and also why he isn't being paid as much as many people said.

Im more annoyed by the A game affecting Gunne and McCarthy.

He is injured.