Rugby College: At last, a million reasons for us to focus on rugby as Jamie Heaslip commits ...

By

Liam Heagney

PUBLISHED:

00:06, 24 January 2014

|
UPDATED:

01:14, 24 January 2014

It was at 3.14pm on Thursday when the multi-million euro contracts saga dominating Irish rugby finally ended. Jamie Heaslip, the last of the seven seeking juicy terms from the IRFU, finally stopped flirting with the notion of playing club rugby in France and instead committed himself to Leinster for the next three years.Â

Bluff. Brinkmanship. Call it what you like – the bottom line was that Heaslip’s signature brought to an end the drawn-out dance that commenced as far back as May when the IRFU’s player contracting review group (PCRG) made initial approaches to some of the seven as they were about to tour with the Lions.

Main man: No 8 Jamie Heaslip has signed up until 2017

Eight months down the track, all the nodding and winking, all the offers and counter offers, and all the visits to France and England are finally over. This stellar cast of seven has decided an overseas adventure won’t broaden their minds or, indeed, line their pockets. Not that they will be short of a bob of two after deciding to stay just where they are after all the speculation they could be off to sunnier – and richer – climes.Â

The business that is rugby players negotiating contracts is a speculative subject. Establishing hard and fast figures on what they will now bank isn’t an exact science, but it wouldn’t be far wrong to suggest the financially-challenged IRFU have shelled out in the region of â‚¬5.5million to keep this particular tranche of up-for-renewal talents at home.Â

Time will tell whether this spend is prudent or excessive outlay. It’s all well and good that all parties have eventually agreed terms, December deals for Conor Murray, Donnacha Ryan and Rory Best being followed this past week by Sean O’Brien, Paul O’Connell, Keith Earls and finally Heaslip, but credible tournaments for these well remunerated stars, other than the Six Nations, still need to be guaranteed for next season.

New deal: Jamie Heaslip has signed a new three-year contract with the Irish Rugby Football Union

If not, we could be left watching the costliest interprovincial series ever. As it stands, the IRFU deserve kudos (and perhaps a round of 7-Up given how seven has been this season’s magic number).

After last year’s negotiating farrago, where deals with Peter O’Mahony and Rob Kearney were respectively announced in the weeks of Six Nations matches when the focus should have been all on the rugby, they insisted they had a deadline of the middle to third week of January and they largely kept to their word.

Now Joe Schmidt can get on with the

business of the preparing the national team without any distractions

other than keeping his fingers firmly crossed that Johnny Sexton flies

into camp nextÂ Monday in one piece after Saturday’s Top 14 match for

Racing against Toulouse at the Stade de France.

You have to wonder if Sexton’s struggles in France were ultimately an

important factor in the likes of Heaslip opting to stay at home. Nathan

Hines, the former Leinster lock who is at Clermont, will openly tell you

the game in the Top 14 is very different to what goes on in PRO12.

Focused: Paul O

Focused: Paul O’Connell and Joe Schmidt can now concentrate on the RBS Six Nations

More confrontational and more physical in comparison to this neck of the woods where you would find yourself running around the park more.Â

That increased hammering on the body wouldn’t suit players used to the protection of the IRFU’s player welfare programme which guarantees rest in an effort to ensure top form is achievable in the big international and European games.Â

The hope now, with the central contracts saga going into hibernation, is that what happens next season will be vastly different to what has become an annual pantomime which creates needless headlines.

The PCRG is due to be disbanded and the new high performance manager, still rumoured to be Australian David Nucifora, will take responsibility for divvying up central contracts. A worry is the appointment has yet to be officially confirmed, but Schmidt still hopes the new man will be in-situ by the end of the season.Â

That would timely as another tranche of elite players will soon be asking what their initial offers are. Rugby’s great holdout is over for now. Time for some Test rugby. At last.