MIKE McCARTHY’S DECISION to move from Connacht to Leinster is more than just a case of losing an important player, according to Connacht CEO Tom Sears.
The second row will make the move east at the end of this season to fill a position which has long been a weak link for the back-to-back European champions in a move which has irked the westerners.
“We made Mike an exceptionally good offer and we know he found it a very hard decision,” Sears told Newstalk’s Off The Ball this evening.
“He has been very open and we’ve had excellent dialogue. But eventually, after repeat approaches, his head has been turned and that’s a huge disappointment for us.”
Sears insisted that he and his club were “not naive enough” to believe that an out of contract player would always shun the advances of a bigger, more successful organisation.
However, in an impassioned interview, he reaffirmed his stance that it would be to the benefit of the game in this country in the long run if Connacht were better equipped to retain top-bracket internationals such as McCarthy. Not only for the benefit he brings to the team on the field, but what he is capable of representing.
Beacon
“We’ve got a responsibility to develop Irish rugby. Mike has come through our system, we’ve developed him as a player.
“He wasn’t on the radar of Leinster when we picked him up. He has developed into an Irish international. We wanted him to be the beacon for all our young players to see that a guy can come through and represent Ireland.
“We’ve got a great calibre of players coming through our academy system and we want good players around those youngsters. If we lose players like Mike and players that have gone before then it’s going to be very difficult.”
Sears stuck by his assertion that the move is bad for Irish rugby as it will force Connacht’s hand in recruiting overseas, ”because there is not another Irish lock as good as Mike McCarthy.”
He also lamented the current contracting structure which gives the western province more budget constraints over personnel than if they housed a stable of Irish internationals.
“We don’t compete on even footing as the other provinces. We don’t have the financial muscle they do, we don’t have players on national contracts which frees up more money.
“It would have been nice if Mike McCarthy could have got a national contract. What a message it would have given to young players coming through our province: that they can come through and win a national contract and see what’s achievable.”
Listen back to the full interview in the second part of tonight’s Off The Ball show here.
