Luke Fitz to leave Leinster - contract row with IRFU

Irish Times's Gerry Thornley (aka the mouthpiece of the IRFU) writes today that there is deadlock in Luke Fitz's negotiations on a new central contract with the IRFU and that he may be heading to England or France (London Irish being mentioned as one possible destination). Fitz not very happy, it seems, at having his salary cut from 280k to 200k and IRFU not prepared to go higher for a player who at best is going to be a panel member and not part of a starting XV.

IT link - http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2012/0327/1224313955286.html

Injuries and loss of form means that Fitz has fallen well down the pecking order for Ireland and also down the pecking order for Leinster. Good form by new young players like Zebo, D Kearney, Gilroy as well as Bowe and Trimble established as Ireland's starting wings means Fitz isn't exactly in a good negotiating position and I would have thought a 200k a year two-year contract is bloody good for a player who's going to be on the fringes for Ireland in the next two years.

I feel sorry for Fitz, it's that long ago since he was the starting wing for the Lions, but injuries have hit him hard and his form as he tried to work his way back in was not great. Maybe best thing for him might be a period outside Ireland.

How much does that convert to in punds? And would he find a club willing to spend that much on him, what with their salary cap etc?

It would be best for Irish rugby to keep him, but he'll still be available for selection.

My biggest fear is that the IRFU will be petty and vindictive enough to block his selection if he leaves Ireland. That would be awful. Imagine if we had took the same line with Tommy Bowe after he signed for the Ospreys.

£235k (ish). I guess that may be worth a punt for one of the French clubs.

I think the London Irish link is a bit of a red herring to be honest. As much as I would love to see a player of Fitzgerald's undoubted quality at the club, the back three is one area that we have real depth in.

I would be very susprised if he lands at the MadStad in the near future.

It makes sense that Fitz would be facing a pay cut to be honest, because Tommy Bowe is back on a central contract from next season of course and Trimble, Earls and Kearney all have central deals too. I'd like Fitzgerald to round out the back three options but he hasn't played a part in the last two major tournaments with Ireland.

280k euro is 235k sterling, euro/stg exchange rate is about 0.83. Sounds like a lot of money for English clubs where there is a lowish salary cap, France sounds more likely, I'd say, if he ends up going

I dont want to see Fitzgerald go but at the same time i dont think the IRFU should break the bank to keep him.

Trimble, Bowe, Earls, Zebo, Gilroy and Kearney Jr are all options on the wing, albeit some unproven whilst we have young centres coming through. Only those involved in the negotiations know what has been offered and only the IRFU know how tight they need to be regarding cutbacks. It would be a shame mind you.

The issue with other central contracts is that the likes of Leamy and Paddy Wallace shouldnt be on them

Ozzy3213 wrote:I think the London Irish link is a bit of a red herring to be honest. As much as I would love to see a player of Fitzgerald's undoubted quality at the club, the back three is one area that we have real depth in.

I would be very susprised if he lands at the MadStad in the near future.

What about at 13? That is the position I feel Fitz NEEDS to start at. Could be the next Irish 13 I think.

Rory_Gallagher wrote:

Ozzy3213 wrote:I think the London Irish link is a bit of a red herring to be honest. As much as I would love to see a player of Fitzgerald's undoubted quality at the club, the back three is one area that we have real depth in.

I would be very susprised if he lands at the MadStad in the near future.

What about at 13? That is the position I feel Fitz NEEDS to start at. Could be the next Irish 13 I think.

Wouldn't the IRFU have suggested him heading to Munster, instead of having Lualala brought in, if they were considering him as a centre?

What about at 13? That is the position I feel Fitz NEEDS to start at. Could be the next Irish 13 I think.

LI have good options at 13 with Joseph (a youngster with speed to spare and magical foot work) and Ansbro (experienced international with speed and an eye for a gap). They probably won't need another 13, especially one as expensive as Fitz, I mean £235k is big money for an AP club especially one like LI who don't spend up to the salary cap. He would be a luxuary item and probably only Bath would go in for him on that.

France a more likely destination if he wants cash.

I doubt Ireland are considering him at centre. I just think Fitzgerald is an extremely talented player, and his best position would be 13. Not sure if he will ever actually get the chance to play there though. I hope he does.

If we are spending that sort of money ona player it needs to be a top tighthead, openside or outside half, as they are our weak positions at London Irish.

Not a chance of Fitz coming to us in my opinion.

average T14 salary for next year seem to go down to 8000€ per month (-15% as currently at 10k€). although top earners will still be around 50k€ per month so depends how do you rate him. dont think french club would invest big bucks in a somehow still inexperienced player keeping in mind they have extra pressure to have more homegrown players in their squads (the so called "JIFFs").

In defence of the IRFU they have to base their offers on what they offer the national team. In fitzgeralds case the answer (through injury and other factors) is not a lot based on the last two years.

I think that wish list is much the same for the entire AP Ozzy. Only Saints and Tigers would cross off tighthead (maybe Glaws as well as they have two promising players), Tigers might cross off the other two as well actually but we could do with a hooker. I certainly think that a utility back 11,13,14,15 is really not a requirement for any team, especially at that price.

OK so Buckley, TOL, now Fitz - maybe the penny is beginning to drop - 2.5 and a bit Club sides feeding a national side doesn't really make sense

Personally I think some time in France for example for some people like Heaslip for example would do the Irish game a lot of good

Just looking again at the Irish Times link I posted in the OP, it's not clear if the 280k and 200k mentioned is for the two yearn contract is an annual salary. If it's for the two years then teams outside Ireland might see Fitz as good value although 280k for two years in England or France is still probably at the upper end of salaries.

Hard to see that Fitz was being paid 280k a year, always thought it only the real top players - BOD, POC, ROG - who were getting that sort of loot from the IRFU

He was on fire at the start of the season and arguably the form player in the country.

I don't think his form last year was anywhere near as bad as made out and I can understand Fitzgerald not seeing eye to eye with the IRFU at the minute.

I think a move away may help him kick start his career again because he's clearly slipped down the Irish pecking order.

Another note. he cant fall back on his strike rate which isnt great and is by far the worst of Earls, Trimble, Bowe and him. Like i say i dont want to see him go. I suppose no one knows the context as we dont know the wages of each player.

Hard to see that Fitz was being paid 280k a year, always thought it only the real top players - BOD, POC, ROG - who were getting that sort of loot from the IRFU

I'd assume he would be getting E150kish from Leinster and then a top up from the IRFU. If that is E280k over two years or £235k over two years in real money then he may well have a lot of suitors. £120k a year would see him get plenty of offers as that is about par for the course when it comes to talented backs, Twelvetrees has been given £150k per season at Gloucester (though they were desperate for a 12 and there was competition from Saints).

The 280K would be a single years salary and it is euros not pounds.
So the revised offer is 200K euro i.e. 170K pounds.

280k and 200k euro are, I believe, two of the band levels for Irish players and if my understanding is correct regarding who is on the 280k level Fitzgerald is not a 280k player.

In fairness Fitzgerald is a Lions test international, HEC and GS winner.

Twelvetrees has played at Saxons level and wasn't 1st choice at the Tigers.

roddersm wrote:In fairness Fitzgerald is a Lions test international, HEC and GS winner.

Twelvetrees has played at Saxons level and wasn't 1st choice at the Tigers.

So is Tomas O'Leary (well a selected Lion at least) but i would hire all sorts of assassins to go after the IRFU if they offered him 280k a year

Bath will have him! Especially now Carraro has gone, we are definitely a winger and a centre short, so might be perfect. How he thinks he can get £250k, even £200k, I don't know though

Standulstermen wrote:

roddersm wrote:In fairness Fitzgerald is a Lions test international, HEC and GS winner.

Twelvetrees has played at Saxons level and wasn't 1st choice at the Tigers.

So is Tomas O'Leary but i would hire all sorts of assassins to go after the IRFU if they offered him 280k a year

Fair point!!

roddersm wrote:

Standulstermen wrote:

roddersm wrote:In fairness Fitzgerald is a Lions test international, HEC and GS winner.

Twelvetrees has played at Saxons level and wasn't 1st choice at the Tigers.

So is Tomas O'Leary but i would hire all sorts of assassins to go after the IRFU if they offered him 280k a year

Fair point!!

Its frightening isnt it

If my local club team paid TOL's travel expenses to training or gave him a free team tracksuit I'd go after them with a team of assassins.

Yeah lads...bring in Marshall...the man who could do nothing right at the start of the year and still cant get a HC start!!!!

Would be disappointed to see Luke Fitz go...he is a class player...

Thats the beauty of form DOD. It would be a step up from the man who started the year poorly and has gotten worse.

Marshall started against Clermont and Leicester as well in the HEC so two starts down.

DOD wrote:Yeah lads...bring in Marshall...the man who could do nothing right at the start of the year and still cant get a HC start!!!!

Would be disappointed to see Luke Fitz go...he is a class player...

That would be the same Marshall who has had more game time this year than Boss, Reddan, Murray or TOL

Just looked at the facts and it confirms Marshall as the Irish SH who has made the most starts and palyed the most games out of the 5 leading players.

Marshall 14 + 9subs
Boss 11 + 6
TOL 7 + 10
Murray 9 + 1
Reddan 7 + 5

DOD wrote:Yeah lads...bring in Marshall...the man who could do nothing right at the start of the year and still cant get a HC start!!!!

Who said anything about Marshall? There's a few fellas playing golden oldies rugby down the road who're better than TOL, pretty much anyone would suffice.

Lets not have a pishing match about O’Leary lads.

Fitzgerald would be a massive loss to Leinster. Maybe it wouldn’t be too bad if he spent a year or two in France or England but I really hope we can hang onto him. A product of our academy, a double HC winner, a GS winner and a Lion, would be gutted to see him go. particularly as his form in the early part of the season was fantastic.

think i year or two in france would do him good. he thrives in open play obviously. Think a move to england is a bad idea though. right now i think leinster can afford to loose him

Agree with you Hugo.

I think it will benefit Lukey, benefit Ireland, benefit Leinster and benefit whatever team signs him.

Aged 24 he has won the HEC twice already with Leinster. He cant achieve any more there. Get out of the goldfish bowl and learn a new style of rugby.

However I agree with you I dont think England will suit him.

Would have no prob with Lukey going to France, as long as he doesn't end up being penalised by the IRFU for moving abroad. We've had enough of this sh1t from the blazers and I've no problem with any player who either isn't getting game time or is in a squad where there are too many competing for the starting places moving abroad. Seemed to work well with Stringer this season and now he's back in Munster squad. And a few years ago certainly worked for Cullen and Jennings when they were at Leicester and Mike Ross when he was at Quins

The IRFU stance however has been pathetic but when it comes to small-mindedness our lords and masters in Irfuland have few equals.

Brennomac, Stringers not back at Munster. He went from Saracens to Newcastle. He will be back soon. Just being pedantic about it.

I suppose the big question is should Ireland select more foreign players.

For example should Eoin Reddan have been starting for Ireland in 2006 when he was performing well with Wasps? Should James Downey have been tried at inside centre for Ireland. Why did a young Ian Humphreys not get the chance at being ROGs understudy when he so brilliantly orchestrated Munsters downfall in Thomond Park for Tigers.

brennomac wrote:Would have no prob with Lukey going to France, as long as he doesn't end up being penalised by the IRFU for moving abroad. We've had enough of this sh1t from the blazers and I've no problem with any player who either isn't getting game time or is in a squad where there are too many competing for the starting places moving abroad. Seemed to work well with Stringer this season and now he's back in Munster squad. And a few years ago certainly worked for Cullen and Jennings when they were at Leicester and Mike Ross when he was at Quins

The IRFU stance however has been pathetic but when it comes to small-mindedness our lords and masters in Irfuland have few equals.

I am convinced that both would have many more caps if they had stayed in Ireland. I feel that it went against their Ireland chances EVEN AFTER they returned. Mike Ross too. Remember Gert Small talking up Buckley JUST before 6N 2011.

Whatever Leo and Jeno learned at Leicester it certainly contributed to hardening up our pack, and we won a Magners League in their 1st year home with 4 wins in Wales where we had struggled. Then beat the Tigers in the HC final the following year and the rest is history.

Ollie Le Roux and Stan Wright were the other big contributors there too (In the pack that year)

Reddan did get called up in 2006 didn't he, along with wasps teammate Jonny O'Connor?

I think the IRFU have the right policy. They should select home based player were possible.

However were there are overseas alternatives who offer more or are performing better than their homebased counterparts then they should be selected.

It seems once a player gets a central contract they become nigh on undroppable which pretty much leaves anyone outside the core 'team Ireland' out in the cold until someone gets injured.

Fitzgerald is clearly outside that inner circle now so should focus on his club career and if that means moving then good luck to him. Hes been treated pretty shoddily in the past 6 months by the IRFU imo.

roddersm wrote:Reddan did get called up in 2006 didn't he, along with wasps teammate Jonny O'Connor?

I think the IRFU have the right policy. They should select home based player were possible.

However were there are overseas alternatives who offer more or are performing better than their homebased counterparts then they should be selected.

It seems once a player gets a central contract they become nigh on undroppable which pretty much leaves anyone outside the core 'team Ireland' out in the cold until someone gets injured.

Fitzgerald is clearly outside that inner circle now so should focus on his club career and if that means moving then good luck to him. Hes been treated pretty shoddily in the past 6 months by the IRFU imo.

The big downside of Central contracts. Have they served their purpose and is it time to change them?

Rodders - so he did,

In short I agree with you post. Summed up well.

I have my doubts about central contracting.

The trouble with central contract is you have lead time.

Some players have them who are past their best whilst others who are Ireland regulars dont have them.

2 year max and only 1 year only over 30 would help a little.

If they don't change we will never compete with the best sides imo.

We are running the national side like a club side. The best players must be selected at a given time, not the players on contracts.

geoff998rugby wrote:The trouble with central contract is you have lead time.

Some players have them who are past their best whilst others who are Ireland regulars dont have them.

2 year max and only 1 year only over 30 would help a little.

Excellent idea. Even an annual contract a bit like the EPS or something.

[quote="red_stag"]Brennomac, Stringers not back at Munster. He went from Saracens to Newcastle. He will be back soon. Just being pedantic about it.

I suppose the big question is should Ireland select more foreign players.

For example should Eoin Reddan have been starting for Ireland in 2006 when he was performing well with Wasps?

Maybe, but I seem to remember strings being motm in the Heineken cup final that year. Strings was playing very well then alongside the Ireland outhalf

Should James Downey have been tried at inside centre for Ireland.

He was tried. He was on the tour to Canada & US in 2009. He played in the Churchill Cup as well.

Why did a young Ian Humphreys not get the chance at being ROGs understudy when he so brilliantly orchestrated Munsters downfall in Thomond Park for Tigers.

One swallow doesn't make a summer ? (Though I seem to remember him spending a lot of time hiding out on the wing).

Ireland should try selecting more Irish players rather than the sub-set of the Irish nation that the current team is chosen from


How on earth is Mike McCarthy a better second row that Tom Hayes ? Mind you Tom Hayes seems a very articulate and intelligent bloke playing in a progressive team in a position Ireland is a bit lacking

As the Guinness ad used to say "genious"

I agree Geoff but the problem is that players will go overseas to get longer contracts.

There's too much player power at work and the bigger name guys who have contributed so much in the past decade have now become bigger than the team, the IRFU and the national coaches. What's best for the team and Irish rugby comes secondary to what keeps Brian, Ronan, Paulie, Donners etc happy and fit.

The long term deals dished out to some of the older players recently has been ludicrous.

Well Tom Hayes in in his 30's and did not play top flight rugby till this year so his non appearance is not surprising.

To be honest if he played instead of Tuohy, Toner or Stevenson for example I would very disappointed.

[quote="roddersm"]

It seems once a player gets a central contract they become nigh on undroppable which pretty much leaves anyone outside the core 'team Ireland' out in the cold until someone gets injured.

O'Leary & Luke Fitz were on central contracts. Paddy Wallace is on a central contract. Gordon D'Arcy is not on a central contract. Sean O'Brien is not on a central contract. Denis Leamy was on a central contract.

Fitzgerald is clearly outside that inner circle now so should focus on his club career and if that means moving then good luck to him. Hes been treated pretty shoddily in the past 6 months by the IRFU imo.

Which proves the point that to get a central contract you generally need to be the best performer as he is being dropped from the "inner circle." How has he been treated shoddily? The IRFU isn't a charity. All the players have taken cuts (including POC who is at the top of his game at the moment).