ONLY THE CREAM of the crop get the national contracts.
Commonly referred to as ‘central contracts,’ these IRFU deals are reserved for players of prime importance to the Ireland men’s national team.
They are the biggest and best contracts for players the union believes will give Ireland the greatest chance of winning trophies and big international games in the years that follow. These deals also allow the IRFU to prevent key players from being tempted abroad.
Not every Ireland player is on a national contract, with some still on provincial deals and others on Player of National Interest [PONI] contracts.
A PONI contract involves a player’s provincial deal being topped up by the IRFU, meaning the provinces don’t have to break their budget to avoid that player potentially being lured away. Some PONI deals aren’t far off what a national contract would be worth in terms of financial value.
As confirmed today, Mack Hansen and Joe McCarthy are the two fresh faces in the exclusive national contracts club.
Hansen has signed on until 2027, while McCarthy’s first national deal will run until 2028.
Hansen joins Connacht team-mate Bundee Aki as a nationally-contracted player next season, Tadhg Beirne is the only Munster player with a national deal, Ulster have none, and McCarthy’s deal means Leinster are set to have 11 players on national contracts next season.
The 2024/25 season is the first in which a new IRFU measure means that a player’s province contributes up to 30% of that player’s national contract from their provincial budget.
Previously, the province didn’t have to contribute any of a player’s national deal from their own provincial budget, but the union has changed that to make its contracting model more “equitable.”
So if a player is on a national contract worth €300,000 per season, their province now has to contribute up to €90,000 from their provincial budget that they didn’t have to before.
Still, to have 70% of a leading player’s salary off their provincial budget means that pushing a player towards national contract level is a big carrot for the provinces. Connacht now have Hansen and Aki on such deals.
McCarthy joins Leinster team-mates Caelan Doris, Josh van der Flier, James Ryan, Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong, Robbie Henshaw, Garry Ringrose, and Hugo Keenan as nationally-contracted Leinster players next season. Jamison Gibson-Park is also set to move onto a national deal, although the IRFU has yet to officially confirm that.
With lock Iain Henderson coming off a national contract at the end of this season – McCarthy essentially steps up in his place – Ulster will aim to see one of their players progress to that level in the coming years, while Munster will hope others in their squad can join Beirne.
Out-half Jack Crowley had clearly been Munster’s best bet until the rapid emergence of Sam Prendergast as Ireland’s starter at number 10.
There are no obvious imminent contenders from Ulster, with left wing Jacob Stockdale having come off a national contract in 2023.
Hansen and McCarthy’s are particularly notable national contracts because both of them have had relatively swift rises to earn status as Ireland frontliners.
McCarthy doesn’t turn 24 until later this month, making him among the youngest Irish players to have moved onto a national deal.
He only made his senior Leinster debut in January 2022 but had his first Ireland cap 10 months later and has rapidly established himself as a key man for province and country. He is the kind of large, explosive specimen that Irish rugby doesn’t produce many of.
McCarthy has started 14 of his 17 Ireland caps so far, while he has already amassed 42 Leinster caps. Clearly, IRFU performance director David Humphreys and co. believe McCarthy will only continue to improve in the coming seasons.
Australia native Hansen arrived at Connacht in 2021 without much fanfare. He had played for the Australia U20s and featured for the Brumbies in Super Rugby but wasn’t seen as a first-choice player there.
Andy Friend and Connacht saw the potential and Hansen made a fast start to life with the western province. Andy Farrell didn’t hang around either, calling Hansen up and giving him his debut in the 2022 Six Nations barely seven months after he had landed.
He has been first-choice for Ireland since available, combining classy attacking skills with strong game understanding and a tough streak, although he had a frustrating spell out of the game last year after suffering a serious shoulder injury.
Now back up and running, his status as a frontline Ireland player has been underlined, while Hansen has made 38 appearances for Connacht so far. He turns 27 later this month and is another player who the IRFU believes has his best ahead.
It’s safe to say that back in 2022, there weren’t many people predicting that Hansen and McCarthy would be on national contracts by 2025.
Ireland players on national IRFU contracts next season:
Andrew Porter [until 2027]
Dan Sheehan [2026]
Tadgh Furlong [2027]
Tadhg Beirne [2027]
Joe McCarthy [2028]
James Ryan [2028]
Josh van der Flier [2026]
Caelan Doris [2027]
Jamison Gibson-Park [not yet announced]
Bundee Aki [2026]
Robbie Henshaw [2028]
Garry Ringrose [2028]
Mack Hansen [2027]
Hugo Keenan [2026]
France and Ireland left for England. Either Jones or Farrell will be under huge pressure after the last round anyway.
@#JUSTICE4NOEL: not remotely
….code for we no longer want to play your street fighter, no holds barred gutter rugby mebbe….