Irish Rugby F

ootball Union  Annual Report 2006/2007

IRFU

Irish Rugby Football Union, 62 Lansdowne Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4.
Telephone 00353 1 6473800.  Facsimile 00353 1 6473801.  Website www.IrishRugby.ie

Irish Rugby F

ootball Union  Annual Report 2006/2007

Making history

Features

—  50,000 capacity.
—  Continuous access around the three sides to all facilities at premium and box levels.
—  Excellent hospitality facilities throughout the ground.

—   The design has been optimised to ensure all spectators have an excellent view  

of the pitch while retaining the unique Lansdowne Road atmosphere.

—  A more balanced, across the board network of access and egress routes.
—  Improved player facilities for home and away teams.
—  Enhanced press facilities for up to 200 journalists.

—  TV/Radio commentary boxes located on the upper level with optimum viewing locations.
—   Provision of a large number of high quality toilet facilities adequate both for match days and  

for events such as concerts.

—  Quality medical support facilities for both players and spectators.
—  Better facilities for disabled fans.
—  Wide concourses and comfortable spatial allowances to ensure easy circulation for spectators.

—  Pitch floodlighting incorporated in the new stands.
—  Roof design that makes best use of available sunlight.

The New Lansdowne Road Stadium

Lansdowne Road Stadium has a long and proud tradition as a venue for exceptional  

sporting encounters. The new stadium will provide an international arena worthy of  

this past and ready to play host to an exciting future. 

A transparent roof is lowered to the southern sky to maximise the sunlight for the high  

performance sports turf thus ensuring that the best possible playing surface is produced. 

All seating in the new stadium will be under cover of a roof; however, the roof will  

not extend over the pitch.

The North stand will comprise one low level seating tier, to reflect its  

proximity to the residential properties at that end of the ground.

Construction is scheduled to finish by the end of 2009.

President’s Report........................................... 2
Honorary Treasurer’s Report............................ 4

Chief Executive’s Report.................................. 6
Office Bearers and Committee......................... 27

Standing Committees and Sub Committees......... 28
Sponsors of Irish Rugby.................................. 30

Accounts....................................................... 32

Contents

At the Council meeting last June, I identified two IRFU priorities (i) Lansdowne Road 
development and (ii) the domestic game and that really has been the agenda bar normal ongoing 
rugby matters — more later.

To reflect on the season 2006/07, it seems hard to comprehend the extent of the “highs” for Irish 
rugby, with 1 or 2 lesser moments which merely need to be put into context. The National Team 
under the careful tutelage of Eddie O’Sullivan and his colleagues and the captaincy of Brian 
O’Driscoll have brought great honour and happy memories to Irish rugby. Victories in the autumn 
against South Africa, Australia and the Pacific Islanders, followed by RBS 6 Nations wins against 
Wales, England, Scotland and Italy and a defeat in the last 2 minutes v. France is almost as good as 
it gets. However, it would be remiss not to reflect on the first half performance v. Australia when in 
many commentators eyes, Ireland gave the best wet weather performance of rugby ever seen in the 
world, later to be followed by our most comprehensive ever defeat of England.

The 2 matches at Croke Park turned out to be monumental sporting occasions that brought credit 
to the Irish Nation and sport was indeed the winner. I must acknowledge and thank yet again Nicky 
Brennan and the GA A for all their efforts and indeed, reflect on their shared disappointment with 
us of the last 2 minutes against France.

As I write, and look forward, a trip to Argentina and the Churchill Cup are on the horizon, followed 
by the World Cup in France — I wish all involved every success.

Beyond the National Team success, the U.20s Grand Slam performance in the 6 Nations warrants 
special mention under the care of Philip Orr, Eric Elwood and wonderfully led by David Pollock, a 
young man of rounded ability, good on the field and following a career in medicine. One only needs 
to reflect on how few grand slams happen to realise the magnitude of this achievement — well done 
fellas and we look forward to your future achievements.

The U.19s competed manfully in a World Cup, very successfully and well-staged in Ulster.  
The crowd support in Belfast was fantastic and the tournament brought great credit to the province. 
The Ulster Branch Committee and staff deserve full credit for a job well done.

The U.18s were beaten in a “penalty shootout” by host nation, France, in the U.18 FIRA Tournament 
Final and the Schools performed well in their Easter Tournament. All in all, our National Teams are 

President’s Report

PETER BO

YLE

“Victories in the autumn against South 

Africa, Australia and the Pacific Islanders, 

followed by RBS 6 Nations wins against 

Wales, England, Scotland and Italy and 

a defeat in the last 2 minutes v. France is 

almost as good as it gets.”

 — 

President’s Report 

Pacific Islanders

competing in a serious manner, which merits great credit 
to all our coaching and management personnel —  
I won’t mention them individually here but just to say 
a big thank you on behalf of the IRFU. In addition the 
Irish Womens Team has had it’s most successful 6 Nations 
to date with 2 wins — well done.

As I wrote above, one of the major issues on the IRFU’s 
mind, was Lansdowne Road and as we now know, 
the planning process is almost complete and is well 
chronicled. Unfortunately, litigation followed from 
Wanderers FC, now thankfully settled. 

The domestic game, which in my view underpins the 
professional game, is nearing the end of a review process. 
The process has been made more drawn out due to the 
amount of time required to deal with Lansdowne Road 
and related issues. However the IRFU, in addition to 
reviewing the structure, is also looking at ways to try 
and get funds down into the domestic game particularly 
from our successful provinces. No sooner than this 
review nears completion, but the ERC crisis erupts, so all 
aspirations are on hold for the moment. I have watched 
many AIB League games this season, and I don’t subscribe 
to the “doom and gloom” merchants’ view — sometimes 
people talk things down too much but the brand of rugby 
played by the likes of Garryowen, a rejuvenated Old 
Belvedere, Greystones, Wanderers, and in the latter part 
of the season, Belfast Harlequins was worth the admission 
money. In addition the IRFU are constantly examining 
the issue of getting academy and non-playing provincial 
players, game time with AIB League clubs — these are 
complex issues. The club/non-contracted players drawn 
from the AIB League again brought success to the game, 
defeating England and narrowly losing to Scotland 
— plenty of talent there.

Our provinces have done well whilst not reaching the 
halcyon levels of 2005/2006, but both Munster and 
Leinster reached Heineken Cup quarter finals and at 

the time of writing Leinster and Ulster are competing 
for Magner’s League honours. Connacht are regrouping 
and it is nice to see some of their players returning from 
sojourns across the water. I repeat my view; I believe we 
need 4 professional teams to underpin our National Side. 
Let us hope this is not undermined in any shape or form, 
but it does bring home the importance of ERC to Irish 
rugby, both the professional and domestic game, — selfish 
interest must not be allowed to prevail and it must be 
remembered Unions are there for the benefit of all rugby 
participants not the lucky few. It is also important in the 
context of the Thomond Park, Musgrave Park, Ravenhill, 
Donnybrook and RDS projects.

In closing, yet again I’d like to acknowledge the role 
throughout the game of referees assessors, coaches and 
club alickadoos — mostly unsung heroes, save for the 
lucky few who achieve success like Alain Rolland, Alan 
Lewis and Donal Courtney — yet they too have put in 
huge sacrifice. Thanks to one and all.

To conclude I’d like to say a particular thank you to the 
IRFU Committee — a capable and under-acknowledged 
group. There is a wealth of experience, commonsense 
and rugby “know how” amongst this group, allied to 
an outside world “know how” that benefits Irish rugby 
hugely. It was a privilege to work and serve with you and 
indeed enjoy your company on the odd social occasion 
permitted. I thank the Past Presidents for their continued 
support, to the Committee and their valued advice. I also 
wish to make special mention of John Lyons, standing 
down as Treasurer and Andy Crawford leaving the 
Committee — thanks for your work and friendship.

Finally to Philip Browne and all his colleagues at 62 
Lansdowne Road and at other venues — many thanks 
again for your valued and ongoing efforts on behalf of 
Irish rugby. It is only when one gets closely involved, does 
one realise the pressure that is there and the quantum of 
work done — well done to all and thank you.

President’s Report 

  —

For the last time it is my privilege to present to 
you the Accounts of the IRFU. As I indicated in 
my report last year 2006/07 was very positive 
in financial terms for the Union with a net 
operating surplus of over 

€

5m being generated 

from the Union’s activities. The size of this 
surplus is not due to any one factor but as we shall 
see is rather due to a range of positive effects 
on the Union’s revenues throughout the year. I 
must emphasise that this surplus is necessary to 
offset a significant forecasted deficit next year 
consequent on participation in the RWC and loss 
of revenue from Autumn Internationals.

Income and Expenditure 

Account

Overall income rose from 

€

46.4m to 

€

55.5m in 

the year under review due largely to the factors 
outlined below:

The importance to the Union of performance-
related income cannot be over-emphasised. 
This substantial source of income is entirely 
dependent on the performance of our National 
and Provincial Teams and will only be generated 
if the Union continue to invest wisely in these 
resources to ensure the future competitiveness of 
our National and Provincial Teams.

The 2 matches at Croke Park were historic and 
momentous occasions and helped generate 
significant additional income for the Union. 
A very high level of preparation and planning 
went into these events and I would pay particular 

thanks to Martin Murphy and his team and their 
counterparts in Croke Park for their meticulous 
planning during the months leading to the 
games against France and England.

The efforts of the Union’s Commercial and 
Marketing Committee under the chairmanship 
of Pat Fitzgerald are often not given the credit 
they deserve but I would draw your attention 
to the increase of over 

€

1m from last years 

commercial revenue. This increase is in fact 
somewhat understated as 2005/06 included a 
very significant level of hospitality income which 
has been reallocated this year to International 
Rugby Income. Among the new initiatives which 
came to fruition this year was the Supporters 
Club which netted over 

€

250k for the Union.

As can be seen in the accounts Heineken Cup 
and Magners League provided very significant 
income for the Union in the year under review. 
It is of critical importance that the Union does 
all in its power to ensure the continued success 
of these tournaments into the future because 
as well as the entertainment they provide they 
are also an essential part of the Union’s player 
development process. 

Whilst the Union suffered a reduction in rental 
and other income from the stadium this was 
somewhat offset by a rise in interest rates and 
positive exchange rate movements. It should be 
noted however that with the financial demands 
imposed by the construction of the new stadium 
rising interest rates are not in the Union’s best 
interests in the medium term.

JOHN L

Y

ONS

“I must emphasise that this surplus is necessary to 

offset a significant forecasted deficit next year 

consequent on participation in the RWC and loss 

of revenue from Autumn Internationals.”

 — 

Honorary Treasurer’s Report 

Honorary 

   Treasurer’s Report

Pushing forward

Honorary Treasurer’s Report  

  —

Accompanying the increase in revenues inevitably 
we find an increase in the Union’s costs. It should 
be emphasised that certain of these costs arise as a 
result of performance-related success while other 
cost increases were only permitted in the interests 
of real and sustainable revenue growth.

Overall costs increased by 

€

4.7m to 

€

50.3m.  

The main increases and the reasons underlying 
them are outlined below:

Professional game costs increased by 

€

1.8m due to 

the success of the National Team and additional 
match costs for 6 Nations.

Elite player development rose by over 

€

750k 

reflecting the Union’s increased investment in the 
high performance area together with the cost of 
participating in international competitions below 
senior level.

Expenditure on the domestic game increased by 

€

1.5m due to the costs of hosting the U.19 RWC, 

the funding of new domestic game managers in 
the Branches, the player registration process and 
the Union’s commitment to pay out all budgeted 
costs in respect of the club game. It is regrettable to 
note however that much of the increase in domestic 
competition costs related to legal fees resulting 
from the court actions of certain All Ireland 
League clubs.

Marketing costs increased by c. 

€

200k but this 

increase should be viewed in the light of the 
significantly increased revenues generated from 
commercial operations.

Ground costs showed a reduction from last year’s 
level due to the closure of Lansdowne Road at the 
end of December. 

Administration costs increased by c. 

€

700k due 

to the increased cost of good governance and costs 
attributable to the implementation of the Strategic 
Plan which is now subject to ongoing review. In 

addition there were significant costs associated 
with negotiations with Wanderers FC to enable 
construction of the new stadium proceed without 
imposing additional costs to the project in the future.

Balance Sheet

I would draw your attention to the fact that despite 
a surplus of over 

€

5m the Union’s cash balances 

actually declined by 

€

3.6m. This is due to a 

combination of factors namely the addition of 
further properties to the Union’s portfolio, 10 year 
ticket income which is an amortisation rather than 
an annual cash flow and the decrease in the level 
of creditors and accruals. Significant cash receipts 
including Government grant were received in early 
May thereby re-establishing our liquid funds at 
their normal level. I would take this opportunity 
to thank the Government for their most generous 
support of the Union’s development programmes 
and I would also draw your attention to the 
generous funding of programmes provided by the 
IRB which is shown under Other Rugby Income.

You will note under current assets an amount 
representing the pension scheme asset of 

€

123k 

which compares with a deficit in last year’s accounts 
of 

€

407k. In the year under review the Union made 

a once-off cash injection to the scheme with the 
result that the scheme is now adequately funded.

May I draw your attention to the Accounting 
Policies and Notes 3, 4 and 7 which explain the 
accounting treatment appropriate to expenditure on 
redevelopment of Lansdowne Road and which enable 
the Union comply with best accounting practise.

In conclusion may I thank Conor O’Brien, the 
Finance staff in particular and all at the Union’s 
offices for their support to me over my tenure as 
Honorary Treasurer. 

I would like also to wish my successor every success 
and as happy and fulfilling a tenure as I have 
enjoyed and I am certain that with the same co-
operation and assistance as I have received from 
Philip Browne, Head Office staff and successive 
Committees he will be not be disappointed.

It has been a momentous season in many respects 
both on and off the pitch. The exploits of our 
National Team on tour in New Zealand last 
summer, against Australia and South Africa 
in November and in the 6 Nations are well 
documented and are summarised later in this 
report and on the DVD. Their performances 
over this period allow us to approach Rugby 
World Cup (RWC) with cautious optimism in the 
knowledge that on any given day this Irish Team 
is capable of beating the best teams in the world.

However, for once it is perhaps matters off 
the field that grabbed headlines this year. 
Firstly, the closure of Lansdowne Road for the 
redevelopment programme was marked by a 
memorable send off by the Irish Team at the 
Pacific Islanders match in November and finally 
on 31st December by Leinster in a full house 
for a Magners League match against Ulster. 
The stadium in its present form served Irish 
rugby well and the IRFU owes Ronnie Dawson a 
debt of gratitude for the work he has done over 
many years to ensure that the stadium fulfilled 
its function for the IRFU. However, time has 

certainly caught up with the stadium and it has 
rightly been retired to make way for a modern 
facility Irish rugby will be proud of.

In July 2006 the Lansdowne Road Stadium 
Development Company (LRSDC) was granted a 
planning permission to develop a new 50,000 
capacity stadium on the site at Lansdowne 
Road. The planning permission was appealed 
to An Bord Pleanala and following an 8 day 
oral hearing in December, an Bord Pleanala 
granted a planning permission subject to 
certain conditions. These conditions have been 
met and the demolition of the old stadium is 
now underway. The completion of the project 
is scheduled for December 2009 and the cost 
of the project will be 

€

365m. This has been a 

challenging process to date given the complexity 
of the site and the number of parties involved 
including the State, the FAI, CIE, Dublin 
City Council, 2 tenant clubs and obviously our 
neighbours. It was regrettable that Wanderers 
FC who instituted proceedings in the High 
Court to prevent the redevelopment until their 
commercial demands were met. The matter 

Chief Executive’s

 

Report

PHILIP BRO

WNE

“On any given day this Irish Team is capable of 

beating the best teams in the world.”

 — 

Chief Executive’s Report 

Lansdowne Road

Chief Executive’s

 

Report

was settled out of court and the proceedings were dismissed but not without significant cost to Irish 
rugby in terms of time and legal fees. Thankfully the project is now underway which is of huge 
importance to the future wellbeing of Irish rugby. This new facility will be the financial engine for 
Irish rugby into the future. Once again I must thank the Minister of Arts, Sport and Tourism, John 
O’Donoghue, for his constant support of this project and also his colleagues in the Department in 
particular the recently retired Secretary General, Philip Furlong.

With the closure of Lansdowne Road the RBS 6 Nations fixtures against France and England moved 
north across the Liffey to Croke Park, thanks to the generous gesture made by the GA A in making 
their excellent stadium available to us. There was a very significant workload on Martin Murphy 
(Director of Corporate Affairs), Padraig Power (Director of Commercial/Marketing) and their 
staff in interfacing the IRFU operations with that of Croke Park. The demands of international 
fixtures are perhaps somewhat different to those normally encountered by Peter McKenna, Croke 
Park Stadium Director, and his staff at Croke Park but there was great co-operation between the 
2 organisations and both fixtures, passed off successfully with few hitches. The English match in 
particular struck all sorts of resonances in Irish society and it was one of those events where people 
will be proud to say “I was there”. The performance of the crowd in respecting the anthems only 
superceded by the performance of the Irish Team in comprehensively beating England. We look 
forward to playing the 2008 6 Nations in Croke Park and there will be negotiations over the coming 
months to extend this arrangement during the redevelopment of Lansdowne Road.

Alas politics of the “rugby kind” emerged yet again during the last year in the form of a dispute 
between the English Premier Rugby League (PRL), representing the professional club owners in 
England, and the English Rugby Football Union (RFU). This dispute seems to revolve around a 
variety of issues including money, power, control of international players, control of the structure 
of the season amongst other things. The battleground on this occasion was the Heineken Cup where 
current agreements between the 6 Unions and the club associations in England, France and Italy 
were under renegotiation given the current agreement expires at the end of this season. Negotiations 
faltered over the insistence by PRL that it should be given a shareholding in European Rugby Cup 
Ltd. (ERC) by the RFU. The RFU at the time of writing have not agreed to this given that this 
does not resolve the other items over which PRL are in dispute with the RFU. The matter has been 
exacerbated by the French League (LNR) led by Serge Blanco who have decided to boycott Heineken 
Cup for a year, ostensibly because the RFU have not ceded a shareholding to PRL, but more likely because 
of fixture congestion in France during RWC year as the LNR will not play its fixtures during RWC. 

The consequences of these various squabbles and power plays in both England and France are 
potentially catastrophic for professional rugby not only in Europe but also throughout the rugby 
world. The Heineken Cup has become critical to the professional rugby environment, particularly 
for those Unions in Europe that cannot create a professional league within their own jurisdiction.  
It is a vital revenue source to fund those professional teams and most importantly it has been the reason  
why the standard of international rugby in the RBS 6 Nations has moved to levels currently enjoyed. 

Chief Executive’s Report

  —

The quality of the RBS 6 Nations as a competition drives the revenues that not only fuel the 
professional game but more importantly they drive investment and support for the club and schools 
game. Damage to the Heineken Cup strikes right at the heart of the future wellbeing of all aspects 
of the game in Ireland and other Unions. It also undermines the competitiveness of international 
rugby to the detriment of the southern hemisphere Unions and RWC.

Whilst all efforts are being made to resolve the complex issues which lie behind this current 
difficulty, it is a concern that the club owners have a very narrow agenda in terms of making more 
money to bring more foreign star players in to their clubs, boost attendances and to increase 
shareholder value. The Unions naturally have a much wider agenda of the wellbeing of the game at 
all levels and the security of international fixtures and competitions. Hopefully sense will prevail 
and the club owners in England and France can reach agreement whereby the professional club game 
can co-exist and co-operate with the Unions for the benefit of all. The fact is that this sort of dispute 
does not reflect well on the game or its administration and the damage that may be done will impact 
the professional clubs just as much as the Unions.

The IRFU Strategic Plan expires at the end of the RWC and already internal reviews of the existing 
plan are taking place with a view to updating and renewing the plan for a further 4 year period. What 
the initial reviews have shown is that there is some tremendous work being done in the domestic 
game in terms of introducing new ideas, new dynamism and vigour to the club game in particular. 
This has arisen through the very specific focus put on this area by the last strategic plan and as can be 
gleaned from the section on the domestic game later in this report, significant efforts in this area are 
reflected in the numbers playing the game which are now over 100,000. It is hoped to have the new 
strategic plan in place by the end of the calendar year and this will guide us over the next RWC cycle.

The level of activity across these various fronts has been intense and the value of having a Management 
Committee to deal with these complex issues on behalf of the Union Committee has never been  
more evident.

A special mention must be made of the IRB U.19 World Championship held in Belfast and organised 
in a faultless fashion by the Ulster Branch. In exceptional spring weather the tournament showcased 
U.19 rugby talent in front of excellent crowds and it also demonstrated the capacity of Irish rugby to 
take on IRB tournaments and run them effectively. It proved to be one of the best U.19 tournaments 
ever and it left our international colleagues with a positive and lasting impression of Belfast, Ulster 
rugby and Irish rugby.

“The theme of the last few seasons has been ‘consistency’ 

and certainly this last 12 months has been no different 

with the National Team putting in consistent 

performances winning 7 out of 11 fixtures.”

 — 

Chief Executive’s Report 

National Team

The theme of the last few seasons has been “consistency” 
and certainly this last 12 months has been no different 
with the National Team putting in consistent 
performances winning 7 out of 11 fixtures. Along the 
way there were good victories against Australia and 
South Africa, a fourth successive victory over England 
at Croke Park, only a single loss in the RBS 6 Nations 
Championship to France and yet another Triple Crown. 
By any standards a good season but some disappointment 
again that an elusive Grand Slam and Championship 
were not achieved. The standards our National Team now 
aspire to are the highest.

The summer tour to New Zealand and Australia also 
produced some disappointment as in both the New 
Zealand test matches the Irish Team played at a level of 
intensity, skill and commitment that put New Zealand 
under significant pressure and in the first Test in 
particular Ireland put themselves in a position to win the 
match but once again were thwarted in the final stages of 
the match. There is no doubt that the Team and Team 
Management have genuine expectations of their level of 
performance that perhaps makes this group stand out 
certainly in the context of modern Irish rugby.

The results of the National Team’s fixtures are 
documented on the DVD but the focus is now on the 
next 6 months. During that time Ireland tour Argentina 
and more importantly we embark on RWC in France 
in September. The challenge for the Irish Team is to 
extract itself from the so called “pool of death” with 
Argentina, France, Namibia and Georgia and to qualify 
for the knock-out stages of the tournament, preferably 
as leaders of the pool. Eddie O’Sullivan, the Team and 
the Team Management have this single focus for the next 
few months and every effort has been made to ensure 
the preparation of the team is optimised including 
the appointment at the beginning of the season of a 
performance nutritionist to ensure the individual dietary 
requirements of the National Squad are met.

The work and commitment put in by the Coach, the Team 
and Team Management over the past 4 years has been 
instrumental in the performances and success enjoyed 
by the Irish Team in that period and our best wishes to 
them for RWC 2007 and hopefully they will achieve the 
performances that they and supporters of the Irish Team 
aspire to.

Provincial Teams / 

Professional Game

After the high’s of last years Munster victory in the 
Heineken Cup, it was always going to be a challenge to 
emulate last seasons success at provincial level. Having 
said that great credit is due to both Leinster and Munster 
in reaching the quarter final stages, Leinster once 
again topping its pool. There were some tremendous 
performances along the way, Ulster’s memorable 
demolition of Toulouse at Ravenhill, Munster’s hard 
fought victory in Welford Road against Leicester and 
Leinster’s victory over Gloucester in front of nearly 
30,000 people at Lansdowne Road. Leinster and 
Munster ended up with “away” quarter finals both losing 
to Wasps and Llanelli, respectively.

Connacht perhaps not living up to their performances 
of previous seasons failed to make it through beyond 
the pool stages of the European Challenge Cup being 
particularly unlucky in some very narrow defeats at the 
start of the campaign.

The Magners League moved on to a new level this season 
with support from the new sponsor and also a genuine 
level of increased support and interest in the competition 
which acts as a qualifying tournament for the Heineken 
Cup. In particular, the interprovincial fixtures produced 
high quality intense rugby fuelled by local pride. 
Attendances at these matches were significantly increased 
on last season with peak attendances in Lansdowne Road 
where Leinster v. Munster achieved 22,500 spectators 
and Leinster v. Ulster after Christmas achieving 48,000.

Chief Executive’s Report

  —

7 out of 11

In Ulster the support of Magners League 
fixtures has been consistently high at 8,000-
10,000 for all fixtures. This is a very healthy 
situation and the quality of some of the rugby 
has been excellent. Ulster and Leinster have 
vied throughout the season for the top spot 
in the Magners League. The final weekend of 
the League saw 3 teams, including Leinster, 
being in a position to win the competition. 
Unfortunately Leinster could not muster 
an away win at Cardiff and the following day 
Ospreys won the Magners League.

As reported earlier, the uncertainty that exists 
as a result of the current dispute between the 
English and French clubs and the English Rugby 
Union may require a temporary or possibly a 
longer term readjustment of the fixture list for 
the professional provincial teams next season. It 
is hoped that having achieved a degree of stability 
and credibility in the Magners League after 
several difficult years that the current dispute 
in relation to the Heineken Cup/ERC Ltd. will 
not unduly impact on the professional game. 
Having said that there is potential for significant 
and lasting damage to be done to professional 
rugby throughout Europe and the IRFU, 
through its representatives, is working hard to 
avoid such circumstances. A meaningful and 
commercially viable fixture list is a sine qua non 
for a professional sport and this is what we must 
continue to strive for.

An issue of continuing importance to the IRFU 
is the need to ensure that we have in place a 
robust and quality system of player identification 

and development. The current age grade 
representative structures at provincial and 
national level working in harmony with the many 
coaches in schools and clubs has been a successful 
vehicle in this regard to date. This identification 
and competition process backed up by the 
professional inputs at Academy levels are working 
hard to ensure a regular throughput of quality 
Irish players to the professional ranks.

There is much public and media debate 
surrounding the nature of the sub 18 game at 
this time of the year. In that regard the Union 
understands the pressure for match success at all 
levels be it Schools Cup or RWC at U.19 levels.  
It acknowledges “the academic priority” and 
we are confident that the various sectors can 
function together to meet the many challenges 
and requirements of the modern game.

In the post second level education area the 
Provincial Academies and the new U.20 age 
grade systems are “bedding in“. The need for 
increased levels of induction of Irish Academy 
players into the professional ranks is the primary 
role of the High Performance System. It is a 
key performance indicator which is closely 
monitored by the Player Advisory Group.  
The Union and the provinces are facing many 
challenges from the open market for our players 
and this is particularly so in respect of our 
Academy and Development players.  
The introduction of the provincial “A” games 
structures combined with the quality game time 
in the AIB League will be vital for young elite 
player retention in Ireland in the years ahead.

10 — 

Chief Executive’s Report 

U.19

U.20

U.21

Magners 

League

The integration of the High Performance Plan 
into the provinces continues at pace. The recent 
launch of the High Performance Select Group to 
meet the successional needs of the National Team 
is reflective of the initiatives in the programme. 
The increased levels of involvement of the National 
Management staff at provincial and Academy level 
over the last 16 months has greatly assisted the pace 
of programme development.

The work of the Player Advisory Group continues 
to protect the interests of the National Team now 
and more importantly into the future. At times 
it can be difficult to balance the aspirations of 
the provincial teams to have a squad of players 
capable of winning Heineken Cup with the needs 
of the IRFU to provide sufficient Irish players 
in positions 1 to 15 to ensure the competitiveness 
of the Irish National Team not only in 2007 but 
also in 2011 and beyond. The PAG works very 
closely with the professional coaching staff in all 
4 provinces to maintain a reasonable balance of 
these objectives and to ensure that players are in a 
squad where they can maximise their development 
potential. It is certainly not a science and it is 
unlikely that we will get the right result every time 
but a partnership between the Provincial Coaches, 
National Coach/PAG and the players themselves 
is critical to deliver the future competitiveness 
of Irish rugby. There is still a clear need to bring 
in players from abroad who can add real value to 
our provincial squads and can help with player 
development. This will continue but not at the 
expense of the development of Irish players in 
those positions where we have a deficiency at 
national level.

The demand for professional success both in 
Ireland and Europe has given rise to many tensions 
in the game. The heavy recruitment by both 
French and English clubs of southern hemisphere 
internationals over the last number of months will 
further aggravate these tensions. The PAG are 
confident that with the throughput of quality Irish 
players and prudent contracting at provincial level 
we can look forward to continued Irish success in 
an increasingly expensive rugby marketplace.

To sustain success on the field requires 
considerable resources in terms of personnel, 
equipment and facilities and the cost of operating 
a Heineken Cup Squad is in excess of 

€

5m. Whilst 

the IRFU is in a position to pick up the cost of 
player salaries and the cost of some of the technical 
staff, the reality is there is a significant balance 
to be covered by revenues generated locally in 
the provinces through the individual provinces’ 
commercial activities. The performance of each 
of the provinces in this respect has improved 
considerably over the past few years attributable 
to team performances, competition quality and 
stability and importantly also attributable to 
increasing professionalisation of the provincial 
Branch operation. This was inevitable and 
professional staff led by a Chief Executive in each 
Branch are responsible for the promotion of 
the professional team and for the generation of 
revenues to fund the operation of the team. The 
Chief Executives are all now directly employed 
by the IRFU and form part of the IRFU’s Senior 
Management Team and have a greater input 
into policy development. Their reporting lines 
are to the IRFU Chief Executive in relation to 

Chief Executive’s Report

  — 11

Triple Crown

their responsibility and accountability for the professional game in the province. 
The recent successful commercial deals announced such as the new Adidas kit 
sponsorship in Munster and the Bank of Ireland sponsorship in Leinster all 
demonstrate the progress that has been made in the off-field activities at provincial 
level. This is critical as it is simply not possible for the IRFU to cover the entire 
cost of the professional teams and also look after its other responsibilities to the 
community game in clubs and schools.

The Union continues to work with IRUPA on a number of fronts and it is hoped 
that a new player contract will be finalised in the short-term which will be more 
relevant than the existing contract which is now 10 years old. Further initiatives 
with IRUPA are outlined later in this report.

Other Representative Teams

The other representative teams are an important part of the Union’s elite player 
development programme, providing opportunities for players to develop within a 
squad structure against international opposition whether it be at the age grade levels 
or up to Ireland “A”.

In June 2006, Ireland “A” participated for the first time in the Churchill Cup, 
part of a 2 year commitment by the IRFU to that competition. The Ireland “A” 
team, coached by Michael Bradley and Mark McCall, played 3 fixtures in San José 
and Edmonton. In the pool stage they beat USA but lost to eventual tournament 
winners, New Zealand Maori. However, in the third/fourth play-off with England 
Saxons, Ireland “A” put in an excellent performance, winning by 30-27. The 
experience gained by the players was very beneficial and out of that group  
J. Heaslip, P. Wallace and T. Hogan were later to gain full international caps.

There were 2 other Ireland “A” fixtures, Ireland “A” v. Australia “A” in Thomond 
Park in November 2006 where Australia “A” won narrowly by 17-24 and again 
some impressive performances by some players led to full international caps 
including L. Fitzgerald and S. Ferris. The final fixture was Ireland “A” v. England 
Saxons at Ravenhill where a heavier and more skilful England Saxons team won 
convincingly by 8-32.

The Churchill Cup is due to be held in England at the end of May and once again 
the Ireland “A” team will be selected with player development in mind.

Due to a change in age grade structure within the 6 Nations the U.21 team has now 
become an U.20 team as this resolves issues of interference with the professional 
game structures in England and France. The U.20 team was coached this year 

1 — 

Chief Executive’s Report 

European Championship

by Eric Elwood and Dan McFarland with Philip Orr providing experience as Manager. The team 
showed great character and skill to achieve a “Grand Slam” in the 6 Nations U.20 competition. The 
matches against Wales, France and England in particular were hard fought won by 2, 3 and 7 points, 
respectively. There is no IRB U.21 Championship this season and it now seems probable that the IRB 
will drop its U.19 and U.21 World Championships in favour of a single U.20 World Championship. 
This will suit Ireland well.

At U.19 level Ireland had the privilege of hosting the IRB World Championships at Ravenhill in 
Belfast as referred to earlier in this report. The team coached by Charlie McAleese performed 
bravely in the tournament running Australia close in their opening fixture. They beat Scotland by 
a single point in a last gasp effort in injury time and were subsequently out played and out muscled 
by a very physical South African team. Further victories against Japan and Scotland again left 
Ireland placed ninth – probably a realistic reflection of our standing. The skill, strength and size of 
the leading teams in this competition places a spotlight on the Irish player development systems at 
underage level. This is a debate that will continue and the need for contact between the IRFU High 
Performance systems and players at U.17 upwards has never been so obvious. The demise of the U.19 
World Championship to some extent is of benefit to Ireland in that it gives another year in which to 
improve levels of skills and conditioning in players at 18 to 19 years of age.

The U.18 Club Team had a great tournament in FIRA/AER U.18 European Championship in Dax 
losing out in a penalty competition in the final having drawn 8-8 with hosts, France. Again some 
true Irish character was shown in some very close run matches.

The U.18 Schools Team took part in the 6 Nations U.18 Tournament in Glasgow. They beat Italy and 
France but lost to England. To mark the 50th anniversary of Japanese Irish diplomatic contacts, they 
also played the Japanese U.19 Team prior to the IRB World Championships in Belfast. The results of 
these matches and indeed the other age grade fixtures are recorded on the DVD.

At club level the AIB Irish Club Team had 2 fixtures against England Counties and Scotland, 
providing an opportunity to amateur club players to represent their country. This initiative has been 
very well received by players in the AIB League and the team recorded a narrow win against England 
Counties in Donnybrook and a loss to Scotland in Edinburgh.

Finally, the Irish Womens Team had a full season with the Women’s RWC in Canada in September 
where Ireland performed with great credit recording victories against Scotland and South Africa. 
Sarah Jane Belton, Captain of the Irish Team, had the distinction of being named in a World XV 
after the Tournament. In the Womens 6 Nations Championship, Ireland recorded 2 victories for the 
first time against Scotland and Italy.

Chief Executive’s Report

  — 1

Domestic Game

Rugby has never been as popular as it currently is. The success of the National and Provincial Teams 
in addition to the implementation of our development programmes has resulted in greater numbers 
of players in schools and clubs. There are more than 100,000 playing rugby in Ireland. The 
breakdown of participation figures are shown on the DVD.

The clubs remain the bedrock of Irish rugby. A thriving domestic game is vital for the continued 
success of our professional teams.

The IRFU is pleased that domestic game strategies set out in the 2004-2008 plan have generally 
been achieved or exceeded. We have more players, coaches and referees and many clubs are now 
planning for the future and upgrading their facilities to meet the modern needs of participants. 

Of course there are challenges ahead, not least of which is how to retain more adults in our club 
game. These we will address in our next plan which is under construction. However, it is important 
that we acknowledge and celebrate what has been achieved. We have a solid base from which we will 
build a world class domestic game over the next decade.

Key strategic issues identified by the IRFU Domestic Game Committee this season include:

  1.  Recruitment and retention of Adult players.
  2.  Modernisation and mobilisation of our Clubs.
  3.  Recruitment, retention and recognition of Volunteers.
  4.  Improved Communication at all levels.
  5.  Development of Infrastructure of Artificial/Floodlit pitches.

Market Research

We recognise the needs of players have changed. As a National Governing Body we must keep pace with 
this changing social dynamic and provide a game and structure that suits participant’s hectic lifestyles. 

We have therefore commissioned independent market research through the Commercial and 
Marketing Department to establish what participants, especially players want in the future from the 
IRFU. This research will be completed in May and its findings will provide a vital input to our 2008 

“The clubs remain the bedrock of Irish rugby. 

A thriving domestic game is vital for the 

continued success of our professional teams.”

1 — 

Chief Executive’s Report 

Ulster 

Strategic Plan. The IRFU is committed to ensuring that 
future strategic direction and programmes meet the 
expectations and lifestyles of the grassroots of the game.

We are grateful to the many players, coaches and club 
presidents participating voluntarily in the research 
programme.

The IRFU has established working parties covering each 
of the above mentioned strategic issues. These will be 
activated following the results of the survey.

Branch Empowerment

We are nearing the end of the first year of the Branch 
empowerment process. Provincial Domestic Game 
Managers (“PDGMs”) are now in place in each Branch:

  ◊

  Munster — Ultan O’Callaghan

  ◊

  Ulster — David Boyd

  ◊

  Connacht — Martin Gallagher

  ◊

  Leinster — David Ross

PDGM’s are responsible for driving the development 
of the domestic game within their respective Branches, 
reporting to Branch CEOs and Branch Domestic Game 
Chairmen. The appointments are underpinned by a 
service level agreement between the IRFU and each 
Branch. These agreements set out annually agreed KPIs 
covering each of the following aspects of the game:

  ◊

  Players

  ◊

  Coaches

  ◊

  Referees

  ◊

  Club Development (incl. Volunteers)

  ◊

  Schools

  ◊

  Leadership and Operations

  ◊

  Marketing and Promotion

The performance of each Branch will be subject to 
annual audit at the end of each season by an IRFU 
appointed review group. This will be chaired by George 
Spotswood and assisted by Dion Glass and a Branch 
nomination. The audit process is a critical part of the 
empowerment programme. It provides transparency and 
accountability for the significant investment by the IRFU 
and Branches in the domestic game. The first review will 
occur in May 2007.

Long Term Player Development

The IRFU Long Term Player Development (“LTPD”) 
model – “From 6 to 6 Nations” was officially launched 
by the Minister of Arts, Sport and Tourism, John 
O’Donoghue, in November 2006. LTPD will provide the 
basis for how rugby will be delivered and experienced in 
the future. It will provide a quality assurance mechanism 
to ensure that players at all levels, especially children 
enjoy a quality experience in the game.  
LTPD will be rolled out to clubs and schools over the 
coming season. This will initially take the form of an 
awareness campaign.

Development Staff

We employ 120 full time and part development staff 
around the country. The majority, (RDOs, YDOs, etc.) 
now work directly for Branches reporting to the PDGM’s. 
Ultimately it is the responsibility of the IRFU Domestic 
Game Manager, Kevin Potts, to ensure that staff delivers 
a world class service to clubs and schools. 

There are 5 Club Development Managers/Officers 
assisting clubs with “off-field” activities including 
funding applications, club development planning and 
volunteer recruitment. 30 clubs were awarded almost 

€

3m in lotto funding in 2006. 

Chief Executive’s Report

  — 1

6 Nations 

As part of our commitment to increasing our 
adult player base we have also appointed a new 
Leisure Rugby Manager, Olly Hodges. The 
leisure team are responsible for the new IRFU 
Tag programme which will kick-off this summer. 
We will expand this programme significantly in 
the years.

Women’s Rugby

The popularity of the women’s game continues to 
grow. The National Team finished eighth in the 
Women’s RWC in Canada. It came fourth in the 
2007 6 Nations, both our best placings ever. The 
IRFU now provides full operational logistical 
support to the Womens National Team similar 
to any other National Side. Underage Women’s 
Provincial Representative Sides at U.18 and U.21 
are also in place.

Women’s development officers have been 
appointed in all provinces and we expect to 
appoint a national position later this year.

A full integration process has been agreed between 
the IRFU and IWRFU and Women’s development 
committees are in place in each Branch.

Club Facilities

A key strategic priority remains the development 
of an infrastructure of floodlit, all weather 
pitches in clubs to retain and attract adult 
junior/social players. We believe that midweek 
rugby is the way forward at this level; we expect 
this to be validated in the research findings. 
We are also exploring the use of fully artificial 
pitches as part of this process. 

The IRFU/AIB capital assistance scheme is now 

active and available to qualifying clubs.  
The scheme provides loans towards the 
installation of match quality floodlights and the 
above mentioned pitch upgrades. Interest on 
the loan will be paid by IRFU. We believe that 
this facility coupled with lotto funding and club 
member contributions will improve the ability of 
clubs to upgrade their facilities. The scheme is 
operated by the Club Development Managers in 
each Branch.

AIB League

The IRFU has carried out an extensive review of 
the structure of the AIB League over the course 
of this season. We have through our Branches 
had a widespread and thorough consultation 
process. The debate has raised many issues which 
the IRFU responded to in a discussion paper 
issued in January. We will be holding a special 
Union meeting in May to consider the results 
of the consultation process and decide on the 
resulting structure.

We are grateful to AIB for the ongoing support 
of the AIB Community Rugby Programme. 
This includes the AIB League, AIB Cup, AIB 
Junior Cup and sponsorship of the AIB Club 
International Team. 

The arrival of the Irish Amateur International 
Club Side has been acknowledged by clubs as 
a very important reward mechanism for those 
players not intent on pursuing professional 
rugby careers. 

An expansion of the AIB Programme this season 
will see the AIB League Champions represent 
Ireland at a 4 Nation Amateur Tournament in 
Languedoc, France during the upcoming RWC. 

1 — 

Chief Executive’s Report 

Munster 

“The IRFU invested 

€

10m in the domestic game 

this season. Branches will invest a further 

€

4m. This brings the total investment by the 

IRFU since the game went professional in 1995 

to more than 

€

100m.”

Registration

We are continuing to implement our registration system – “Player Reg”. Adult and Youth players 
are now registered, with mini players expected to be done by 1st June. We are grateful to the Club 
Registration Officers around the country for their assistance. We are in phase 2 of this project and 
expect to have second level schools on the system by 1st November, 2007.

Volunteers

The need to recruit and retain volunteers has never been greater as our player numbers grow. There 
are now recognition schemes in place in each Branch. The IRFU participated in the Governments 
inaugural “National Awards for Volunteers in Sport” and are delighted that Harry Brooks from 
Clontarf RFC was the recipient of an award. Harry has given more than 53 years service to his club. 
We congratulate him and thank the many thousands of selfless volunteers around the country for 
their ongoing and vital contribution to Irish rugby. 

Funding

The IRFU invested 

€

10m in the domestic game this season. Branches will invest a further 

€

4m. 

This brings the total investment by the IRFU since the game went professional in 1995 to more 
than 

€

100m.

We have completed an in-depth review of the Clubs of Ireland Scheme. This will be replaced by a new 
Club Support Programme from the beginning of the 2007/08 season. 

The funding available will be increased to 

€

1.9m from 

€

1.2m. This will be paid to clubs that achieve 

the performance criteria. 97% of clubs will receive more funding. There is included for the first 
time a contribution from the professional game in each province. This is an important principal and 
we hope that this will be increased in the years ahead. The scheme will provide support for areas of 
the game that the IRFU believe require greatest attention. These include, coach development, adult/
U.20/women’s team participation, volunteer recognition, referee development, child protection and 
club development. Ultimately the goals are to:

  1.  Increase participation especially at adult level.

  2.   Move towards an equality of performance funding to AIB and Qualifying League Clubs.

  3.   Provide a link between the professional and club game.

  4.   Improve coaching quality throughout the game and raise playing standards as a result.

  5.   Strengthen and energise the two-way link between Branches and their constituent clubs.

We continue to recognise the important role played by schools/clubs in professional player 
development through the Reward for Development Scheme. 

€

90,000 was paid out this season. 

We also support development of schools, youth, women’s and U.20 sectors by fully funding team 
insurance and by heavily subsidising the insurance costs of adult sides.

Chief Executive’s Report

  — 1

Participation Programmes

33,000 children or 630 schools participated in the IRFU primary schools rugby programme.

The Ulster Bank summer camps – “Summer Scrummage” is entering its third year. Almost 10,000 
children have developed their skills and had a lot of fun in the first 2 years of the camps. We expect 
more than 6,500 children to participate this summer.

The Community Development programme now encompasses Tallaght, Ballymun, Swords, Fingal 
and Dublin City centre. 5,000 children are experiencing rugby on a weekly basis. The programme 
will be extended to County Donegal in September 2007.

Coaching

This season a total of 62 coaching courses were run attended by 1,800 coaches. This brings the total 
number of registered qualified coaches on our pathway to 5,800.

In addition update clinics were undertaken for Level 1 and Level 2 coaches with the aim of exposing 
those who had previously attended these courses to new initiatives now included in the new courses. 

The new IRB Scrum Engagement law variation (crouch-touch-pause-engage) commenced January 
1st, 2007, this required the Coach Development and Referee Development Department to jointly 
prepare all coaches and referees to safely and competently apply this new directive. Numerous 
clinics, workshops and media mechanisms were successfully undertaken nationwide prior to 
Christmas which ensured that we made the transition smoothly. We have also developed a new 
assistant coach pathway.

“33,000 children or 630 schools participated in 

the IRFU primary schools rugby programme. ”

1 — 

Chief Executive’s Report 

International

AIB Cup and League

17 teams again qualified from the provincial 
leagues or cups to participate in the AIB  
Senior Cup. The nominations were increased 
to 4 representatives per province for the AIB 
Junior Cup.

With the closure of Lansdowne Road, Cup 
Finals Day this season was held in Dubarry 
Park Athlone on 14th April and hosted by AIB. 
There were 4 new finalists this season and 
congratulations go to Garryowen for defeating 
Belfast Harlequins in the AIB Cup Final and to 
Seapoint in the AIB Junior Cup for their victory 
over Coleraine.

The results of the AIB League are covered 
on the DVD. Congratulations to winners of 
Division 1 Garryowen, Division 2 Old Belvedere 
and Division 3 Wanderers. The Division 2 and 3 
Divisional Finals were played in St. Mary’s RFC 
on 28th April with the Division 1 Final being 
played a week later in Musgrave Park, Cork.

During this season a full review has been carried 
out on the AIB League with the views of all 48 
senior clubs obtained and correlated. This 
review will lead to the format of the League which 
will come into operation for season 2008/09.

The AIB League Working Party met on 
3 occasions during the year with the 
aforementioned league review being the 
main item on the agenda. This season saw the 
introduction of a restriction on the number of 
fully contracted players (3) that can play for any 
club in an AIB League or Cup Match and this 
was generally well received. A number of minor 
changes have been agreed for next season.

Refereeing

We have 470 qualified referees at IRFU and 
Branch level. The requirement is to have 540 
within 2 years in order to service the increasing 
number of games. The Referee Department 
under Owen Doyle has delivered 85 referee 
courses/workshops during the season.

Development Programme

This was a very interesting and innovative 
season. As indicated last year, the restructuring 
of the referee development programme was 
completed and it was rolled out in its full capacity.

The Trial Members and Level 1 workshops have 
ensured that new recruits receive IRFU training 
from the earliest stage of their careers. A total 
of over 40 new workshops were introduced 
nationally at these levels.

Recruitment and Retention

Working with the PDGM’s, a lot of input is 
being made to persuade the clubs to promote 
refereeing and to provide new recruits into the 
system. Ultimately, the clubs must realise that it 
is essential for the future of the game that they 
are proactive in this respect. Refereeing needs to 
be high on the agenda of each club.

Associate Referees

This scheme continues to grow, and circa  
3,000 have now completed accreditation.  
Re-accreditation starts in earnest over the 
coming 2 seasons, and this will present a 
significant challenge to the department.

Elite Referees

We are represented on the IRB test panel by 
2 referees, and a further 4 are officiating in 
Europe and Celtic competitions. The elite 
development programme is on track to produce 
the next group of referees capable of performing 
at these levels.

Chief Executive’s Report

  — 1

Medical

The Medical Department has had a busy year in the lead up to the RWC 2007. The ongoing 
provision of excellent medical care has helped to keep our injuries at a relatively low level. The 
successful underage teams during this season have been cared for by an excellent group of doctors 
and physiotherapists who deserve significant credit for their time and expertise. This season saw the 
appointment of the first IRFU High Performance Nutritionist, Ruth Wood-Martin. Her work has 
had a significant impact in the whole approach of the IRFU and of our professional rugby players to 
understanding ways of improving nutritional support to maximise performance. 

The main areas of activity have included:–

–

  Player Welfare

   

◊

   Injury tracking/monitoring and development injury prevention protocols.

   

◊

   Introduction of new concussion assessment techniques.

—

  Education, Training and Research

   

◊

   In service training programmes for physiotherapy staff.

   

◊

   Organisation of Sports Medicine Conference.

   

◊

   Research in variety of areas including sports psychology and injury rehabilitation 

technology.

—

   Organisation of medical services for IRB U.19 World Championship in Belfast.

—

   Introduction of High Performance Nutrition Programme.

Anti-doping

The IRFU once again commissioned anti-doping tests through the ISC supplementing the ISC 
National Anti-Doping Programme. Details of the tests performed are outlined below, all tests 
resulted in a negative finding.

0 — 

Chief Executive’s Report 

2006 /07 Anti-doping Programme

In Competition Testing

team

no. of players tested

Senior XV

10

“A” Team

4

U.21 

6

U.19

4

Women

8

Youth

2

U.18 Schools

2

ERC and Magners League

24

AIB League Club XVs

16

Out of Competition Testing

team

no. of players tested

Senior

12

Provincial Squads

27

Clubs

8

U.21

3

U.19

3

“A” Team

2

Connacht 

Facilities

Leaving aside the redevelopment of Lansdowne Road which has been mentioned earlier in this report 
there have been some other important developments in provincial facilities. These developments are 
important in terms of providing the range of facilities and comforts expected by patrons and which 
also provide important revenue generating opportunities currently unavailable.

The well publicised redevelopment of Thomond Park in Limerick has commenced and with 
very welcome grant aid from the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism Sports Capital Grant 
programme, it is hoped to have the partially built stadium available for Heineken Cup fixtures in 
autumn 2007 and have the new 26,000 capacity facility completed for autumn 2008.

The redevelopment of Leinster’s facility at Donnybrook is also underway with the completion of a 
new 2,500 Stand scheduled for this coming autumn. The Leinster professional team will be using 
the new RDS facilities which will boast a capacity of 19,000 by next autumn and the RDS have 
already laid a new playing surface in October 2006 which is designed for both equestrian and rugby. 
The IRFU have made a grant contribution towards this new playing surface.

In Ulster the result of a planning application for a phased development at Ravenhill is awaited from 
Belfast City Council. This will see a new stand and upgrade spectator facilities together with other 
necessary refurbishment works. At the same time the UK government through the Department of 
Culture, Arts and Leisure (NI) and the Strategic Investment Board are progressing plans to develop 
a 42,000 capacity stadium on the Maze site. This facility will be available to Ulster and also to the 
IRFU if required.

In Connacht the installation of floodlights at the Sportsground have been very successful in helping 
boost attendances and further plans are in place to extend and cover the terrace opposite the main 
stand along with the development of enhanced training facilities.

Charitable Trust

In a year where there was thankfully no serious injuries in Ireland there have been some 
developments under the chairmanship of Jeff Smith to report.

 

◊

   HM Revenue and Customs accepted the IRFU Charitable Trust (NI) as a charity for  

tax purposes.

 

◊

   The IRUPA Seriously Injured Players Fund merger with the IRFU Charitable Trust  

was completed.

 

◊

   The sixth Friends of the Charitable Trust dinner was held on the eve of the  

Ireland v. South Africa match in November.

 

◊

   

€

237,000 generated in revenues and 

€

208,000 assistance provided to seriously  

injured players.

 

◊

   Pro-Am golf tournament to take place in Mount Juliet on 1st June which will raise  

considerable funds.

 

◊

   Charity walk to take place in France during RWC which will also raise funds.

It is sad to note the death of long standing member and founder Trustee of the Manxie Club, Ronnie 
Boston, who was a great servant in the cause of our seriously injured players.

Chief Executive’s Report

  — 1

Out of Competition Testing

team

no. of players tested

Senior

12

Provincial Squads

27

Clubs

8

U.21

3

U.19

3

“A” Team

2

Commercial and Marketing

As the business model for the game in Ireland 
centres on creating a revenue stream on the 
back of the professional game to fund both the 
professional and domestic games, the focus of the 
past season has been to build on the high profile 
which rugby is enjoying in Ireland.

Commercial Review

The Irish rugby brand is currently very strong 
and commercially this past season has again been 
one of considerable growth. The National Team 
sported O2 branded jerseys for the first time at 
home in the hugely successful Guinness Autumn 
Series. The move to Croke Park for the RBS 6 
Nations matches brought additional revenues 
with greater capacity both in terms of ticket sales 
and corporate facilities, albeit that additional 
revenue must be tempered with the forthcoming 
loss of income to the Union with no November 
Internationals in RWC 2007 season. 

Our sponsorship portfolio is performing 
strongly and this past season has seen a 
consolidation of our arrangements with several 
new partners (listed below). Our thanks to O2, 
our National Team sponsor, and to Danuta Grey, 
CEO of O2, and all of her team for their support 
this season.

Equally our thanks go to all our sponsors and 
partners. Without the support from corporate 
Ireland, the game cannot aspire to the level it 
does and we would not be enjoying the success 
that we have.

New sponsorships this past season include:

 

◊

  Wolf Blass as official wine partner 

 

◊

  Bushmills as official whiskey  

 

◊

  Turner Print as official print partner  

 

◊

   Irish Independent as 

In Touch

  

magazine distributor

Renewed sponsorships:

 

◊

  Paddy Power as official betting partner 

Over and above the traditional revenue streams, 
the closure of Lansdowne Road provided 
an opportunity for an on-line auction of 
merchandise, memorabilia and a series of limited 
edition prints of various aspects of the stadium 
from which additional revenues were generated.

The development of the new stadium also 
requires considerable funding and to that end, 
the IRFU 10 year ticket scheme issue was recently 
launched and the Union will soon be marketing 
the corporate boxes in the new stadium. Demand 
is very strong and it appears we may be over-
subscribed for both boxes and seats.

 — 

Chief Executive’s Report 

“The Irish rugby brand is currently very strong 

and commercially this past season has again 

been one of considerable growth.”

Marketing and Communications Review

Following on from last season, the emphasis has 
been to continue to raise the profile of the game 
in Ireland which has led to increased marketing 
activity driving greater numbers of people into 
the game.

In Touch

 the official magazine of the IRFU was 

launched with great success this season. Two 
issues were published, in September 2006 and in 
January 2007, and were distributed free with the 

Irish Independent

 resulting in a circulation of over 

166,000 copies and a readership figure of nearly 
500,000 people. The objective behind the 
magazine is to effect better communications with 
rugby stakeholders as well as bringing the game 
to a new audience. Further issues are planned for 
next season.

Our television broadcast partnerships continue 
to show growing viewership figures. Our RBS 
6 Nations matches broke all previous records 
with over 1.3m viewers for the Ireland v. 
England game in Croke Park on RTE and over 
8.5m on the BBC in the UK. This comes as a 
further benefit for our commercial partners 
and to all in the game. Another first for us, 
was the commissioning of an ‘in the moment’ 
documentary following the Irish Team marking 
the historic nature of this past season, this was 
shown recently on RTE and will be available soon 
for purchase. 

Again this past season, RTE’s ‘

Against the Head

’ 

weekly magazine programme, has transmitted 
more AIB League, Cup and Club International 
rugby than ever before. Additional coverage 
on the successful U.21 matches, Schools Cup 
competitions and Magners League on Setanta 
and of course the Heineken Cup further 
demonstrates the variety of rugby on offer.

On the participation side of the game, the 
marketing effort has been channelled into 
supporting Rugby Department programmes 
driving numbers into our Coca Cola schools 
tag rugby, Ulster Bank summer camps and 
launching our own IRFU Adult Tag Rugby 
programme which goes live in 7 venues across 
Ireland this coming summer.

Along with our community rugby partners, AIB, 
we have been working to help rejuvenate club 
rugby in Ireland. The first issue of 

Engage

 our 

club newsletter was published recently and was 
circulated to over 20,000 registered players.

As part of the new strategic planning process, an 
audit of the Union’s Communications policies 
and structures is underway in order to develop 
a new strategy for both internal and external 
communications. The objective is to continue 
to drive awareness and developments within the 
game to all relevant stakeholders.

irishrugby.ie

The website www.irishrugby.ie has been moved 
to a new host partner, Sotic, resulting in a 
refreshed and increased functional offering 
online including multimedia podcast and video 
offerings. The increasing popularity of the site 
as the major news source for rugby in Ireland 
was borne out by consistently higher site visits, 
with over half a million site visitors during the 
RBS 6 Nations.

Irish Rugby Supporters Club

This was a year of unprecedented growth for the 
club. Membership numbers were up every month 
on the previous year with strategic advertising and 
a very strong ‘word of mouth’ appeal. There are 
now 12,000 members who will be giving up to 
following Ireland in RWC 2007.

Chief Executive’s Report

  — 

IRFU

Corporate Affairs 

International teams and events dominated the activity of the Corporate Affairs Department 
in addition to supporting the various Committees and Sub Committees of the Union as well as 
specialist input into the design of the new stadium. Staff at Lansdowne Road provided support and 
made arrangements for the management and squads of 9 separate teams involved in international 
competitions. 53 international matches were played with over 50% hosted and organised by the 
Union with assistance from the Branches. The very successful U.19 World Cup Tournament in 
Belfast was organised separately in exemplary fashion by Ulster Branch IRFU. Kit was issued to all 9 
squads and management, referees and for the 53 matches. Referees were appointed to officiate at 210 
matches which entailed travel arrangements. The movement of teams and referees is a considerable 
exercise particularly during the 6 Nations, with up to 4 teams travelling, which is co-ordinated 
through the in-house IRFU Travel Section. This season the arrangements for the Irish Womens 
Team were handled by the Union Office as part of the integration process of IWRFU.

The matches at Croke Park absorbed a significant amount of time and effort with the planning 
process being carried out for 12 months. The IRFU was responsible for the running of both matches 
and IRFU staff worked closely with staff at Croke Park to ensure their successful management. Over 
300,000 tickets for all matches were printed and managed by the Ticket Office.

The significant activity of the various IRFU Committees and Sub Committees was also supported 
by our Staff. Over 102 meetings were arranged with administrative backup provided by Lansdowne 
Road. Our Strategic Plan is being constantly monitored and planning is also underway to develop 
the next Strategic Plan post 2007.

Planning is already well advanced for season 2007/08 which in addition to RWC 2007 sees 3 matches 
in the RBS 6 Nations Championship at Croke Park, a tour to New Zealand and Australia, hosting the 
U.18 Schools Tournament as well as the other 6 Nations matches for Women and U.20 level.

Given the size of our organisation the Senior Management Team now includes the Branch CEOs and 
meets monthly to keep abreast of activities and plan forwards. We are indeed fortunate to have such a 
dedicated and hard working staff to support the activity of the Union both on and off the field of play.

“Planning is already well advanced for season 

2007/08 which in addition to RWC 2007 sees 3 

matches in the RBS 6 Nations Championship 

at Croke Park, a tour to New Zealand 

and Australia, hosting the U.18 Schools 

Tournament as well as the other 6 Nations 

matches for Women and U.20 level.”

 — 

Chief Executive’s Report 

Leinster

Human Resources 

We are continuing to work with IRUPA and the Irish Sports Council (ISC) to put in place a support 
service for players in the area of career and lifestyle issues. The intention is to put in place resources 
that will address the specific concerns of professional rugby players at all stages of their playing career. 
While we have not yet decided on the most appropriate format for the delivery of this service, we have 
instigated a pilot project that will focus on those players who will exit the game at the end of the current 
season. As part of this initiative we are also in contact with senior academics to explore the idea of 
‘modularised’ courses that can be tailored to players’ commitments during the season. Ultimately the 
programme aims to encourage players to focus on and to proactively manage personal, educational and 
career transitions. 

Senior managers attended a development programme that was conducted last autumn. The programme 
focussed on self awareness, executive coaching and people management skills. The programme was 
delivered by expert practitioners in each of these fields both here and in the UK and was well received. 

Work is continuing on HR policy development. In light of the review of the strategic plan, the 
organisation structure and governance issues are the subject of particular attention at present to ensure 
that we are appropriately aligned to deliver on objectives and targets over the next 4 years. 

Committee

It is important to record the work done by the elected representatives on the various IRFU Committees 
and Sub Committees. There were 102 Committee and Sub Committee meetings held this last year, all 
attended by elected representatives giving their skills and experience on a voluntary basis in their own 
free time. The nature and complexity of the game and its governance provides the Committees with 
challenging tasks and difficult decisions. This is equally reflected in the challenges faced by Branch 
Committees and indeed Club Committees that successfully run our clubs. This resource is critical to 
the success of any sport and is something to be protected and respected. It is good to see our Branches 
instigating volunteer recognition programmes which in some small way demonstrate an appreciation of 
the role of the volunteer.

The end of the season marks the end of John Lyons’ tenure as Honorary Treasurer of the IRFU. John 
became Hon. Treasurer in 1996/97 when the IRFU had a turnover of 

€

12.6m and a surplus of 

€

1.1m. 

In 2007, at the time of writing, we expect a turnover in excess of 

€

50m and a surplus in excess of 

€

4.5m. His husbandry of the IRFU finances whilst at the same time recognising the need to invest in 

all levels of the game during a time of huge flux, sees John leaving Irish rugby at the end of his term in 
as good shape as it has ever been in. We wish him well in his role as Senior Vice President.

Andy Crawford retires from the IRFU Committee after 15 years. He has always had a focus on the club 
game and served for many years as the Chairman of the IRFU Youth Sub Committee ensuring that 
the player pathway to international representation through U.18 club structures was developed and 
enhanced. He became President in the 2005/06 season and presided over a Triple Crown and the 
Munster Heineken Cup victory. Best wishes to Andy and his wife, Joan, on his retirement from the 
IRFU Committee.

Chief Executive’s Report

  — 

Obituaries

Robin Godfrey

2 Caps 1954. Played for UCC, UCD and Waterloo.

Tom Cullen

1 Cap 1949.  Played for UCD.

Larry L’Estrange

1 Cap 1962.  Played for Dublin University.

Jimmy C. Davidson

6 Caps 1969-1976.  Played for Dungannon.

Charles Vesey Boyle

9 Caps 1935–1939 and the British and Irish Lions Tour to South Africa – 1938.

Ronnie Boston

President Bangor RFC 1978-1979, Chairman Manxie Club and long standing member of IRFU Charitable 
Trust.

Brian McLoughlin

IRB Match Commissioner.

G. (Ken) Goodall

City of Derry, 19 Caps (1967-1970).

George E. Cromey

9 Caps 1937-1939.  Played for QUB, Ulster, Ireland and the British and Irish Lions 1938.

Ham Lambert

Lansdowne FC, 2 Caps (1933-1934) and refereed 11 internationals (1947–1952).

Dave Egan

Chief Steward Lansdowne Road.

J. H. Smith

12 Caps 1951-1954.  Played for Queens University and London Irish.

Keith Rowlands

President WRU.

 — 

Chief Executive’s Report 

President

P.J. Boyle 

Senior Vice President

D.V. Healy 

Junior Vice President

J.P. Lyons

Hon. Treasurer

J.P. Lyons

Chairman of  
Management Committee

J.D. Hussey

Immediate Past President

D.A. Crawford 

Committee

J.R. Callaghan 
C. Fitzgerald 
P. Fitzgerald 
T.H.N. Jackson  
C.C. Powell 
G.C. Quaid 
P. Whelan (Co-opted)

Branch Representative 
Members

F. Crowley 
L. Galvin  
W.B. Glynn 
S.R. Hilditch 
D. Keohane 
L.P. Magee 
F. MacLoughlin 
M. O’Sullivan 
C. Watson

International Rugby  
Board Representatives

N.A. Murphy 
P.J. Boyle 

Trustees

A.R. Dawson 
T.J. Kiernan 
W.S.H. Lavery 
Dr. S. Millar

Chief Executive

P.R. Browne 

 

 

 

 

Director of  
Corporate Affairs

M.P. Murphy

Director of Rugby 

E. Wigglesworth

Financial Controller

C. O’Brien

Director of Commercial 
and Marketing

P. Power

Director of  
Human Resources

M. Dowling

National Coach

E. O’Sullivan

Office Bearers &

    Committee

Office Bearers and Committee

  — 

 — 

Standing Committees and Sub Committees 

Standing Committees

   and Sub Committees

Management

J.D. Hussey, P.J. Boyle, J.P. Lyons, N.A. Murphy,  
T.H.N. Jackson, D.V. Healy, P. Fitzgerald, P. Browne,  
M. Murphy and E. Wigglesworth.

Representative Game

T.H.N. Jackson, P.J. Boyle, N.A. Murphy, C. Watson,  
M.J. O’Sullivan, W.B. Glynn, P. Whelan, P. McNaughton, 
P. Browne, E. Wigglesworth, E. O’Sullivan, M. Dowling 
and G. Black. 

Domestic Game

D.V. Healy, J.R. Callaghan, S.R. Hilditch, G.C. Quaid, 
D. Keohane, C.C. Powell, L.P. Magee, F. Crowley,  
L. Galvin, E. Wigglesworth, K. Potts and G. Black.

Finance

J.P. Lyons, P.J. Boyle, S.R. Hilditch, C. Fitzgerald,  
L. Galvin, F. Crowley, P. Whelan, P. Browne, M. Murphy,  
C. O’Brien and L. Quinn (co-opted).

Commercial and Marketing

P. Fitzgerald, J.P. Lyons, C. Fitzgerald, J.R. Callaghan,  
P. Browne, M. Murphy, P. Power, J. Redmond,  
K. Richardson and J.F. Smith (co-opted).

Charitable Trust

J.F. Smith, J.R. Callaghan, C. Fitzgerald, P. Fitzgerald,  
J. Doherty, J.B. Stevenson, S.O. Campbell, P.F. Madigan, 
Dr. L.N. O’Mahony, J.E. Gallagher, M.A. Quinn,  
W. Dawson, Dr. C. Beirne, E. Feely, K.D. Crossan  
and N. Woods.

Disciplinary

F. Crowley, G. Black, P. Barriscale, H. Blake, C. Callan, 
M. Coghlan, D. Glass, J. Kirwan, H. Logan, D. Martin, 
H. McKibbin, M. McPharland, Dr. B. O’Driscoll,  
P. O’Connor, P. Orr and G. Spotswood.

Appeals

W.B. Glynn, G. Black, P. Barriscale, H. Blake, C. Callan, 
M. Coghlan, D. Glass, J. Kirwan, H. Logan, D. Martin, 
H. McKibbin, M. McPharland. Dr. B. O’Driscoll,  
P. O’Connor, P. Orr and G. Spotswood.

Exiles

P.J. Boyle and F. MacLoughlin.

Medical

W.B. Glynn, Dr. C. McCarthy, Dr. L. Hennessy,  
Dr. W. Rainey,  Dr. B. O’Driscoll, Dr. W. O’Flynn,  
Prof. A. Tanner, Dr. T. O’Sullivan, Dr. G. O’Driscoll,  
C. Steele and B. Greene.

Appendix

 — 

Appendix

Referees

J.R. Callaghan, T. Aplin, J. Irvine, B. Smith,  
D. Templeton and O.E. Doyle.

Regulations

F. Crowley, G. Black and G.C. Spotswood.

Representative Team Appointments

N.A. Murphy, T.H.N. Jackson, P. Whelan, J.D. Hussey,  
P. Browne and E. Wigglesworth.

Schools

C.C. Powell, L.P. Magee, G. Quaid, S.R. Hilditch,  
B. Derrane, Fr. J. Gough, K. Patton, P. Rossiter,  
L. Balfe, P. Cafferkey, C. Cullinane, Fr. G. Slattery,  
F. Gault and J. Murphy.

Youth

J.R. Callaghan, L.P. Magee, G.C. Quaid, S.R. Hilditch, 
W. Gribben, B. Mescal, H. Woodhouse, T. McCoy,  
J. Best and H. Kruger.

Women

D. Keohane, and S. Carty.

Player Advisory Group

T.H.N. Jackson, P. Whelan, J.D. Hussey, J.P. Lyons,  
P. Browne, E. Wigglesworth, E. O’Sullivan, M. Dowling 
and C. O’Brien.

AIB League

F. Crowley, O. Allen, E. Hosty, Dr. W.A. Mulcahy,  
D. Workman and G. Black.

6 Nations Representatives

N.A. Murphy and P.J. Boyle.

ERC Representatives

P.J. Boyle and P. Browne.

Celtic League Representatives

J.D. Hussey and P. Browne.

FIRA Representative

S.R. Hilditch.

ulster 

munster

leinster

connacht

total

2007

total

2006

Adult

5,296

8,657

9,583

1,635

25,171

21,740

Secondary Schools

8,800

4,200

11,044

2,200

26,244

23,586

Youth

1,973

5,905

5,026

1,544

14,448

12,472

Mini

3,646

3,700

3,620

1,808

12,774

10,967

Primary School TAG

8,196

11,993

12,060

3,741

35,990

32,209

Total

27,911

34,455

41,333

10,928

114,627

100,974

NB. These figures subject to Branch audit in May and may change

0 — 

IRFU Sponsors

The IRFU wishes to acknowledge the  

following sponsors of Irish Rugby

Sponsor of the RBS Six Nations Championship

Match sponsor of the Guinness Autumn Series
Official Beer Supplier to the IRFU

Official Soft Drink of the IRFU,  
Sponsor of Schools Tag Rugby

Official betting partner of the IRFU

Official Retail Partner to the IRFU

Official Supplier of match balls

Official Sports Drink of the IRFU and sponsor of 
the Powerade Conditioning Programme

Partner of IrishRugby.ie

Strategic Partner of the Community Rugby Programme, AIB 
League, AIB Cup, AIB Junior Cup, AIB Club International

Supporting Irish Rugby

Official Kit Supplier to the IRFU

Sponsor of the Ireland Senior Squad and ‘A’ Team
Official Mobile Telecommunications partner to the IRFU
Sponsor of the Irish Schools Team

IRFU Sponsors

 — 1

Official car supplier to the IRFU

Technology Partner to the IRFU

Official Sponsor of the Ireland U19’s and U20’s, 
Irish Colleges and Irish Universities

Official Sponsor of the High Performance Select Group

Sponsor of the Kelloggs
Youth Development Officer Programme

Official Snack to the IRFU

Sponsor of the Irish Exiles Sevens

Official outfitters of the IRFU

Official Formal Wear Supplier to the IRFU

Official Spirit of the IRFU

Official Print Supplier to the IRFU

Official Wine Supplier to the IRFU

Official Air Express Carrier for the IRFU

Sponsor of the Ulster Bank Summer 
Scrummage Camps

 — 

Accounts

Irish Rugby

    Consistency

IRFU Accounts

Accounts

  — 

2006/2007

Income

 Expenditure

  Balance

  Statement

    Funds flow

Accounts Contents

 — 

Accounts

Income and Expenditure Account ............................................35

Statement of total recognised gains and losses ........................36

Reconciliation of movement in union funds ............................. 36

Balance sheet ....................................................................... 37

Notes to the accounts ...........................................................38

Statement of Committee’s responsibilities ................................48

Independent auditor’s report to the members ...........................49

The following do not form part of the report and accounts:

Detailed Schedules for the income and expenditure account ..... 50

Funds flow statement ............................................................. 54

Income and expenditure account

for the year ended 30 april 2007

Accounts

  — 

Schedule

2006/07

€

2005/06

€

2004/05

€

Income:

Representative matches

1

48,741,571

39,398,903

32,937,287

Other income

2

6,758,886

7,029,528

5,915,250

55,500,457

46,428,431

38,852,537

Expenditure:

Professional game costs

3

27,374,513

25,575,678

23,485,308

Elite player development

4

2,896,585

2,125,136

1,721,347

Games support costs

5

691,528

612,055

422,814

Domestic and community rugby

6

10,713,727

9,222,150

8,131,350

Marketing

7

1,121,108

926,666

1,036,073

Grounds

8

1,631,957

1,975,878

1,878,611

Administration and overheads

9

4,615,410

3,927,341

3,602,442

Depreciation

(Note 3)

1,281,272

1,247,512

 1,448,340

50,326,100

45,612,416

41,726,285

Surplus(deficit) for year

5,174,357

816,015

(2,873,748)

J.P. Lyons 

P.R. Browne

 

Honorary Treasurer 

Chief Executive

Statement of total recognised gains and losses

for the year ended 30 April 2007

 — 

Accounts

2006/07

€

2005/06

€

2004/05

€

Surplus (deficit) for the financial period 
attributable to the Union

5,174,357

816,015

(2,873,748)

Difference between expected and actual 
return on pension scheme assets

140,000

577,000

(36,000)

Experience gains (losses) on pension 
scheme liabilities

100,000

(320,000)

(170,000)

Effect of changes in actuarial 
assumptions

(321,000)

(4,000)

(4,000)

Total surplus (deficit) relating 
to the period 

5,093,357

1,069,015

(3,083,748)

Prior period adjustment

(Note 5)

-

(828,000)

(781,000) 

Total surplus (deficit) recognised since 
the last annual report

5,093,357

241,015

  (3,864,748)

Reconciliation of movement in union funds

for the year ended 30 April 2007

2006/07

€

2005/06

€

2004/05

€

Balance at 1 May as previously reported

16,432,150

16,191,135

19,227,883

Prior period adjustment

(Note 5)

-

  (828,000)

(781,000)

16,432,150

15,363,135

18,446,883

Ground development reserve

1,269,738

1,269,738

1,269,738

Financial assistance to clubs reserve

1,269,738

1,269,738

 1,269,738 

18,971,626

17,902,611

20,986,359

Total recognised surplus (deficit) 
relating to the period

5,093,357

1,069,015

(3,083,748)

Balance at 30 April 

24,064,983

18,971,626

17,902,611

Balance sheet

as at 30 April 2007

Accounts

  — 

Note

30/04/07

€

30/04/06

€

Fixed assets

Tangible assets

3

28,467,212

26,962,557

Stadium redevelopment in progress

4

606,468

606,468

29,073,680

27,569,025

Financial assets

Loans to clubs

1,548,693

1,781,706

Financial investments

6

5,078,952

5,078,952

Joint venture:

7

-  Share of gross assets

2,461,450

1,901,616

-  Share of gross liabilities

(2,461,449)

(1,901,615)

6,627,646

6,860,659

Current assets

Pension asset

8

123,000

-

Debtors and prepayments

9,674,389

9,482,665

Cash at bank and in hand

21,775,787

25,391,951

31,573,176

34,874,616

Current liabilities

Creditors and accrued expenses

8,566,594

11,349,255

Net current assets

23,006,582

23,525,361

Total assets less current liabilities

58,707,908

57,955,045

Pension liability

8

-

 (407,000)

Deferred ticket fund

9

(34,642,925)

(38,576,419)

24,064,983

18,971,626

Financed by:

Union funds

24,064,983

18,971,626

J.P. Lyons 

P.R. Browne

 

Honorary Treasurer 

Chief Executive

1.  Accounting policies

 

The following accounting policies have been applied consistently in dealing with items which are considered material in 
relation to the financial statements.

 

a.  Basis of preparation

 

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting standards generally accepted in Ireland.  
Accounting Standards generally accepted in Ireland in preparing financial statements giving a true and fair view are those 
published by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland and issued by the Accounting Standards Board.

 

b.  Fixed tangible assets

 

Fixed tangible assets are shown at their historic cost net of any capital grants received or receivable.

 

c.  Depreciation

 

Depreciation is charged in order to write off the assets over their expected useful lives at the following annual rates: -

Land

Nil

Stand, buildings, etc.

2.5% straight line

Fixtures, fittings & equipment

25% and 12.5% straight line

Computer equipment

20% straight line

Grounds purchased & leased to clubs

Nil

 

d.  Stadium redevelopment in progress

 

The Union has contracted to redevelop the Lansdowne Stadium through a separate company which is jointly owned by the 
Union and the Football Association of Ireland, each of whom hold 50% of the ordinary share capital.

 

The redevelopment is being funded by way of agreed contributions from the government, the Union and the Football 
Association of Ireland as disclosed in note 12.  The contributions from the government are non-refundable unless they 
are used for purposes other than redevelopment of the stadium.

 

 

The nature of the agreements in place between the Football Association of Ireland, the joint venture company and 
the Union are such that the risks and rewards relating to the redeveloped stadium lie principally with the Union and, 
therefore, in accordance with Accounting Standards, the Union have recognised stadium expenditure as an asset of the 
Union.  Once the redevelopment has been completed it will be transferred to tangible assets

 

e.  Joint venture

 

The Union’s 50% interest in Lansdowne Road Development Company Limited is accounted for using the gross equity 
method in accordance with Financial Reporting Standard 9 - Associates and Joint Ventures.

 

The Union’s share of the profits less losses are included in the income and expenditure account.  The Union’s interest in 
its net assets is indicated as a fixed asset investment in the balance sheet at an amount representing the Union’s share of the 
fair values of the net asset at acquisition plus the Union’s share of post acquisition retained profits.

 

The amounts included in the financial statements of the Union are taken from the latest audited financial statements of 
the joint venture company which were for the year ended 31 December 2006.

Notes to the accounts

for the year ended 30 April 2007

 — 

Accounts

1.  Accounting policies (cont’d.)

 

f.  Financial fixed assets
 

Investments

 

Investments are shown at cost less provision for permanent diminution in value.  Income from investments is recognised 
in the income and expenditure account in the year in which it is receivable. 

 

g.  Grants

 

Capital grants received are set off against the cost of related fixed assets.

 

Grants towards revenue expenditure are released to the income and expenditure account as the related expenditure 
is incurred.

 

 

h.  Foreign currencies
 

Functional and presentation currency

 

Items included in the financial statements are presented in ‘Euros’, the currency of the primary economic environment in 
which the entity operates (the ‘functional currency’).

 

Transactions and balances

 

Transactions in foreign currencies are recorded at the rate ruling at the date of the transaction or at a contracted rate.  
Monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are retranslated at the rate of exchange ruling at the 
balance sheet date or the contracted rate.  All differences are taken to the income and expenditure account as part of the 
fair value gain or loss.

i.  Pension costs

 

The Union operates a defined benefit scheme for certain employees.

 

Income and expenditure account

 

The pension costs in respect of defined benefit schemes are charged to the income and expenditure account on a 
systematic basis, based on the actuary’s calculations.  Amounts charged are calculated using the following rates:

 

Current service cost

Discount rate at the start of the year

Interest cost

Discount rate at the start of the year

Expected return on assets

Expected rate of return at the start of the year

 

Past service costs are recognised in the income and expenditure account on a straight line basis over the period in which 
the increases in benefit vest.

 

Differences between the amounts charged in the income and expenditure account and payments made to pension funds 
are treated as assets or liabilities. 

 

Accounts

  — 

Notes to the accounts

for the year ended 30 April 2007

1.  Accounting policies (cont’d.)

 

i.  Pension costs (cont’d.)
 

Balance sheet entries

 

Assets in the scheme are measured at their fair value at the balance sheet date.  Defined benefit liabilities are measured on 
an actuarial basis using the projected unit method.  The assets and liabilities of the scheme are subject to a full actuarial 
valuation by an external professionally qualified actuary triennially and are reviewed annually by the actuary and updated 
to reflect current conditions.

 

The excess/shortfall in the value of the assets in the scheme over/below the present value of the scheme’s liabilities is 
recognised as an asset/liability when the amounts can be recovered through reduced contributions or refunds from the 
scheme.

 

Actual gains and losses that arise on the valuation of the scheme’s assets and liabilities are released to the statement of total 
recognised gains and losses.

 

j.  Deferred income

 

Monies received in respect of five and ten year tickets have been treated as deferred income and have been released to the 
income and expenditure account over the period to which they relate based on the estimated number of fixtures and the 
expected admission prices. Details of the amount deferred are set out in note 9.

2.  Income and expenditure recognition 

 

Income and expenditure are recognised in the season in which they arise and are incurred.

 

Notes to the accounts

for the year ended 30 April 2007

0 — 

Accounts

3.  Tangible assets

Cost at 30/4/06

€

Additions

€

Cost at 30/4/07

€

Premises and grounds

33,831,112

2,583,874

36,414,986

Fixtures, fittings & equipment

6,436,432

202,053

6,638,485

Grounds purchased and leased to clubs

368,713

-

368,713

40,636,257

2,785,927

43,422,184

Accumulated 

depreciation 

at 30/4/06

€

Charge for 

year

€

Accumulated 

depreciation 

at 30/4/07

€

Premises and grounds

8,533,689

826,160

9,359,849

Fixtures, fittings & equipment

5,140,011

455,112

5,595,123

Grounds purchased and leased to clubs

-

-

-

13,673,700

1,281,272

14,954,972

Net book value

26,962,557

28,467,212

 

As more fully explained in Note 12 the stadium at Lansdowne Road is being redeveloped.  The Union consider the 
accumulated cost, less related depreciation, on expenditure previously capitalised in respect of prior construction work on 
the stadium as enhancing the value of what is to be constructed.  Consequently the Union have ceased depreciating such 
expenditure until the new stadium has been completed and is in use.  The net amount included above in respect of these 
amounts is 

€

7,251,840.

4.  Stadium redevelopment in progress

30/4/07

€

30/4/06

€

Balance at 1 May 

606,468

424,655

Expenditure in year

12,865,465

9,906,587

Grants

(12,865,465)

(9,724,774)

Balance 30 April 

606,468

606,468

Notes to the accounts

for the year ended 30 April 2007

Accounts

  — 1

5.  Prior period adjustment

 

Financial Reporting Standard 17 - Retirement Benefits was adopted in full by the Union with effect from 1 May 2005. The 
adoption of FRS 17 required a change in the accounting treatment of defined benefit pension arrangements so that the Union 
now includes the assets and liabilities of these arrangements in the balance sheet. Current service costs and net financial 
returns are included in the income and expenditure account in the period to which they relate. Actuarial gains and losses are 
recognised in the statement of total recognised gains and losses.

 

The impact of the adoption of FRS 17 on the Balance Sheet is the recognition of a net pension liability of 

€

407,000 as at 30 

April 2006 and a net pension liability of 

€

828,000 as at 30 April 2005.

6.  Financial investments

 

Financial investments comprise term investments at a cost of 

€

5,078,952, the market value of which at 30 April 2007 

amounted to 

€

9,296,903 (2006 

€

9,109,215).

7. 

Joint venture

 

The Union holds 50% of the ordinary share capital of Lansdowne Road Stadium Development Company Limited, a company 
formed to redevelop the stadium at Lansdowne Road.  

 

Additional disclosures in respect of Lansdowne Road Stadium Development Company, based on that company’s audited 
accounts for the year ended 31 December 2006, required under Financial Reporting Standard 9 - Associates and Joint 
Ventures are as follows:

31/12/06

€

31/12/05

€

Fixed assets

27,536

51,611

Current assets

2,433,914

1,850,005

Share of gross assets

2,461,450

1,901,616

Liabilities due within one year

2,461,449

1,901,615

Share of net assets

1

1

 

The turnover, profit before and after tax of Lansdowne Road Stadium Development Company Limited for the year ended 31 
December 2006 and for the period to December 2005 were all nil. 

 

Notes to the accounts

for the year ended 30 April 2007

 — 

Accounts

8.  Pension commitments

 

The pension entitlements of employees of the Union arise under a defined benefit scheme which is funded by annual 
contributions by the Union to a separately administered pension fund.

 

The latest actuarial valuation for the scheme was dated 1 August 2005. The principal assumptions made by the actuary were 
that the rate of return on investment would exceed the increase in pensionable salaries by 3%. The assets of the fund, which 
amounted to 

€

2,826,000, showed that on an immediate discontinuance basis the assets of the fund were adequate to meet 

the plan’s statutory minimum funding liabilities.  The assets represent 84% in aggregate of the benefits which would accrue 
to members at the valuation date after allowing for future salary increases.  The actuarial report is not available for public 
inspection.

 

The valuations employed for FRS 17 disclosure purposes have been updated by the scheme’s independent and qualified actuary 
to take account of the requirements of the new accounting standard in order to assess the liabilities of the scheme as at 30 
April 2007. The valuations have been completed using the projected unit method. 

30/4/07

%

30/4/06

%

30/4/05

%

Main assumptions:

Rate of increase in salaries

4.00

3.75

3.75

Rate of increase in pensions payment

4.50

4.25

4.25

Discount rate

5.00

5.00

4.50

Inflation assumption

2.50

2.25

2.25

Rate of return on plan assets

6.38

6.50

6.74

 

Assumptions regarding pre and post retirement mortality rates remained unchanged.

Notes to the accounts

for the year ended 30 April 2007

Accounts

  — 

8.  Pension commitments (cont’d.)

The assets and liabilities of the scheme and the expected rate of return at 30 April were:

30/4/07

30/4/06

30/4/05

Long-

term rate 

of return 

expected 

%

Value 

€

Long-

term rate 

of return 

expected 

%

Value 

€

Long-

term rate 

of return 

expected 

%

Value 

€

Equities

7.0

3,968,000

7.0

3,054,000

7.5

1,993,000

Bonds

4.4

615,000

4.3

412,000

4.0

368,000

Properties

6.0

246,000

6.0

229,000

6.5

212,000

Others

2.5

297,000

2.5

122,000

2.5

110,000

Total market value of assets

5,126,000

3,817,000

2,683,000

Present value of scheme 
liabilities

(5,003,000)

(4,224,000)

(3,511,000)

Pension asset(liability)

123,000

(407,000)

(828,000)

Analysis of the amount charged to income and expenditure account:

2006/07

€

2005/06

€

Current service cost

269,000

226,000

Analysis of the amount credited to other finance income:

2006/07

€

2005/06

€

Other finance costs: expected 
return on assets in the scheme

(276,000)

(193,000)

Other finance costs: interest costs

219,000

163,000

Net return

(57,000)

(30,000)

 

Notes to the accounts

for the year ended 30 April 2007

 — 

Accounts

8.  Pension commitments (cont’d)

Analysis of the amount recognised in statement of total recognised gains and losses:

2006/07

€

2005/06

€

Difference between expected and actual return on assets

140,000

577,000

Experience losses arising on scheme liabilities

100,000

(320,000)

Effect of changes in assumptions underlying the present value of scheme liabilities

(321,000)

(4,000)

Actuarial (losses) gains recognised in the statement of total recognised gains and 
losses

(81,000)

   253,000

Movements in asset(deficit) during the period:

30/4/07

€

30/4/06

€

At 1 May

(407,000)

(828,000)

Total operating charge

(269,000)

(226,000)

Total other finance income

57,000

30,000

Actuarial (losses)gains recognised in the statement of total recognised gains and losses

(81,000)

253,000

Employer contributions

823,000

364,000

At 30 April 

123,000

(407,000)

History of experience gains and losses:

2006/07

2005/06

2004/05

Difference between the expected and actual return on scheme assets: 

  amount(

€

)

140,000

577,000

(36,000)

  percentage of scheme assets

2.73

15.12

(1.34)

Experience losses on scheme liabilities:

  amount (

€

)

100,000

(320,000)

(170,000)

  percentage of the present value of 

  scheme liabilities

2.0

(7.58)

(4.84)

Total amount recognised in statement of total   recognised gains and losses:

  amount (

€

)

(81,000)

253,000

(210,000)

  percentage of the present value of  scheme liabilities

(1.62)

5.99

(5.98)

Notes to the accounts

for the year ended 30 April 2007

Accounts

  — 

8.  Pension commitments (cont’d)

Reconciliation of net assets and reserves under FRS 17

30/4/07

30/4/06

Net assets and reserves

€

€

Net assets and reserves as stated in balance sheet

24,064,983

18,971,626

FRS 17 defined benefit (asset)liability

(123,000)

407,000

Net assets excluding defined benefit (asset) liability

24,941,983

19,378,626

9.  Deferred ticket fund

30/4/07

€

30/4/06

€

Balance at 1 May

38,576,419

28,132,559

Issued during the year

232,800

14,721,750

Transfer to revenue account 2006/07

(4,166,294)

(4,277,890)

Balance at 30 April 

34,642,925

38,576,419

10.  Revenue grants

 

The following grants were received and used for the stated purposes in the year ended 30 April 2007:

Irish Sports Council 

-  Game development and participation

€

3,606,200 

International Rugby Board  -  Game development and participation and Elite player development

Stg£

400,000

11.  Capital commitments

 

At the 30 April 2007, the Union had contracted to purchase fixed assets of which 

€

8,100,000 (2006: 

€

765,000) remains 

outstanding.

12.  Future developments

 

In January 2005 the Government approved the concept of building a new 50,000 seated stadium at Lansdowne Road. The 
Government have allocated 

€

191 million to the project with the IRFU and the FAI contributing the balance of 

€

174 million.

 

The development is being carried out as a joint venture between the IRFU and the FAI through a jointly owned development 
company, called Lansdowne Road Stadium Development Company Limited. The IRFU will lease the appropriate tranche of 
land to the development company for the useful life of the stadium after which the land will revert to the IRFU.

Notes to the accounts

for the year ended 30 April 2007

 — 

Accounts

13.  Comparative figures

 

The figures for prior years have been restated, where necessary, so as to be on a consistent basis with those for the current year.

14.  Approval of accounts

 

The accounts of the Union were approved by the Committee on 28 May 2007 and signed on its behalf by the Honorary 
Treasurer and the Chief Executive.

 

Notes to the accounts

for the year ended 30 April 2007

Accounts

  — 

Accounts

  — 

The Committee is required to prepare financial statements, which give a true and fair view of the 
state of affairs of the Union at the end of each financial period and of the surplus or deficit for the 
period.  They are responsible for keeping proper accounting records, for safeguarding assets, and 
for preventing and detecting fraud and other irregularities.

The Committee confirms that suitable accounting policies have been consistently applied, that 
reasonable and prudent judgments and estimates have been used in the preparation of the financial 
statements, and that it is appropriate to assume that the Union will continue in being and to prepare 
the financial statements on a going concern basis.

Statement of Committee’s responsibilities 

 — 

Accounts

We have audited the financial statements on pages 35 to 47 which have been prepared under the 
historical cost convention and the accounting policies set out on page 38 to 40.

Respective responsibilities of the Committee and the auditors

As described on page 48, the Committee is responsible for preparing the financial statements in 
accordance with applicable law and the accounting standards issued by the Accounting Standards 
Board and published by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland (Generally Accepted 
Accounting Practice in Ireland).

Our responsibility is to audit the financial statements in accordance with relevant legal and 
regulatory requirements and International Standards on Auditing (UK and Ireland).

This report is made solely to the members as a body. Our audit work has been undertaken so that 
we might state to the members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditors report 
and for no other purpose.  To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume 
responsibility to anyone other than the members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for 
the opinions we have formed.

Basis of audit opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK and Ireland) 
issued by the Auditing Practices Board.  An audit includes examination, on a test basis, of evidence 
relevant to the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements.  It also includes an assessment of 
the significant estimates and judgements made by the Committee in the preparation of the financial 
statements, and whether the accounting policies are appropriate to the Union’s circumstances, 
consistently applied and adequately disclosed.

 

We planned and performed our audit so as to obtain all the information and explanations which we 
considered necessary in order to provide us with sufficient evidence to give reasonable assurance 
that the accounts are free from material misstatement, whether caused by fraud or other irregularity 
or error. In forming our opinion we also evaluated the overall adequacy of the presentation of 
information in the financial statements.

Opinion

In our opinion the financial statements give a true and fair view, in accordance with Generally 
Accepted Accounting Practice in Ireland, of the state of affairs of the Union as at 30 April 2007 and 
of the surplus of the Union for the year then ended.

Grant Thornton

Registered Auditors 

24-26 City Quay

Chartered Accountants 

Dublin 2 

Date: 28 May 2007

Independent auditors’ report to the members

year ended 30 April 2007

Accounts

  — 

Schedule 1: Representative matches

2006/07

€

2005/06

€

2004/05

€

International rugby income

29,780,411

23,744,705

20,918,891

Commercial rugby income

7,898,965

6,760,257

4,546,060

Deferred ticket income

4,465,745

4,798,587

3,608,632

ERC and provincial income

6,596,450

4,095,354

3,863,704

 

48,741,571

39,398,903

32,937,287

Schedule 2: Other income

2006/07

€

2005/06

€

2004/05

€

Other rugby income

784,431

625,050

447,543

Percentage of admissions

1,043,869

1,931,550

1,055,532

Government Grants

3,606,200

3,530,000

3,500,000

Other income

1,324,386

942,928

912,175

6,758,886

7,029,528

5,915,250

Income

for the year ended 30 April 2007

0 — 

Accounts

Schedule 3: Professional game costs

2006/07

€

2005/06

€

2004/05

€

National tours, camps and squads

989,105

802,211

538,499

National match costs

3,637,467

2,748,339

2,696,109

Player and management costs

22,747,941

22,025,128

20,250,700

27,374,513

  25,575,678

23,485,308

Schedule 4: Elite player development

2006/07

€

2005/06

€

2004/05

€

Irish “A” team

382,290

163,265

1,494

Under 21’s

533,967

529,163

509,993

Sevens

-

736

131,807

Academy and HPU

1,593,693

1,050,140

693,177

Fitness programme

386,635

381,832

   384,876

2,896,585

2,125,136

1,721,347

Schedule 5: Games support costs

2006/07

€

2005/06

€

2004/05

€

Referee costs

353,010

374,876

281,355

Medical costs

338,518

237,179

 141,459

691,528

612,055

422,814

Expenditure

for the year ended 30 April 2007

Accounts

  — 1

Schedule 6: Domestic and community rugby

2006/07

€

2005/06

€

2004/05

€

Under 19’s

859,973

286,409

256,066

Irish schoolboy teams

189,153

183,307

263,801

Irish youth teams

230,451

168,078

223,227

Women’s rugby

127,722

-

-

Club Ireland

82,669

-

-

Domestic competitions

820,614

688,499

784,307

General development salaries

1,393,898

1,574,622

1,200,187

General development expenses

266,289

342,351

348,798

Development resources

137,075

17,036

11,878

Coaching courses

224,597

181,486

233,557

Youth and schools

477,447

   302,972

  204,148

 YDO schemes

977,473

997,583

1,082,371

Clubs and schools of Ireland scheme

1,777,885

1,880,379

1,607,667

Referee development

350,433

322,393

284,133

Tag, buntas and Tallaght scheme

375,108

303,448

299,373

Other development and operational grants

1,017,735

689,948

872,039

Other community rugby funding

1,405,205

1,283,639

   459,798

10,713,727

9,222,150

8,131,350

Expenditure

for the year ended 30 April 2007

 — 

Accounts

Schedule 7: Marketing 

2006/07

€

2005/06

€

2004/05

€

Marketing

779,480

355,672

335,923

PR and communications

110,961

206,466

138,871

Website

230,667

364,528

  561,279

1,121,108

926,666

1,036,073

Schedule 8: Grounds

2006/07

€

2005/06

€

2004/05

€

Rates and insurance

648,297

578,248

702,384

Repairs and renewals

207,181

480,085

470,250

Wages, cleaning and pitch

351,682

473,896

386,397

Gas, electricity and water

140,371

89,383

27,862

Provincial grounds

284,426

354,266

   291,718

1,631,957

1,975,878

1,878,611

Schedule 9: Administration and overheads

2006/07

€

2005/06

€

2004/05

€

Governance costs

568,937

497,529

454,480

Salaries and pension

1,907,647

1,729,351

1,439,291

Printing, postage and stationary

190,271

171,997

152,174

Rates, rent, insurance and telephone

619,209

571,178

566,371

Office maintenance

244,450

172,634

228,899

Professional fees

704,445

518,879

499,853

Miscellaneous administration costs

380,451

265,773

261,374

4,615,410

3,927,341

3,602,442

 

Expenditure

for the year ended 30 April 2007

Accounts

  — 

2006/07

€

2005/06

€

Net surplus

5,174,357

816,015

Non-cash adjustments:

Depreciation

1,281,272

1,247,512

Movement in debtors

(191,724)

(2,177,191)

Current service cost and net return on pension

212,000

196,000

Movement in creditors

(2,782,661)

452,079

Transfer to revenue account – five and ten year tickets

(4,166,294)

(4,277,890)

Operating cash outflow

(473,050)

(3,743,475)

Other sources of funds

Issue of ten year tickets

232,800

14,721,750

Net Repayment of Loans by Clubs

233,013

73,756

465,813

14,795,506

Application of funds

Expenditure on fixed assets

(2,785,927)

(2,563,005)

Pension fund contributions

(823,000)

(364,000)

(3,608,927)

(2,927,005)

Net cash flow

(3,616,164)

8,125,026

Opening cash balances

25,391,951

17,266,925

Closing cash balances

21,775,787

25,391,951

Funds Flow Statement

for the year ended 30 April 2007

 — 

Accounts

The New Stadium 

  — 

New Lansdowne

 

Stadium

A new chapter

Irish Rugby F

ootball Union  Annual Report 2006/2007

IRFU

Irish Rugby Football Union, 62 Lansdowne Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4.
Telephone 00353 1 6473800.  Facsimile 00353 1 6473801.  Website www.IrishRugby.ie

Irish Rugby F

ootball Union  Annual Report 2006/2007

Making history

Features

—  50,000 capacity.
—  Continuous access around the three sides to all facilities at premium and box levels.
—  Excellent hospitality facilities throughout the ground.

—   The design has been optimised to ensure all spectators have an excellent view  

of the pitch while retaining the unique Lansdowne Road atmosphere.

—  A more balanced, across the board network of access and egress routes.
—  Improved player facilities for home and away teams.
—  Enhanced press facilities for up to 200 journalists.

—  TV/Radio commentary boxes located on the upper level with optimum viewing locations.
—   Provision of a large number of high quality toilet facilities adequate both for match days and  

for events such as concerts.

—  Quality medical support facilities for both players and spectators.
—  Better facilities for disabled fans.
—  Wide concourses and comfortable spatial allowances to ensure easy circulation for spectators.

—  Pitch floodlighting incorporated in the new stands.
—  Roof design that makes best use of available sunlight.

The New Lansdowne Road Stadium

Lansdowne Road Stadium has a long and proud tradition as a venue for exceptional  

sporting encounters. The new stadium will provide an international arena worthy of  

this past and ready to play host to an exciting future. 

A transparent roof is lowered to the southern sky to maximise the sunlight for the high  

performance sports turf thus ensuring that the best possible playing surface is produced. 

All seating in the new stadium will be under cover of a roof; however, the roof will  

not extend over the pitch.

The North stand will comprise one low level seating tier, to reflect its  

proximity to the residential properties at that end of the ground.

Construction is scheduled to finish by the end of 2009.