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Extra.ie
02-07-2025
- Sport
- Extra.ie
Irish referee throws IRFU's retirement gift in the bin
Chris Busby's career as a high-performance referee for the IRFU has come to an end after his retirement following the conclusion of the 2024/25 season. The Antrim man announced his retirement in January after being subject to public scrutiny from Mack Hansen following Leinster's 20-12 win over Connacht in the URC. Today's top videos STORY CONTINUES BELOW During the match on December 21 2024, there was a decision to not review a suspected head contact from Leinster's Jordie Barrett on Bundee Aki. Hansen was incensed with the decision on the pitch and subsequently aired his grievances in the post-match press conference. 21 December 2024; Referee Chris Busby during the United Rugby Championship match between Leinster and Connacht. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile In a quite surreal rant, Hansen described the refereeing as 'bu*****t' and claimed that decisions never go Connacht's way. On January 9, Hansen was banned for three games for his comments, fined €10,000 and forced to apologise to Busby. It was subsequently reported that Busby was planning to retire from refereeing at the end of the season. He confirmed those reports on January 30 this year. It came as a big shock as Busby was still a young referee and seen as one of the best in Ireland. It was reported that the Hansen incident was not the sole reason for Busby's decision to retire as he felt there was a lack of support from the IRFU for referees. 1 January 2024; Referee Chris Busby during the United Rugby Championship match between Connacht and Munster Pic: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile This has seemingly been confirmed in a LinkedIn post on Tuesday evening. In the post, Busby cites that he never received 'genuine support during the most difficult period of my professional life' and posted an image of a framed photo the IRFU had sent to him as a retirement gift in the bin. 'Today marks the end of my time with the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU),' Busby captioned the post. 'I was given a framed photo as a memento to mark the occasion. 'A gesture, I suppose. But what I really needed — and never received from IRFU leadership — was genuine support during the most difficult period of my professional life. Chris Busby's LinkedIn Post following his retirement from the IRFU 'I'll be sharing more about that in the months ahead. For now, I'm grateful for the people I've met through the game, and looking forward to what's next.' have reached out to the IRFU for comment.
The 42
02-07-2025
- Sport
- The 42
IRFU aims to launch contracted women's provinces by 26/27
THE IRFU IS aiming to set the wheels in motion for four contracted women's provincial teams by the start of the 2026/27 season. The union confirmed its intention to move towards four contracted provincial women's sides competing in 'cross-border, season-long tournaments' in its strategic plan last year and has now revealed a target timeline. Currently, two Irish teams compete in the Celtic Challenge, but the IRFU hopes to have four in an expanded version of that competition with Welsh and Scottish sides by 2026. 'We would like the provinces to start to take their first step towards that in the 26/27 season, and that's the project we're working on at the moment,' said IRFU head of women's strategy Lynne Cantwell, a former Ireland player who joined the union earlier this year. 'That won't look all bells and whistles. Even if we look to PWR [Premiership Women's Rugby], PWR started in 2017 and it's 2025 and it's still building and it still hasn't got fully-contracted players by any stretch, but it has a daily training environment that you have 20 hours a week where players are training, have access to full-time coaches, S&C, and competitive games, and that's what we're trying to build. 'So we want the provinces to take that first step on building that from 26/27 onwards. 'We're not too sure we're going to get there. We want to do it responsibly and sustainably – that's the two words we're working on.' Last year, the IRFU positioned women's rugby as a priority in its strategic plan up until 2028, with the appointment of Cantwell a key part of that. Capped 86 times by Ireland, Cantwell was an influential figure in the team that won the 2013 Grand Slam and reached the 2014 World Cup semi-finals. Cantwell was also one of the most prominent names to sign a letter to the Irish government in 2021 from a group of former and current players expressing their loss of all trust and confidence in the IRFU. At that time, Cantwell had started working as the women's high performance manager for the South African Rugby Union and she has also been a board member in Sport Ireland in recent years. Cantwell speaking last week. Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO Since joining the Irish union in January, she has been leading the rollout of the IRFU's strategy to take women's rugby to another level in the coming years. Advertisement Getting the four contracted provincial teams off the ground will be a big measure in furthering the encouraging progress of the Ireland national team over the past two seasons ahead of the upcoming World Cup. Irish players are still being lured abroad to England, as shown by this year's Six Nations player of the championship, Aoife Wafer, signing for Harlequins for the 2025/26 season. 'I'm delighted for Aoife in a way,' said Cantwell of that move. 'The Irish system has created her and it's great that you have the player of the Six Nations an Irish player and that's been created by Ireland. 'But if you've got an aspirational player while you still have flexibility within your contracting model and you just have the PWR across the water and you have an opportunity there to play with the best teams in the world after a World Cup year, I'm completely in support of her. What she will bring back is lots of IP and drive standards nationally. 'She'll obviously be missed from the two Celtic Challenge teams. But I understand while it's still evolving, if that opportunity knocks on your door to be able to do it, but you're right, you want more of those players to be playing in the Celtic Challenge over the coming years.' Women's rugby is in a major period of development, with unions across the world investing more and new competitions popping up. Cantwell said next year will bring a more formal version of the women's U20 Six Nations. The hope is that sponsors will continue an increased appetite to get involved. The IRFU currently spends around €9 million on women's rugby, with €2 million of revenues coming in, so there is a big gap to make up in the coming years. 'It's really significant now, the investment going into the game, especially over the last three years,' said Cantwell. 'It's nearly a 300% increase in the last three years. 'It's significant that there's €2 million coming in from a sponsorship point of view, that's really significant. What we have to do is build out the commercial portfolio to be able to attract more sponsors, get them on board and connect with the growth story and try and increase revenues over the next couple of years to try and close that delta. 'Although there's been more significant investment, there's so much more to go. We recognise it's a really competitive market. The opportunity is it's coming in at a low base and there's so much room to grow.' Cantwell believes the upcoming World Cup, which kicks off in August, will be game-changing for the women's game, particularly in Ireland. 'It's on your doorstep,' she said. 'It's going to break every record under the sun and Ireland have the potential to feel that bounce.' Key to Irish rugby capitalising on the World Cup bounce is developing the game below the high-performance level. Ireland back row Aoife Wafer. Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO This is perhaps the key project for Cantwell in her role. That huge upturn in investment in the women's game has led to a dramatic improvement at the top of the chain, but there is a lot of work to be done in the grassroots. Cantwell has been spending much of her initial time in the role getting a greater understanding of where the Irish women's pathway stands. 'How do we elevate the game profile-wise so that more girls pick up a rugby ball, that they go to their local rugby club and have a positive experience, that there's a game for them and a pathway for them doesn't stop when they're 12 and come back at 16, that there's hygienic facilities and kit that fits them, a competition and a coach that teaches them the game?' said Cantwell. Already, she is seeing positive signs. 'Where the women's game in Ireland is really showing up is in non-traditional areas, places like Wicklow, Ballincollig, Clonakilty, Barnhall, Enniskillen, non-traditionally thriving clubs.' Yet, as things stand, only 23 clubs in Ireland have a full pathway for girls and women's rugby from minis up to senior rugby. 163 of all 217 clubs in Ireland have a women's or girls' team, while there is only 15% female representation on all club boards. In this sense, the IRFU has set a target of 200 new girls and women's teams launching in the coming years, mainly within clubs to fill in those holes in pathways. 'We've seen in our retention stats is if you have a full pathway, girls won't drop out,' said Cantwell. 'If you have more girls within your section, girls won't drop out or will drop out at a lower pace. 'So a lot of that work is in clubs – how do we work with clubs on understanding where you recruit from? How do you have an inclusive experience? How do you get more volunteers so that the girls are catered for? How do you have a competition?' There are other holes. Just 8% of all medical research in the sporting world is about female athletes, explains Cantwell, so there are lots of questions to be answered in that regard. Cantwell is determined to get the answers and see the game grow. 'We're in a young space, absolutely we are, Irish rugby and just globally as well we are, but wouldn't it be a wonderful place to be when we understand those things in the next 20 years.'
Irish Examiner
02-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Head of strategy Lynne Cantwell says World Cup 'massive' to maximise potential growth of women's game
Six months into her role as the IRFU's Head of Women's Strategy, Lynne Cantwell understands the complexities facing her to accelerate the development of the women's game in Ireland. Yet, as Ireland's most capped player and Grand Slam winner launches the strategy she was brought home six months ago from a high-profile role as Women's High Performance Manager for the South African Rugby Union to formulate and implement, Cantwell also understands the importance of this year's Women's World Cup in England to maximise the potential for growth here. The IRFU's belated focus on accelerating the women's game in Ireland has reignited the national team from its nadir of successive Six Nations wooden spoons in 2022 and 2023 with head coach Scott Bemand's rejuvenated squad securing qualification with a third place in the 2024 championship. An autumn victory over world champions New Zealand helped secure second place in WXV1 and Bemand's team will head to England and a World Cup pool opener against Japan on August 24 with confidence restored having banished the demons of a failure to qualify four years ago. That is clearly an opportunity to capture the hearts and minds of a generation of girls and parents, potential volunteers, vital to building sustainable growth in the women's game. 'The World Cup is absolutely massive,' Cantwell said. 'It's on your doorstep, it's going to break every record under the sun and Ireland have the potential to feel that bounce. 'What's really great is that there is a long-term plan although it's going to take three years to get to the first phase of the end of this strategy but any long-term plan is two World Cup cycles and you're looking to 2033. 'And although it's great for those (future) players, I presented to the (current Ireland) players a couple of weeks ago and the main reason for presenting to them was just to say, 'look, we really want your feedback on this'. 'If I was a player in 2014 and knew there was a long-term plan, the confidence that you would have putting that in your back pocket would just be wonderful.' Cantwell outlined the way the IRFU hopes to take full advantage of a Women's World Cup on Ireland's doorstep, in the same time zone and with a national team capable of at least reaching the quarter-final stage out of a pool also featuring Spain and the defending-champion Black Ferns. Cantwell at a press briefing at the IRFU High Performance Centre. Picture: Ben Brady/Inpho 'The impact of the World Cup, we have to maximise it. There's lots of visibility plans but a legacy programme fundamentally is about how do we maximise the impact sustainably. "How do we elevate the game profile-wise so that more girls pick up a rugby ball, that they go to their local rugby club and have a positive experience, that there's a game for them and a pathway for them doesn't stop when they're 12 and come back at 16, that there's hygienic facilities and kit that fits them, a competition and a coach that teaches them the game. 'There's a big call-out to increase volunteers and coaches and referees. It's a massive piece but, a legacy programme, if you look to (Australia's national football team) the Matildas, a legacy programme can be four years and the more funding that you have the more of an impact you can have. 'What we're trying to do is position the strategy as part of that legacy so that we can elevate lots of the stuff we're doing in the strategy. 'I'm keen to elevate a lot of the work that Anne-Marie Hughes does as our diversity inclusion lead. She has been doing some incredible work over the past two years around helping make our clubs more inclusive. 'What she will have found and this speaks to boys and men, community sport, if you're a person in a community and you have a rugby club in that community you either don't know it's there or don't feel welcome when you walk in. "Through simple examples like walking tracks through Healthy Ireland funding. Portarlington is a great example. They put a walking track in their club and in the next three years had tripled their minis numbers and significantly increased their volunteers. 'That's what we want to be able to do and that's the point of having these insights and recognising where these clubs are popping up, in more ladies gaelic football communities. Women's rugby is more of that type of sport, yes it has international aspirations. 'So being able to try and use the World Cup to elevate the planning that we're doing, to elevate the profile of what we're doing, there's a huge piece in giving confidence to sponsors to know where the women's game is going. 'What the World Cup has done is they've secured 15 sole sponsors for the World Cup and we hope to get all of that data at the other side to stand in front of sponsors and say there is a massive future here, get on board now. Currently we're at an early stage of that.'
Irish Times
02-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Irish women's rugby might be at a low ebb, but its strategy chief is targeting growth after World Cup
Lynne Cantwell started her role as the IRFU 's first head of women's strategy at the beginning of the year. Now, with the publishing of the IRFU'S Strategy Document for Women's Rugby , the vision for female rugby in Ireland is clearly set out. The document is extensive and includes everyone involved in the game, from minis starting out, to international players, to potential sponsors. 'We want to articulate where we want to go,' says Cantwell. 'Is that achievable? We don't know yet, but I think it's reasonable to list where we want to go in all of the objectives and try and build it. 'Lots of it will be depending on staffing and funding and alignment and all of that stuff, but I think lots of that is possible. So my general impression is there's been lots of engagement.' READ MORE Some of the numbers in the document make for grim reading. Of the 217 clubs in Ireland, 163 have a women's or girls' team. But of those, just 10 per cent have a full pathway from minis to a senior women's squad. At club level, gender disparity on boards is evident, with a 15 per cent female representation on average. Cantwell says: 'There's no doubt that this is a growth story. Once we have transparency about where the game is at in all of those, I don't mind if it's at ground zero. Once we know it and once we have commitment to be able to build it. 'But it's also really helpful to see that the performance space is in a positive space. There's so much more to go, but it's great to see there's growth there, in particular in the secondary school space, in the university space – there's so much more opportunity.' Which Irish players have impressed for the Lions? Listen | 43:53 That opportunity includes innovative provisions like establishing a women's medical strategy committee to guide data gaps in the women's game. 'We've started a medical group so that we can chip away at the data gap of the female athlete. Eight per cent of all research in the whole world is about female athletes and we largely are guessing.' Irish women's rugby has been around for 33 years, while its male counterpart just celebrated its 150 anniversary. Financing the growth needed will require patience. 'There's probably just a sense of the unknown and a sense of the understanding of how long the return on investment is going to be,' says Cantwell. 'I think there's nearly a 300 per cent increase in [investment] in the last couple of years. Although there's been more significant investment over the last three years, there's so much more to go. 'If we look to women's soccer as our big sister, they're knocking on the door of [almost] 10 years of their return on investment. Then if we look to the (English) RFU for their business planning, it works up until 2030 to be making a return on investment. 'Once we see more of those examples . . . we'd be able to give more confidence to brands and sponsors to come on board. But I also think we are quite young in understanding how to position and to leverage women's sport and women's rugby. 'There's a different fan segment there; men and women that are interested in women's sports because it's brilliant and because of how good it can be. But also because they're connected with the purpose of women's sport and the effect that it has and what it reflects from a society point of view. We're hearing lots of that. 'We will hopefully know more after the World Cup and be able to reach out to sponsors.' The World Cup in England starts in August. Cantwell knows it's a big opportunity. She said: 'It's absolutely massive. It's on your doorstep. It's going to break every record under the sun and Ireland have the potential to feel that bounce.' A lot done, more to do.
Irish Times
02-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Scott Wilson added to Ireland squad for Georgia and Portugal tour
There were originally 12 and now there are 13, a baker's dozen of uncapped players with the addition of the 22-year-old Ulster loosehead Scott Wilson to the Ireland squad for the two-Test tour to Georgia and Portugal. The group swaps Abbotstown for Tbilisi on Wednesday. Wilson adds to the overall number (33) and no one is injured. There was good news in that respect when it was announced that Tom Ahern has shrugged off the hamstring injury that saw Josh Murphy called into training at the tail end of last week. The Connacht man won't travel nor will any of the training panellists – Brian Gleeson, Diarmuid Kilgallen, Evan O'Connell, Jude Postlethwaite and Zac Ward. The IRFU also confirmed that the two Tests, against Georgia on Saturday (6pm, Irish time) and Portugal in Lisbon (7.0, Irish time), seven days later on July 12th, will be screened live on Virgin Media, while the games will also be on RugbyPass TV. The shape and style will be straight from the Ireland senior playbook and what the interim coaching team is looking for are players who successfully adapt to that model over the course of the two games. Defence coach Denis Leamy is familiar with many of the playing squad. He said: 'It [the game plan] will be very, very similar, if not the same. READ MORE 'That's the plan: to play the Irish way and to try to do it as well as we can. Obviously, we're missing a big chunk of the players who have gone to Australia with the Lions but it's a great opportunity for the boys coming in to show what they can do and just build on some of the things that have [been] done to date. 'A lot of the boys I've worked with at either Leinster or Irish under-20s level. It's lovely to see them develop as players, how they've grown into men and how they've developed their own perspective on the game, their own opinions. 'It's excellent to be back in, around them. We just find when it's a national set-up, that there is unity straight away, that they all mix. My generation [as a player], there was huge rivalry [between the players]. It took us a few weeks for the frostiness to wear off,' he said with a smile. Ireland defence coach Denis Leamy. Photograph: Ben Brady/Inpho 'The boys just seem to get on so well. They're straight in, best mates, constantly over and back on WhatsApp and all the different platforms. It's better than when I was a player. They've grown up a little bit from when we were.' One of those players to come up in conversation was Munster number eight Gavin Coombes, who's looked 'fit and hungry and trained well', and can be a key figure for Ireland on Saturday if he brings his playing virtues to bear. Leamy explained: 'Gavin has been in and out of Irish squads over the last couple of years. The times he's been left out, he's understood the reasons why and [they] have been very fair. Gavin has gone away and worked hard on those parts of the games. He's back in now and he has that chance on Saturday. 'He's hugely strong around opposition 22. His ability to make yards, score tries, he's one of the best around at that and his general play is improving all the time. 'His ability to make yards in open play, his ability to clock up big numbers in his tackles, his rucks and the fundamentals around his basic play, he's learning and improving that all the time. That's why he's back in this environment.' Leamy paid tribute to his former team-mate and the Ireland interim head coach Paul O'Connell in helping the coaching group to hit the ground quickly. [ Denis Walsh: Why Paul O'Connell thinks a sports psychologist will help Ireland get ahead Opens in new window ] 'Paul has helped us greatly in terms of giving us a very, very clear, pretty narrow brief in terms of what we want to get across to them because we're only together for three weeks, counting last week. 'It's important that you don't overload players. We're trying to keep things pretty tight, have a very distinct game plan and just keep reinforcing that with our language. It's pretty easy from that point of view. But the challenge is to get that workload through them as well.' Oh, and in terms of the hurling this weekend, Leamy is unequivocal. 'I think it's going to be a very, very close game but Kilkenny will always get the best out of Tipperary. Tipp by a point.'
