Donnacha Ryan to Racing rumours

[blockhead]

Has it been confirmed that DRyan is leaving Munster at the end of the season? Lurked down in MFs and its not so clear. What was clear however was the bile aimed at WORLD PLAYER OF THE YEAR NOMINEE Jamie Heaslip, christ those boys are bitter.
Anyway, best of luck to the lad whatever decision he makes, he's earned his stripes, no doubt about that.

[simonokeeffe]

Has it been confirmed that DRyan is leaving Munster at the end of the season? Lurked down in MFs and its not so clear. What was clear however was the bile aimed at WORLD PLAYER OF THE YEAR NOMINEE Jamie Heaslip, christ those boys are bitter.
Anyway, best of luck to the lad whatever decision he makes, he's earned his stripes, no doubt about that.

not announced yet, 42 reporting 300k a year in Paris

Indo reporting Munster are mad as hell over it (that he wasnt offered central), age was given as a reason even though hes exact same age as Heaslip

whats going to colour the discussion is a lot of things happened after a lot of the negotiations and decisions taking place; Heaslip getting injured but mainly Ryan going from arguably anything up to 4th choice to 1st choice lock

Indo also vaguely reporting SARFU trying to bring Rassie home

[fourthirtythree]

Ryan doesn't have many miles on the clock, not only because he was behind O'Connell, and O'Callaghan, and O'Driscoll but also because he was at times dropped for Quinlan to play lock. He's done the going to France thing before. He's entitled to feel he hasn't been valued through his career. He really hasn't been.

Thing with Heaslip is a misdirection - Leinster secured independent finance for that - Munster should look to putting their hands in their (virtual) pockets but they've spent the last year delving around in everyone else's.

Ireland's stock at lock is low even if Ryan stays. Not a position of depth or strength for Ireland.

[Ruckedtobits]

Ryan was on CC througout his long injury (although payments would have been reduced after 6 mths injury). Very surprised Union didn't offer renewal, and they may have done but not at acceptable level to DR. Differance in value may have been in add-ons that Province or other Sponsers were prepared to provide by way of Ambassadorial duties.

Jamie signed his deal with an almost unblemished injury record. That counts for a lot in negotiations. Jamie's agent and their decision to sign when he was healthy and playing at top of his game looks really smart in hindsight.

Suspect that difference between Racing deal and what was on offer here must have been at least 40% p.a. so that even with tax break, DR couldn't say no. Also possible that local deal was only for 12 mths and Paris may have been 2 plus 1 option.

DR is a vital player for Ireland at present and if absent from available options, it will create a real chance for a number of the younger breed - Dillane, Henderson, Treadwell, Molony, Kearney, Roux and even James Ryan. Klein's impending qualification for Ireland will also have weighted in the equation, as next seasons's Autumn games are irrelevant to Rankings for RWC 2019.

Feel sorry for DR if he really wanted to stay, but that element of personal desire to experience something else may have been significant in final decision. Good luck to him with his choice.

[simonokeeffe]

Ryan was probably on low enough (career) money before he got his central so you wouldnt begrudge him a nest egg

As an aside Trimbles chances of a renewed central look bad given his age

Agree big time Irelands lock situation looks bad now

[cormac]

I wonder if the amount of money that the IRFU have had to provide to Munster in the last couple of seasons to plug the hole in their finances has played a part in this?

[R-Dog]

Anyone know what sort of money player are getting for international appearances/ win bonuses etc. ?

[offshorerules]

Erasmus has as much as confirmed Ryan is leaving and also that he plans on seeing his own contract out which was for 3 years. It does sound like he will be heading home then but who knows what will happen in the meantime.

Heading over to PP now to see odd on Munster winning this weekend. Can't see them losing at home.

[All Blacks nil]

I wonder if the amount of money that the IRFU have had to provide to Munster in the last couple of seasons to plug the hole in their finances has played a part in this?

No it hasn't
Decision made that Ryan is not worth a central contract based on his worth to the team and his ability.
I don't imagine that the IRFU bear grudges when choosing which players to contract.

A pity to lose a player at the top of his game, with relatively few miles on the clock due partly to injury but mainly due to a long apprenticeship at Munster, only becoming first choice in the 12/13 season.
He has only played 160 matches for Munster and has 47 caps for Ireland of which only 25 were starts.

A regrettable decision by the decision makers, and an unnecessary loss to Irish rugby. Take him out of this years Six Nations and with only one injury (Dillane) who would have been your replacement 2nd row.

[olaf the fat]

Sad to see DR leave Munster. He is the rare type of player who gets respected even by opposing provincial fans.

Fair play for taking the chance of the big bucks in France to feather the nest. The likely risk of not getting any more international caps VS the reward of a bloody good contract.

Anyway, a great player, hope he goes well in France.

[deco]

I wonder if the amount of money that the IRFU have had to provide to Munster in the last couple of seasons to plug the hole in their finances has played a part in this?

No it hasn't
Decision made that Ryan is not worth a central contract based on his worth to the team and his ability.
I don't imagine that the IRFU bear grudges when choosing which players to contract.

A pity to lose a player at the top of his game, with relatively few miles on the clock due partly to injury but mainly due to a long apprenticeship at Munster, only becoming first choice in the 12/13 season.
He has only played 160 matches for Munster and has 47 caps for Ireland of which only 25 were starts.

A regrettable decision by the decision makers, and an unnecessary loss to Irish rugby. Take him out of this years Six Nations and with only one injury (Dillane) who would have been your replacement 2nd row.

If Munster can't afford him, Leinster should have been given the opportunity to bid for him. He would be a good fit for us and it would keep his Ireland career alive.

[offshorerules]

I thought the provinces were not allowed to outbid each other. Anyway although I am sorry to see him go as clearly it will weaken one of the provinces, I do remember feeling the same about Marty Moore and see how that worked out. So it might be that Nucifora sees something coming down the tracks that we don't know about. Perhaps the second coming of Paulie?

[sunshiner1]

Provinces can't outbid each other and I doubt he would have came to us regardless. I find the whole situation amusing/bewildering. I remember last time his contract was up and it looked like he was off to Perpignan before the IRFU stepped in and offered him a new Central Contract which I thought was a ridiculous decision as he was always permanently crocked. Now I'd like him to stay as do most others.

I doubt this decision was made lightly by either Ryan or the IRFU so not going to rant and rave. Ryan is a great player but is injury prone as hell. The same people all over twitter shouting and whining about Ryan leaving were the same people shouting and whining when BJ Botha left and then John Ryan stepped up. No one is irreplaceable.

[blockhead]

MFs gone into meltdown over Ryangate.

This a huge blunder if it comes to pass. We need his leadership in the tight five. Hard to believe it's true. If it is, it's an incredible and gratuitous insult to the man and to the province and to the fans.
To replace him with a front rank International will cos more than €300k. Unless the IRFU thinks there's no need for Munster to compete with the likes of Leinster.

That's exactly the point. They don't want us competing with Leinster. How guys like Healy who's completely shot is allowed sit on a cc for the next two years while Ryan is shown the door beggars belief. We're suffused with back row talent, but retain Houdini and SOB who are similarly well past their best.

A lock is the totem of every great team (POC, MJ, AWJ, Pinetree, WJM) and we allow our figurehead leave to retain the services of a non-jumping powderpuff dirttracker like Toner.

Schmidt's job would be on the line now, if players he disparaged and discarded like POM & DRyan hadn't salvaged our season against England. This is how they repay Ryan, by forcing him into exile.

[colster]

MFs gone into meltdown over Ryangate.

This a huge blunder if it comes to pass. We need his leadership in the tight five. Hard to believe it's true. If it is, it's an incredible and gratuitous insult to the man and to the province and to the fans.
To replace him with a front rank International will cos more than €300k. Unless the IRFU thinks there's no need for Munster to compete with the likes of Leinster.

That's exactly the point. They don't want us competing with Leinster. How guys like Healy who's completely shot is allowed sit on a cc for the next two years while Ryan is shown the door beggars belief. We're suffused with back row talent, but retain Houdini and SOB who are similarly well past their best.

A lock is the totem of every great team (POC, MJ, AWJ, Pinetree, WJM) and we allow our figurehead leave to retain the services of a non-jumping powderpuff dirttracker like Toner.

Schmidt's job would be on the line now, if players he disparaged and discarded like POM & DRyan hadn't salvaged our season against England. This is how they repay Ryan, by forcing him into exile.

[wixfjord]

MFs gone into meltdown over Ryangate.

This a huge blunder if it comes to pass. We need his leadership in the tight five. Hard to believe it's true. If it is, it's an incredible and gratuitous insult to the man and to the province and to the fans.
To replace him with a front rank International will cos more than €300k. Unless the IRFU thinks there's no need for Munster to compete with the likes of Leinster.

That's exactly the point. They don't want us competing with Leinster. How guys like Healy who's completely shot is allowed sit on a cc for the next two years while Ryan is shown the door beggars belief. We're suffused with back row talent, but retain Houdini and SOB who are similarly well past their best.

A lock is the totem of every great team (POC, MJ, AWJ, Pinetree, WJM) and we allow our figurehead leave to retain the services of a non-jumping powderpuff dirttracker like Toner.

Schmidt's job would be on the line now, if players he disparaged and discarded like POM & DRyan hadn't salvaged our season against England. This is how they repay Ryan, by forcing him into exile.

This is absolutely classic! If you ever wanted a few paragraphs to sum up MF! It's almost satirical!

(I think the decision is wrong btw, but the reaction is hilarious!)

[paddyor]

MFs gone into meltdown over Ryangate.

This a huge blunder if it comes to pass. We need his leadership in the tight five. Hard to believe it's true. If it is, it's an incredible and gratuitous insult to the man and to the province and to the fans.
To replace him with a front rank International will cos more than €300k. Unless the IRFU thinks there's no need for Munster to compete with the likes of Leinster.

That's exactly the point. They don't want us competing with Leinster. How guys like Healy who's completely shot is allowed sit on a cc for the next two years while Ryan is shown the door beggars belief. We're suffused with back row talent, but retain Houdini and SOB who are similarly well past their best.

A lock is the totem of every great team (POC, MJ, AWJ, Pinetree, WJM) and we allow our figurehead leave to retain the services of a non-jumping powderpuff dirttracker like Toner.

Schmidt's job would be on the line now, if players he disparaged and discarded like POM & DRyan hadn't salvaged our season against England. This is how they repay Ryan, by forcing him into exile.

It's not quite a done deal yet

Sinéad Kissane‏Verified account @sineadkissane 6h6 hours ago
Erasmus confirms there's a "good chance of them losing" Donnacha Ryan. He "lost his national contract and its tough to match that".

Sinéad Kissane‏Verified account @sineadkissane 6h6 hours ago

"As we understand he's got a great offer from Racing" - Erasmus on Ryan. Said it's due to be confirmed in next few days.

[LeRouxIsPHat]

I'd be more worried about them losing Erasmus, don't like the sound of what he was saying.

[Dave Cahill]

He spent a lot of time describing it as rumour without actually denying the rumour

[Oldschool]

Short term, Munster will use their angst at Ryan leaving to up the anti this weekend - nothing wrong with that.
Think Ryan is a great player - he'll be missed by Munster in particular but even Ireland too.
Looking at the national SR strength it would appear Nucifora has done his homework and decided Ireland can manage.
And let's be fair the IRFU can't match Racing's nor should they.
Suggestions that Munster will be allowed offer an outlier 300k to get a replacement is laughable.