AS BEFITS their status as European kingpins, Grand Slam champions and the fourth-ranked side in the world – behind the Southern Hemisphere heavyweights – Ireland unveiled their new, handsomely remunerated playing kit amid the splendour of the Radisson Hotel, Stillorgan, yesterday.
The eight-year deal with Puma is believed to be worth €5 million per annum over the next eight years.
This far exceeds previous deals with Canterbury, and according to trade insiders is made up of €4 million in direct payments and €1 million of actual clothing which Puma will provide to the Irish senior and under-age squads.
It is all proof, were it needed, that rugby continues to operate in something of a bubble, although possibly this deal was hatched in pre-bubble-bursting days.
It’s still a long way off the European club football gravy train, in which the French football federation recently agreed a switch from Adidas to Nike believed to have fetched them €50 million a year, or the near €30 million per year Manchester United can obtain.
But by way of contrast, English rugby’s Nike deal is reputed to be worth around €2.5 million per year over four years, while the New Zealand RFU’s deal is reckoned to be in the region of €7 million per year, but that includes their five Super 14 franchises.
Adidas’ new accord with Munster is over €2.5 million per year.
Invariably there have been teething difficulties for what is a new foray for Puma in the modern era, but the squad have been pleasantly surprised at how hands-on the suppliers have been in seeking to satisfy player demands. And, as Paddy Wallace pointed out yesterday in welcoming the change, he has been wearing Canterbury clothing since under-age teams.
The replica home shirt, which sports the new IRFU crest, returns to a more traditional, dark green described as “power green”, and will go on sale on October 8th. It will be worn by the Irish team for the first time against Australia on November 15th in Croke Park.
Eight of the squad which had completed a two-day get-together in Dublin with a second session in Donnybrook’s main pitch earlier in the day, modelled the new kit in a variety of shapes, ranging from John Hayes to Ronan O’Gara and Paddy Wallace. But not even the kit suppliers could have scripted what happened next.
Wheeled out first were Paul O’Connell and Brian O’Driscoll, but – already discommoded by O’Gara having his shorts on backwards – just as the heroic Lions captain was being asked his first question, he heard Gordon D’Arcy – how shall we put this – break wind.
O’Connell simply broke down laughing, and though the questioner tried to change the line of questioning regarding the new kit, every time O’Connell tried to talk he cracked up again – three times in all before the microphone was turned to O’Driscoll. It will be on YouTube for years.
O’Connell’s “corpsing” brought to mind the famous giggling fit of the late cricket commentator Brian Johnson on BBC Radio 5. “Oh Aggers, stop.”
It spread around the room.
The blurb told us the shirt features a “revolutionary double layer construction” while “seams and ‘pumaflex’ stretch panels are strategically positioned to improve the player’s freedom of movement”. But O’Connell couldn’t have said that if he’d been offered millions at the time himself, though he eventually pulled himself together.
“I’m glad I didn’t hear it,” admitted O’Driscoll, “let’s put it that way, because I’m sure I would have reacted somewhat similarly.”
Asked if a mortified O’Connell becomes embarrassed easily, O’Driscoll joked: “He’s half way there already from the reddener point of view anyway with the colour of his head. Once you get in those fits, it’s hard to stop.”
Declan Kidney and his Irish brains trust have opted for a series of three short and sharp, two-day training camps rather than one week-long affair to repeat messages and keep things fresh, and looming large on the horizon after Australia and Fiji this November is a little rendezvous with South Africa at Croke Park.
“It’s always nice to play the world champions,” commented Luke Fitzgerald, “especially when they’re in top form just having beaten New Zealand on their home turf, which is obviously a very difficult thing to do and was a big thing for them, because if they’re going to win it they’re probably going to have to beat New Zealand on home turf.
“It’s going to be a very tough encounter and we’ll have to be on top of our game ourselves if we’re going to beat them. But with the players we have available to us and the coaching staff that we have working around us I think we’ve every opportunity to beat them.”
It’s a measure of the task facing Ireland that not only do they host two teams above them in the world rankings (Australia are third and the Boks first), but only one Irish side since the Grand Slammers of 1948 have managed to win in Paris and London in the same year, namely the class of 1972 who were then denied the opportunity to play Scotland and Wales.
“Therein lies an extra challenge, going and trying to win in London and Paris in the same year,” enthused O’Driscoll.
“Certainly no team that I’ve been involved in has managed to do that. So it’s another thing to go after and I know the group of players here will certainly revel in that.”
