‘IRFU is totally committed to drive the women’s game on' – Kevin Potts
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IRFU chief executive Kevin Potts believes the union has regained the trust of the large group of current and former players who wrote to the government 11 months ago to say they had “sadly lost all trust and confidence in the IRFU and its leadership”.
The letter, signed by 62 individuals, was a bomb-shell moment last December and after initially “refuting” the missive, the union subsequently met with the group and began working towards making changes.
That has led to the establishment of a professional set-up for the XVs game, while the second review into the running of the sport is due to be released in the coming weeks.
“I’ve taken a very active, personal role in that process,” Potts said. “I do believe we have turned a corner significantly.
“The IRFU is totally committed to putting the structures in place to drive the women’s game on.
“The report in the weeks ahead will cover areas from pathways to inclusivity to the competition models and we are determined to put those structures in place.
“It will take time, it will take years to get this right. But if it takes years, that is what it will take and we need to be patient.
“We’ve done a lot this year, we’re putting in place a professional programme and it’s not just about contracts and players, we’ve got to put the facilities, staffing, meeting rooms and all that stuff in place.
“There’s a huge amount of work going on. I’d like to think there’s trust from what we’ve done this year. There’s definitely commitment.”
Within the new professional set-up, the union will pay a group of players between €20-35,000 per year, plus incentives which could see players earn as much as €45,000.
Between the Sevens and XVs teams, 29 have penned deals but a number of major figures including XVs captain Nichola Fryday declined the IRFU’s offer due to a variety of concerns around the salaries on offer and, perhaps more importantly, the competition structures in place.
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