Six Nations: IRFU performance director David Humphreys backs Ireland interim boss Simon Easterby
Humphreys, who won 72 caps for Ireland and captained Ulster to Euro 1999, said as part of his role he wanted to have all four Irish provincial teams Back to the “Top of Europe”.
Leinster, Munster and Ulster have all qualified for the knockout stages of this season’s Investec Champions League, while Connacht have reached the last 16 of the League Two Challenge Cup.
However, while Leinster have played in the past three Champions League finals (losing all three), Ulster have not played in a decider since 2012 and Munster since 2008 Having been absent since winning the title in 2012, Connacht have not played in a final since winning the title in 2012. 2021-22 season.
Leinster also provide the majority of the players for the Ireland national team, with 23 of the 36-man squad for Eastby’s Six Nations squad drawn from Leo Cullen’s side.
However, Humphreys believes the imbalance will not be “harmful” to Irish rugby in the long term.
“For me it’s very simple: it’s not about taking anything away from Leinster,” he said.
“There’s no business in the world that looks at its strongest assets and says ‘we have to take some away’ to do something else.
“For me it’s about making sure Leinster not only maintain their place in European rugby but also go on to win some European Cups, which they’ve come very close to.
“For the long-term success of Irish rugby, four competitive provinces, we have to get to this point.”
During his time as Ulster’s director of rugby, Humphreys recruited well-known southern hemisphere players such as Ruan Pienaar, John Muller and John Afua.
New Zealand player Jordie Barrett has impressed in the early stages of his loan move to Leinster and Humphreys says there is “huge value” in having overseas internationals play alongside home-grown Irish players.
“For me, the model is: top international players playing alongside top Irish players.
“For me this is not a solution but a way of ensuring Irish rugby becomes stronger at all levels of the game.”
