It's a challenge and that's all it is; nothing is written in stone despite what the blazeratti of the other three provinces and their administrative hounds think. We and Connacht Rugby has choices to make and they must make them now, not at the end of this season when there are fewer distractions to distract our focus.

We can accept this from the IRFU or do something about it/ force their hand. My own feeling is that any attempt by the IRFU to withdraw financial support for Connacht should be rebuked forcibly through the courts, I'm positive that there is sufficient evidence that Connacht Rugby has been systematically discriminated against by collusion of the IRFU committees for decades (never mind in the pro era).

One example of the discrimination is that the other three provinces are widely known as the Senior Provinces, on what basis? The fact that the Connacht Branch was not created until Ten Years after Leinster, and six years after Munster & Ulster. We constantly have thrown in or faces that there is no rugby history in Connacht, to the extent that some younger supporter actually believe that. They are simply confusing Success with History, there is 115 years of Rugby in Connacht...

Lets face it, if our culling is the raison d'être of the IRFU then legal action has to be the final roll of the dice in our defence. If a court case was to be brought against the IRFU,

• They won't want their accounts brought into evidence showing the decades and decades of waste that has gone on (including currently paying millions of Euro per annum to foriegn players, when there are perfeclty adequete palyers available and young players crying out for opportuntiy),
  
• And also confirming the biased against investment and representation at the same level as the other provinces into and for Connacht. 

I don't have all the answers, but three things I do know if we are culled..

1. I will support fully any concerted campaign to defend our right to a Professional Rugby team.
   
2. If my Province is culled to save a few shekels, I will never support an Irish Team national or Provincial side for the rest of my days.
3. I would seriously consider not allowing or encouraging my child/ or any other children within the province to play in a club or participate in Rugby activity governed by the Irish Rugby Football Union.

The great sadness is that the Conancht Branch shot itself in the foot four years ago when it effictively disenfranchised and forced the closure of it's own supporters club. Will thosewho were heavily involved at the time step forward this to man the barricades..? Possibly, but I'd say the branch needs to formally throw an olive branch out to this group to ensure thatthey are on board.

"West's awake to new IRFU threat

GERRY THORNLEY Rugby Correspondent

Fri, Feb 26, 2010

RUGBY: THERE IS deep disquiet within Connacht's ranks that, yet again, the Sword of Damocles may be hanging over them following the IRFU's recent decision to permit only one-year contracts for those already on the province's books.

This also follows a recent governance and operations review of the professional game within Connacht, which has either yet to be completed or the results of which have yet to be made known.

Apart from a handful of players who were already under longer contracts, it is understood the IRFU are only sanctioning one-year deals for any other players whom Connacht are looking to re-sign beyond the end of the 2009-10 season.

This is in stark contrast to the other three provinces, where most of their squads have already been signed up for next season and where the union have not applied such an across-the-board ceiling on the length of contracts.

For example, Ulster have recently signed Johann Muller and Xavier Rush, as well as home-grown players Stephen Ferris, Paddy Wallace and Rory Best, on longer deals.

What's more, Leinster have already found a successor to Michael Cheika and secured the Clermont Auvergne assistant coach Joe Schmidt on a three-year deal, and Tony McGahan has re-signed for another two years at Munster, whereas Connacht have been unable to confirm Michael Bradley's successor.

This is despite Bradley announcing his decision to stand down after seven years at the helm as far ago as early November and, on top of which, Connacht quickly lined up his assistant, Eric Elwood, as the man to replace Bradley.

However, as with player contracts, the IRFU will only sanction a one-year contract for Elwood which, understandably, has not gone down well with the province or, presumably, Elwood.

In truth, the threat to Connacht has never fully gone away ever since the IRFU considered axing the province as a professional entity in the 2002-03 season. That was only averted after the supporters rallied round the province and marched on Lansdowne Road.

Within the province, it is feared that one or two influential committee men, as opposed to the executive staff, are again looking at the possibility of saving the union an estimated €2.5 million per annum by abandoning Connacht as a professional entity at the end of the 2010-11 season.

This is in light of the financing of the Aviva Stadium (the loan for which is being paid off in five years), the estimated halving of the valuation of their property portfolio in the economic downturn and undisclosed financial assistance to Ulster.

Regarding the policy to offer only one-year contracts to the Connacht players, an IRFU spokesperson last night confirmed: "That's correct," adding: "The reason behind that is that the union have conducted a governance and operations review which has only just been completed.

"That was on the basis that Connacht came to the union to ask us to look at their rugby and business model. Connacht felt that they were in an unsustainable position and asked the IRFU to conduct a review in order to create a more sustainable model to operate in.

"Pending that review the union felt it was prudent not to offer more than one-year contracts.

"Very few people have seen that review," he added, but said that it would soon be circulated.

It could be that when the results of the review are released, the purse strings will yet be loosened and contracts of more than one year will be sanctioned.

But until that happens, those within Connacht's professional ranks will remain deeply concerned.

© 2010 The Irish Times"

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