One of the most recognizable pictures in Irish rugby history is the moment the team defied the All Blacks’ haka in 1989 at Lansdowne Road with a V-shaped march. It was a moment of inspiration, defiance, and not a little controversy.
However, the moment in time also tells another tale—one of a gradual and concerning downturn that poses a long-term threat to Ireland’s highly regarded talent pipeline, which has supported Andy Farrell’s team’s quest to become the first team in Six Nations history to win back-to-back Grand Slams.
An examination of the lineup in that infamous “V” on that November afternoon nearly thirty-five years ago reveals that eight members of the Ireland starting XV, including captain Willie Anderson, were Ulstermen: four members of the pack, Steve Smith, Jimmy McCoy, Anderson, and Philip Matthews; and Phillip Rainey, Kenny Hooks, David Irwin, and Keith Crossan in the backline.
Ulster’s hegemony in the Interprovincial Championships at the time was reflected in the selection. Eight championships and two share crowns were won by the northern province between 1983 and 1994. This winning streak earned Ulster head coach Jimmy Davidson the 1987 Ireland appointment, which he held for three years, from the IRFU.
Although Davidson was considered a radical visionary at the time, he was unable to repeat his success with Ireland, and Ulster would never again send as many players to the national side for a major international. In 1984, Davidson famously led Ulster to victory over the Wallabies’ Grand Slam side (they defeated all four home nations during a tour of Britain and Ireland) at Ravenhill.
Davidson was unaware that Ulster’s influence in Irish rugby would start to erode after he left, a trend that this year culminated in the historic occasion when the province failed to produce a player for an Ireland match day squad for the first time when Farrell’s team beat France in Marseille.
Before James Ryan’s bicep injury on Wednesday allowed Ulster captain Iain Henderson to be selected on the bench for the match against England at Twickenham, it is almost certain that the same would have happened.
David Irwin acknowledges, “I wasn’t surprised by the Marseille selection, to be honest, but it is disappointing.” In addition to winning 25 caps for Ireland and participating in three Test matches for the Lions during the 1983 New Zealand tour, Irwin captained Ulster from 1983 to 1990.
It would have been difficult to locate an Ulster player who merited a spot in the starting lineup. Achievements encourage other successes. You will receive more in the Ireland setup if your province is doing well.
Irwin and his fellow province teammates, dubbed “80s warriors,” continue to communicate via a WhatsApp group where they have expressed their sorrow over the province’s passing.
Irwin, who after his playing career ended became the province’s team doctor, remarked, “In my day people were trying to get out of the province for obvious reasons with the Troubles going on.” “We wanted to do well for Ulster in order to positively portray Ulster on the map. I am aware that I thought it was my duty as a captain to represent Ulster internationally. We had a close-knit group consisting of young players who were gaining experience at Queen’s University and other clubs. I would say that talent is always present; the key is to maximize it and find a style of play that works for it under the correct coaching.
Problems that are expensively incurred trigger brain drain
The decline of extracurricular activities in state schools and the number of teachers willing to work outside of regular business hours, an over-reliance on foreign talent, and occasionally subpar management and coaching are just a few of the complex factors that have contributed to Ulster’s downfall. Other factors include the brain drain brought on by the Troubles, tax differences between Northern Ireland and the Republic, and Dublin’s economic rise.
Ulster continued its great record of producing British and Irish Lions, being the first Irish province to win the European Cup ten years after the New Zealand game (four Ulstermen have been Irish tour captains of the Lions).
There have been times when Ulster players have dominated the national team, like in 2005–06 and 2013–14, and others when the province has been vying for titles in the URC and Champions Cup, making it to the final once more in 2012. Leinster’s supremacy over the previous ten years, even with numerous former Leinster players heading north, contrasts with Munster’s lone silverware since 1999, which was the Celtic League victory in 2005.
Leinster’s haughty ascent is widely known. Dublin’s private schools are producing a national high-performance rugby program that can compete with that of New Zealand and South Africa, thanks to their investment in provincially aligned rugby programs.
In contrast, Ulster’s schools rugby scene is still strong and fiercely competitive, with a larger emphasis on winning the provincial schools’ cup than joining Ulster’s academy. The number of “tier one” schools in Dublin is down to about six from sixteen, and their fixtures with the larger Dublin institutions are becoming more and more out of sync.
The allocation of the IRFU’s national contracts, which are typically around 15, reflects the widening difference. Ten of the contracts are at Leinster, while the remaining one is at Ulster. This leads to an even greater financial disparity because the national governing body pays the salaries directly. However, players from Leinster hold more than 40% of all active professional contracts in Ireland.
Despite Farrell’s side’s spectacular success, Ulster’s decline is acknowledged as a problem that needs to be addressed on a provincial and national level. After this season’s inconsistent performance, Dan McFarland was fired as head coach. At the conclusion of the Six Nations, Ireland Under-20s coach Richie Murphy will take over as interim head coach.
The province’s current head of operations, Bryn Cunningham, is also expected to take on a more “hands-on” role as general manager. Cunningham is currently finishing up a route review, which, if there is more support for a more aligned curriculum, may lead to more funding for coaching in schools. Cunningham believes that maintaining Ulster’s identity and producing homegrown players—both of which will need a mental shift—will be the better course of action rather than using the club as a testing ground for Leinster prospects.
“I believe there needs to be a slight shift in emphasis, which includes talking excessively about winning things,” Cunningham stated. “We’re not in that space, we don’t compete in the same market as a large number of other teams within Europe, and certainly not with Leinster either, so I think a lot of the time it puts undue expectation and pressure and is probably unfair.”
In the end, we want our own players to emerge and begin forging a more distinct identity inside the organization, and our supporters and stakeholders are key to making that happen.
“Right now, I’m attempting to instill three primary concepts in the squad that I think are incredibly important: competitiveness, energy, and fun. Additionally, we aim to rebuild a closer relationship with our supporters so they can understand our values. Even though we know we won’t win every game, we still put our bodies on the line and act like a true team that plays for everyone, not just one another.
“In order to have a coordinated strategy and for participation to be in line with excellent performance and the same ideals, we are also working to forge ties with our schools and clubs.”
Ulster ascending via the under-20 rankings
Green shoots are present. Four Ulster players were part of the Ireland Under-20s squad that played England on Friday night in Bath. Expectations are high regarding the future international prospects of players on the present Ulster squad, including Jude Postlethwaite, Harry Sheridan, David McCann, and James McNabney.
A fresh perspective on resolving the problems will also be provided by the hiring of Ulster’s European Cup-winning captain, David Humphreys, as the IRFU’s high-performance director. However, the solutions must originate internally.
“Leinster had dominated everything before we started winning in ’83,” Irwin remarked. “Changes do occur in stages. We don’t have Leinster’s never-ending talent conveyor belt. It will alter, but before that happens, there are a lot of issues to resolve.
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