IRFU should buy London Irish....

[MylesNaGapoleen]

5th province, whether that is in premiership or URC would be a smart move for the IRFU..LI are, like all english clubs, struggling financially and could be ripe for an intervention & buy out.

4 teams is looking like a bottleneck for the talent we're generating.

[ormond lad]

RFU and PRL wouldnt give go ahead. We're still not getting best out of the 4 provinces we do have.
We coulld do more to help the extended squad players within the provinces and getting them A games etc than this as well

[MylesNaGapoleen]

RFU and PRL wouldnt give go ahead. We're still not getting best out of the 4 provinces we do have.
We coulld do more to help the extended squad players within the provinces and getting them A games etc than this as well

if the debts continue to pile up...the RFU & PRL would be delighted to see a club not going bust.
fair point about A games, though. and munster seem more happy now taking leinster players..patterson is settling in there well.

[Schumi]

RFU and PRL wouldnt give go ahead. We're still not getting best out of the 4 provinces we do have.
We coulld do more to help the extended squad players within the provinces and getting them A games etc than this as well

if the debts continue to pile up...the RFU & PRL would be delighted to see a club not going bust.
fair point about A games, though. and munster seem more happy now taking leinster players..patterson is settling in there well.

The IRFU shouldn't be spending its money paying off London Irish's debt. More funding for Connacht would be a better way to spend money.

[ronk]

This was discussed recently and there are all sorts of reasons why it could never happen. Consent from the RFU being enough to fully roadblock it. LI have moved recently and made a big investment.

I think their support isn't especially strong either in Ireland or among the more recent ex-pat community. Since Ryanair fans in London can support teams in Ireland more easily.

Leinster are exporting players, but the other provinces don't really have that problem so it's not clear that a 5th province is necessary from that perspective. A 5th province divides up many funding sources and effectively means an extra province not qualifying for the Heineken Cup/playoffs. The only significant new funding source would be their gate (probably small) and derbys (probably bigger).

I don't think a 5th province is viable right now, especially coming out of the Covid financial crisis. If/when that changes Cork is by a distance the best option.

[MylesNaGapoleen]

This was discussed recently and there are all sorts of reasons why it could never happen. Consent from the RFU being enough to fully roadblock it. LI have moved recently and made a big investment.

I think their support isn't especially strong either in Ireland or among the more recent ex-pat community. Since Ryanair fans in London can support teams in Ireland more easily.

Leinster are exporting players, but the other provinces don't really have that problem so it's not clear that a 5th province is necessary from that perspective. A 5th province divides up many funding sources and effectively means an extra province not qualifying for the Heineken Cup/playoffs. The only significant new funding source would be their gate (probably small) and derbys (probably bigger).

I don't think a 5th province is viable right now, especially coming out of the Covid financial crisis. If/when that changes Cork is by a distance the best option.

thanks for that. good points, well made.