Bernard Jackman in ‘slippery slope’ warning to the IRFU over Leinster after Munster fans felt ‘short-changed’ with Jack Crowley decision

Bernard Jackman insists that the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) have to be wary of Leinster’s dominance with their fellow provinces all currently struggling.

The Dublin-based outfit sit atop the United Rugby Championship (URC) standings but the other three provinces are surprisingly outside the play-offs.

It is not something Irish rugby has been accustomed to, with Munster and Ulster at the very least often challenging near the top of the table alongside Leinster.

However, there is a worry that the supremacy of Leo Cullen’s men is having an adverse effect on the rest of the Irish teams.

Munster’s issues

In particular, there has been a steady decline at Munster, the 2023 URC champions who parted ways with head coach Graham Rowntree earlier in the campaign.

Results and performances have not seen a significant upturn since Rowntree’s departure with the latest reversal coming against their arch-rivals as the Leinstermen emerged 28-7 triumphant at Thomond Park.

The Limerick outfit rested star fly-half Jack Crowley for that clash as they prioritised the Champions Cup, a decision which Jackman claims “disappointed” the supporters.

“I was chatting to a lot of Munster fans before the game and they were so disappointed that Jack Crowley was out,” Jackman said on RTÉ 2fm’s Game On.

“Their whole thing was… is that what we’ve become?

“Are we a team who rests players in the Champions Cup? Are we a team who rests players against Leinster? Not because we think we can win anyway, but because we don’t think we can win.

“I’m not saying that’s why Jack Crowley didn’t play and obviously there’s an IRFU mandate about how many games he plays, but certainly the fans felt short-changed.”

Bernard Jackman claims Jacques Nienaber has turned Leinster’s players into ‘proper psychos’

Jackman insisted Munster tried their best but that they simply could not compete with Leinster’s talent. While that is not necessarily an issue in the short-term, the former Ireland hooker is worried that it may cause an irreversible decline.

“In fairness to the Munster players, their effort was outstanding. They just didn’t have the tools. They didn’t have the quality, the size, the power to go toe-to-toe with a Leinster team,” he said.

“And the challenge is, if that gets into the fans’ minds, they don’t necessarily buy those tickets. That match isn’t sold out next year.

“And then you’ve got more financial issues and you start to drift away. And the team’s expectations start to drop as well. And the standards that they set drop. That’s a slippery slope to go down.”

Munster were the dominant team in Ireland in the 2000s, but that did not prevent Leinster from being competitive. However, as it currently stands, the other three provinces are very much in the shadow of the Dubliners.

Jackman has therefore called for the IRFU to invest in the other sides and bring in players of the calibre of RG Snyman and Jordie Barrett, who are both starring for Cullen’s team.

‘Cheaper than it’s ever been’

“There’s nothing wrong with having one province a little bit stronger than the others. And it’s always most likely going to be Leinster, because of the population and the financial (aspects), but I think we still need to try and have four strong provinces,” he said.

“The IRFU are in a very healthy state financially. And the game is in a poor state (globally).

“So to recruit now for next year is cheaper than it’s ever been. You could get some quality players.

“You have three clubs in England that went out of business, the salary cap in England is quite low. The French clubs only want the best of the best. A lot of South Africans are keen to get to this side of the world and get euro or sterling. That’s a lot of good players on the market.

“The problem is it’s not just money. It’s how many non-Irish qualified players are you allowed and at the moment, that’s quite stringent, it’s quite strict. And that’s where they’re caught.

“The long-term future has to be that they develop their own players in their own academy systems. But short-term, those high quality foreign players can turn the dial.

“Leinster have the luxury of being able to play Snyman and Barrett off the bench. The influence they would have for a Connacht or an Ulster or a Munster from the start would be massive.”

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