As much as rugby contract season generates a lot of talk and interest, we are looking forward to that inbox 'PING' and the IRFU proudly telling us that our top stars have, in fact, decided to stay in Ireland.
The contracts of
11 senior Ireland internationals are set to expire next June and most players will be hoping to be centrally contracted up to and far beyond the 2019 World Cup.
While all the talk has been of Munster's Peter O'Mahony and CJ Stander this week, Leinster [Garry Ringrose, Tadhg Furlong, Rob Kearney], Ulster [Iain Henderson, Tonmy Bowe, Rory Best, Jared Payne] and Connacht [Kieran Marmion] are all in the final months of their current deals. Munster winger Andrew Conway will be hoping for a bump, from provincial to central contract, after excelling for Ireland since his Test debut in March.
On
The Hard Yards, former Ireland lock Mike McCarthy stated that the union's priority should be securing the signature of Henderson, who has developed into a Test-level lineout caller, has captained Ulster and who did well on the Lions tour.
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Brian O'Driscoll has three other names on his mind, and only one of them is out of contract next summer. The former Ireland captain
told ESPNscrum:
"Johnny Sexton or Conor Murray or a Tadhg Furlong, I think those three names, if any of those were seen overseas the gulf between them and the next player is so vast that I think they'd have to pick them.
"Is Peter O'Mahony completely irreplaceable? Maybe not, albeit he's a shoo-in to the team right now, the strength of that back row is in a good spot. It will be a difficult decision for Peter O'Mahony.
"He's a young family too and he's 28 years of age so he's got to think about multiple things."
O'Driscoll acknowledged that the 2019 World Cup is 'the carrot' to all Ireland internationals but added that professional rugby careers are short and 'people have to maximise their earnings while they can'.
"It's about making sure you make the right decision from your rugby perspective, but also from your family and your security perspective," O'Driscoll noted. "There are some difficult decisions ahead for some of those key players."
