15-05-2025
Players face 'huge challenge' after axing of men's sevens programme - Rugby Players Ireland CEO Simon Keogh
The decision to end the Irish men's rugby sevens programme will leave players with a "huge challenge" in trying to maintain careers in the game, the CEO of Rugby Players Ireland Simon Keogh has said.
On Wednesday, the IRFU confirmed the programme will be brought to a conclusion at the end of the 2024/25 season, with financial considerations paramount, given the backdrop of an €18million deficit for the 2023/24 period.
However, former Ireland sevens captain Billy Dardis described the decision as "short-sighted" and "unbelievably deflating".
The challenge now for players on the men's programme will be considerable, particularly with a dwindling number of professional teams to choose from.
In an interview with RTÉ Radio 1's Morning Ireland, Rugby Players Ireland CEO Keogh said the timing of the decision makes it even more difficult for players aiming to pivot towards the XVs format.
"It's a huge challenge and particularly the timing, and now you're late in the season and we're in a market that's saturated in players off the back of three teams being liquidated in the UK," he said.
"And with the late timing of it, it means that it's going to be a real challenge. The conversion from sevens to XVs is challenging in itself, never mind that they have to go into a market that's pretty challenging.
"And where to for these players? Hopefully there's an avenue for them into the professional game because we don't want those players lost out in the game.
"We have a player development manager who works solely with these players to hopefully get them an avenue - maybe not just in rugby but outside of rugby so they've prepared themselves the best possible way they can and this is done in partnership with the IRFU to try and get that transition as seamless as possible."
However, Keogh admitted that there had been a sense that the writing was on the wall for the men's programme.
"To be honest with you, I don't think there's a huge amount of surprise, particularly among the male playing group," he said.
"We've kept them informed since January as to the possibility that there's a threat on the programme.
"And ultimately that's for a number of reasons. We had a huge change in personnel following the Olympic cycle and then we had a change of personnel which culminated in a lower positioning of our world series which then has an impact on funding.
"And then in addition to that and this is probably the [last] straw, it's that there's a change in the World Rugby competition structure which ultimately means halfway through the season we have been relegated.
"So if you look at that just in isolation, it's crazy to think in a competition that you could have relegation introduced halfway through a season and that ultimately has an impact on a number of things including the finances, and where we are in Irish rugby evidenced by last year's losses of €18 million, puts us in a pretty precarious position and as a result the sevens programme has been sacrificed."
