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David Humphreys - IRFU Performance Director

clsmooth

How do we think he’s doing so far in the role?

He seems to be struggling. Appointing his old mucker Neil Doak as the Ireland U20s coach who then went on to have an extremely poor year resulting in having to get rid of him a year later, blind sighting the 7s players by cancelling the program via social media, poorly handling the POM, Murray and Lowe contract negotiations, announcing there would be now more NIQ front row recruits before immediately making a U turn on it.

Has he done a particularly good job in his previous roles as DoR for Ulster or Gloucester?

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JeanRasczak

Humphreys has been a bit of a disaster

He cancelled the 7s program which was a valuable route for players as Ireland only has 4 provinces. It's also easier to pick up for non rugby playing school etc so could have been used as a way to get more kids playing. Very short sighted and his claim to save money have not been backed up

He has done interviews and then turned around to do the opposite. We heard about not signing NIQ forwards, then Leinster and Munster got to sign NIQ forward, then Ulster. So which one was it?

We got told the plan was to bring the other provinces up to Leinster level and then done the opposite.

We are told the plan is for the 40% to be given to provinces to produce more players, but no plan on what that means, how it will be measured? what are they actually planning on doing? is it more coachs?

Contracts for players are now played out in the media, back to like it was years ago. This seems to work for Humphreys because the media seem to be afraid to ask him any hard questions

The womens game I seen was the claim is a success, really? they have no league. No sign of a league and plan seems to be to export everyone to England? hardly a great plan. Also the few interview I seen on podcast from people involved in womens 15s said the AIL etc was still not setup correctly.

Has the 7s got better or worse?

The U20 mens he made a mess of, thankfully has got better.

So yes Im sure fans who wanted to see Leinster "taken a peg or two down" will try to say he has done a good job but I dont see how they can claim that. The guy seems incompetent but similar to John Delaney the media dont want to ask any questions because he feeds them a load of noise, something which Nucifora never done and it drove the media mad. What would have happened if the Lowe incident happened under Nucifora? the media would be in attack mode yet they are in defend mode for Humphreys. Crazy

FtD v2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124543516#Comment_124543516

Connors has never had an uninjured season I think at Leinster. He has generally found his way back into the match 23 pretty quickly when he's healthy, but you're talking about a guy who has had at least 4 major knee injuries in 8 seasons, long term hamstring injuries and a bicep tear injury. Unless the other provinces have some mysterious way of curing injuries faster, then no, I don't think he'd have played a whole lot more or would be any more advanced in his career at this point had he left Leinster 5 years ago.

With Cormac Foley - I think there's a strong argument he's the weakest of all the senior contracted scrum halves across the four provinces this season. I equally don't think he'd have taken minutes away from the likes of Nathan Doak, Matt Devine, Ben Murphy, Caolin Blade, Craig Casey etc anywhere else, it's not like 9 (JGP excepted) has been this massive position of strength for Leinster either.

Why continually focus though on a handful of isolated players, and continually refuse to engage with the point that Leinster have given more minutes to young players than the other provinces for years now, have given more minutes to Academy players for years now?

Why not the same focus on the players at each of the other provinces who are still contracted well into their mid-20s and who don't play material minutes (despite the fact they often don't have internationals in front of them)?

ersatz

I'm sure we've been though this before, but you brought Penney at some point I think, and he is a good example of the point. Less than 10 starts a season in 8 seasons, and not a player wracked with injury. He is a good player, maybe a bit undersized but I don't think he's had a CC start in his time at Leinster. He is not a test player so doesn't fall under the player management system yet he has played relatively little rugby for a guy entering his prime years. This is a depth issue, has it held him back? Maybe. Compared to the likes of Coombes on 108 starts in the same number of seasons (though he does play CC). Your point about Leinster giving more players minutes…Yes, perhaps because they have had more players! Often up to 5 or 6, plus a bigger academy. Now that the squad has been trimmed I guess we'll see whether players get more starts earlier.

A more interesting argument is to consider the benefit to Leinster of the Irish system moving away from Leinster being the sole incubator for test players and that burden being spread back to the other provinces. Even with fewer players Leinster should have more of their team available through out the year, and if Humphries succeeds in that, more power to him. The over reliance on Leinster has been good for results but not great for Irish rugby in general.

big-al

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058439633/david-humphreys-irfu-performance-director

Doak was already in the underage system before Humphreys got the job.

Often the u18/u19 coaches get promoted to the u20 job when someone moves on.

FtD v2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124547223#Comment_124547223

I genuinely don’t think you even know what point you’re trying to make here anymore - but citing Scott Penny as some sort of example of a guy who hasn’t gotten opportunities is absurd.

From his Ireland U20s peer group, he has played more minutes of senior rugby (109 games, 6156 mins) than any other player:

Scott Penny - 109 games, 6156 mins
Craig Casey - 115 games, 6000 mins
John Hodnett - 93 games, 5160 mins
Ryan Baird - 90 games, 5208 mins
Niall Murray - 95 games, 5072 mins
Dave McCann - 90 games, 5843 mins
Harry Byrne - 96 games, 4239 mins
Dylan Tierney Martin - 75 games, 2597 mins
Josh Wycherley - 87 games, 2849 mins
Tom Clarkson - 81 games, 3311 mins

Plus a load of other lads like Ben Healy, Jake Flannery, Liam Turner, John McKee, Martin Moloney etc who are nowhere close to Penny.

In what earthly world is Scott Penny a good example of Leinster not giving opportunities to players?

At some point soon you need to throw out that shovel.

ersatz

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124547387#Comment_124547387

Penny has never started a CC match and got a few minutes in the URC final. He's playing league matches against middling opposition, or for middling stakes, for his entire career, and doesn't get close to match day squads at the business end of the season. He's played very little URC knockout rugby, again starts are what I'm talking about and he has few to show for his 7 or 8 seasons at Leinster. He is a good player and would be playing a lot more and at a higher level elsewhere. Depth at Leinster has not really helped anyone except team Ireland, not even Leinster.

FtD v2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124547411#Comment_124547411

He wouldn’t have played a whole lot more URC or certainly European knockout rugby at any of the other three provinces either.

Dave McCann - who plays the same position as him effectively up in Ulster has played in 9 knockout games in his career to Scott Penny’s 8, but 6 of McCann’s 9 games are in the Challenge Cup, while 4 of Penny’s 8 games are in the Champions Cup.

“Starts are what I’m talking about” - sure, just keep trying to change the narrative repeatedly and I’m sure eventually you’ll stumble on some metric that might work for you.

You put forward the assertion initially that “Leinster’s roster hasn’t necessarily served player development well and is costing Ireland because younger players aren’t getting enough opportunities” and since then, you’ve absolutely tortured the point and ignored the following:

when it was pointed out Leinster give considerably more minutes to young players (players 24 or younger) than any of the other provinces and more minutes to Academy players than any of the other provinces you ignored all of that data and large sample set and said: “well what about these two idiosyncratic examples of players”
The two players you cited were a flanker who has as chronic an injury list as an player Irish rugby and Leinster’s fourth choice scrum half who potentially wouldn’t have even had a contract at any of the other provinces
When that didn’t work, you moved the goalposts again, and said well what about Scott Penny?
When it was shown to you that he had played more minutes of rugby than any player from his peer set from the Irish U20s you move the goalposts again to now make it purely about starts, or make it about knockout games. All the while let’s ignore the fact that the fact Penny has been competing for minutes and starts over this window with a player who has been World Player of the Year and who is phenomenally robust and consistently excellent in his performances. Surely that plays a massive part in player development too; training alongside world class players and trying to claim the shirt off them?
When I’m showing you now that he has played in largely the same number of knockout games (and considerably more Champions Cup games than another back rower from his Irish U20 team, I’m sure you’ll try and dig up some other way to shift the goalposts again. What’s next, let’s compare Conor O’Tighearnaigh’s minutes to Iain Henderson’s or something?

Certainly don’t bother doing any analysis at how good the other three provinces have actually been over a longer time frame at giving opportunities to younger players, because I’ve a feeling that won’t suit the narrative you’re pushing either.

At some point, maybe stop and recognise that your little hunch or intuition is actually just that, and isn’t something that’s backed up by any actual facts or data, and admit you got this one wrong.

FtD v2

Also, fwiw, “depth at Leinster has not helped Leinster” is literally one of the most ludicrous, bizarre takes I’ve read on here (and that takes some going) in quite a while.

ersatz

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124547513#Comment_124547513

They've had players coming out their ears, a dozen lLions and 20+ internationals and have 1 trophy in 5 years, the depth has delivered very little though it depends on how you measure success. A lot of teams would be happy to be serial contenders in knockouts, semis and finals. In Penny's case he would have had the opportunity to play at the highest level the team gets to, he hasn't had that opportunity in Leinster. There are quite a few players there who would do well to shift. Conway and Jordi did well out of it (because players want to play), and I expect it will be a good move for Frawley. And minutes are a data point that tells us little more than whether a player is actually exhausted late in the season, starts measure how a club values a player. Few teams are well enough stacked where the subs are genuinely regarded as equally able as starters. Your rhetorical style has become increasingly shrill btw, you should have someone take a look at that.

sydthebeat

Looks like they're actually going for the record.....

FtD v2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124547536#Comment_124547536

Yeah Jordi Murphy did great out of moving - he went from earning 25 Ireland caps over a few seasons, winning multiple 6 Nations titles, starting (and winning) a Champions Cup Final with Leinster, to earning a further 6 caps over the next 5 years or so and never winning another trophy. A real poster child for moving.

It is tiresome to keep hearing the same nonsensical points with little backing them up, and a repeated moving of the goalposts.

darkened_scrum

Jordi barely played at all in his final 2 years for Ulster as well, which I don't think was injury related. He also didn't age out, he retired at 32 (he's only 35 now and he's been retired a few years). He only had 2 decent seasons at Ulster where he got proper gametime.

ersatz

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124548272#Comment_124548272

He left Leinster to get game time which was going to SOB/Leavy w VDF emerging, and had 3 good seasons at Ulster, incl a few caps but there he had the same stiff competition. He also captained Ulster, no doubt those seasons saw more gametime for him that he'd have had at Leinster against those guys. He did an interview outlining all this a couple of years ago.

Paul Smeenus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124548496#Comment_124548496

He went to the RWC but got injured in the first game against Russia I think?

FtD v2

Look away @Paul Smeenus - but another point I do find unusual and surprised it has gotten virtually zero play in the media around David Humphreys' role as IRFU Performance Director is how that intersects with his brother's role as one of the biggest agents to Irish rugby players.

David Humphreys is in the most prominent role in Irish rugby from a player contracting perspective, and Ian Humphreys seems to operate a quasi-one man band agency for a number of years named Anzo Sports, which represents all of the following:

Ronan Kelleher - Leinster
Tom Clarkson - Leinster
Craig Casey - Munster
Robert Baloucoune - Ulster
Jacob Stockdale - Ulster
Nick Timoney - Ulster
Ciaran Frawley - Leinster
Tom O'Toole - Ulster
Tom Stewart - Ulster
Jimmy O'Brien - Leinster
James Hume - Ulster
Max Deegan - Leinster
Shane Daly - Munster
Will Connors - Leinster
Ed Byrne - Cardiff / Leinster
Brian Gleeson - Munster
Scott Wilson - Ulster
Evan O'Connell - Munster
Alex Usanov - Leinster
Diarmuid Mangan - Leinster
Ruadhan Quinn - Munster
Stewart Moore - Ulster
Josh Wycherley - Munster
Sam Illo - Connacht
Ethan McIlroy - Ulster
James McNabney - Ulster
Niall Murray - Connacht
Finn Treacy - Connacht
Dave Shanahan - Ulster
James Humphreys - Ulster
Joe Hopes - Ulster
Henry McErlean - Leinster Academy
Oliver Coffey - Leinster Academy
Gene O'Leary Kareem - Munster Academy
Jacob Boyd - Ulster Academy
Caspar Gabriel - Leinster Academy
Max Flynn - Connacht Academy
Ciaran Mangan - Leinster Academy
Sean Walsh - Connacht Academy
Eoghan Smyth - Munster Academy
Todd Lawlor - Leinster Academy

It's certainly an unusual scenario I would have thought to have a scenario where the IRFU Performance Director is sitting down opposite his brother potentially to thresh out contracts for some of these players (as they ascend up the Irish reckoning).

Paul Smeenus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124557132#Comment_124557132

Yeah, I think it's completely valid to be uncomfortable about that.

What is criticial though is that the company was incorporated in 2018, and had been representing Irish players and working with David Nucifora since then.

So it was already a long-established relationship with the IRFU. The IRFU was prepared to appoint Humphreys Sr despite that. That decision rests ultimately with the IRFU. If it looks bad, well, IRFU appointed him in full knowledge, so it's on the powers that be.

It's also quite possible that Humphreys is sitting down to negotiate with David Kennedy, the other, older named Company Officer. As far as I know he never had a playing career, so it makes sense that Ian's face is the one plastered all over the website. But it's certainly not a one-man band.

But I don't know the machinations, that's off a quick look at the details on UK Company House. It's certainly enough to raise an eyebrow.

NB - Kennedy I suspect is the money man, he's on the board of around 8 companies. So it probably is David vs Ian around the table.

aloooof

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124557132#Comment_124557132

This is certainly a far more valid and reasonable criticism than, for example:

Humphreys introducing the 40% CC contribution to appease people shouting on Twitter.
Leinster not having 11 Central Contracts fully paid for is hindering them at every turn.
Humphreys - the IRFU Performance Director - being happy to, net, make the Provinces worse, in an effort to even up the Provinces

Which are all distinct and various degrees of hysterics we've heard on here over the last while.

FtD v2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124557214#Comment_124557214

You have added virtually nothing to this wider topic beyond this sort of posting above, which is purely designed to inflame rows.

FtD v2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124557177#Comment_124557177

I think even if it were the case he was discussing with the other guy, it would still be with a company his brother is a Director of, and I still think the appearance of potential conflict would still exist.

I agree with you, to be fair, that Ian Humphreys has been operating as a rugby agent for a decade, pretty much immediately as soon as he finished playing, but I think it's just another reason why David Humphreys wasn't the right appointment for this role to begin with.

It is insane, in a market as small as Ireland, to have a situation where he's representing 31 senior contracted players (18% of all senior contracted players in Ireland) and another 10 Academy players (13% of all Academy players), and the guy who is one of the very most influential stakeholders around the prospects of those players is his brother.

Paul Smeenus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124557285#Comment_124557285

Fair. It's a substantial proportion of players (some of whom are very important to Ireland), so it's not like it's a minor footnote. It's a very valid concern.

(And I'm not sure drawing attention to it is in any way sensible, even as a wind-up, but I did notice Lowe wasn't on the list… Although Humphreys Jr Jr (James) is, and he's just been unceremoniously dumped.)

FtD v2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124557429#Comment_124557429

To be fair, there are a few who have been cut loose this year on the client roster (including, most notably James Humphreys):

Ed Byrne - got a mid-season move to Leinster, but doesn't appear to have a club beyond this
Dave Shanahan - finishing with Ulster
Gene O'Leary Kareem - cut from Munster Academy
Henry McErlean - cut from Leinster Academy

Also a couple who have been subject to topical renewals:

Ciaran Frawley & Will Connors - both leaving Leinster this season

James Lowe is an outlier amongst Irish rugby players in that he is represented by a more international agency (Mn2S), and his agent is not from the usual stable of former Irish pro players.

aloooof

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124557270#Comment_124557270

With the greatest of respect here, I've:

explained in depth why I think the 40% introduction was absolutely necessary
explained in depth why, while I would have preferred to retain Lowe and understand Leinster's fans frustrations, I think he may not be the loss that he's painted to be by some
corrected various factual inaccuracies along the way

All of which - I feel - has contributed to very over-the-top criticism of Humphrey's on here. Such as those (imo hyperbolic) claims I referenced above.

I'm entitled to that opinion, even if you disagree with it.

But just because you disagree with it doesn't mean I've "added virtually nothing to the wider topic".

sydthebeat

WhatsApp Image 2026-06-18 at 15.44.44.jpeg

I dont think its a good look for Humphreys to be doing softball interviews with ex teammates.

The last interview i can find by Humphreys with a journalist is over 18 months ago, and a hell of lot of things have happened in regards to player movement, coaching movement and players contracts in that time period.

ersatz

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124561253#Comment_124561253

I'd say he is in a comms conundrum. The incompetence stories are piling up (the coaching stupids at Munster, Lowe, rearranging the funding org, etc) so he can't be seen to be hiding away from scrutiny, but taking on a real journalist in a broadsheet would expose him because there aren't easy or necessarily palatable answers to some of the questions he'd be asked. This option at least kicks the can down the road.

bingobango12

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124561253#Comment_124561253

I’ve never listened to this podcast and don’t plan to but surely this isn’t a good idea. Tommy Bowe at least come across as a somewhat intelligent ex player but I assume an ex player that has crossed paths a lot with Humphrey’s.
MOD EDIT

I can’t see what benefit will come out of talking to them from an IRFU standpoint.

clsmooth

Humphrys on the podcast trying to angle it that a great offer came in from Japan and Lowe decided to move on:

’Contract offers are made throughout the year- In James’ case an offer came in towards the end of the season which was better than the option he had within the Irish system and he’s chosen to move on’

Disappointing from him trying to pin it on Lowe by telling half the story. Bad enough pulling the rug out from someone and low balling them, but to follow it up making out that it was Lowe that decided to cash out in a rare media appearance is a really bad look. You only need to see Lowe’s interview after the game yesterday to see how cut up he is about the whole thing.

ersatz

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124566811#Comment_124566811

given that leaks from Leinster already foreclosed this narrative (Lowe got an offer which was subsequently replaced by an inferior offer) this puts Humphries in a worse position. If the Summer tour goes well none of it matters but if the wheels come off this will come back on Humphries and the Union.

big-al

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124567529#Comment_124567529

Lowe isn’t going no to be making much difference to the Irish summer tour. He has had a poor season.

Crowley and Doris being ruled out will have a greater bearing on the success of the tour, not James Lowe.

ersatz

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124567556#Comment_124567556

Absence will make the heart grow fonder. We have issues on the wing, worse w TOB on the sidelines.

Zeugnis

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124566811#Comment_124566811

Was Humphrey's asked about the IRFU's retraction of the terms originally offered in the 1+1 contract as described by Treacy?