So are people here now saying that Robbie has turned down a central contract with connacht to sign a provincial one with leinster?
Since when have the provinces been allowed to outbid the irfu?

ummm, wrote: It's alllll about loyalty folks. And any team that swoops in and takes what another has built up is guilty of immoral poaching. They should be forced to tear up the contract and tell their newly signed golden ticket that they should stay where they are and show loyalty.

So, it's been a blast Bundee, Jake and Danie, but you came here after being taught by others, so please pack your bags, We were wrong to show you our ankles, we know, your heads were turned. But you have betrayed your roots, and for that you must be forever shunned.

Or does loyalty only cut one way?

I don't think anyone here has mentioned loyalty have they? I think most people on here know that loyalty has little or no meaning in professional sport these days, not just rugby. And I don't think you can compare those 3 transfers to Robbies. I'm open to correction here but I think Jake was on a development contract in Super Rugby and an unknown quantity when he arrived. Danie had been dropped from the Stormers franchise down into the Currie cup and Bundee had 1 season of Super Rugby under his belt and he wasn't a regular for the Chiefs. That is quite different to us losing an established homegrown international coming into his prime to a central contract. I understand most players will move around during their careers and Connacht have certainly recruited well from overseas, we've had to, but this is part of a much bigger picture regarding the future of Connacht and how we are treated by the IRFU and other provinces.

I think the issue is that he's moving to Leinster- those players came from abroad. Surely the point of the IRFU is to have 4 strong teams and grow the game across the provinces, this is using one of those teams as a feeder for another (....well, two if you include Rodney). How can we compete with a team that already has so many advantages when the governing body is happy to sanction the movement of one of our top players to one of our direct competitors?

The answer is we can't, and it's depressing because is shows we can't ever make any meaningful progress because if we do the three big boys will just be able to pick and choose from within our ranks. Happy Monday everyone :lol:

I wish, with that jawline I'd be devastatingly attractive, instead of just ruggedly handsome

Are you a member of the extended Henshaw family Ummm?

It's alllll about loyalty folks. And any team that swoops in and takes what another has built up is guilty of immoral poaching. They should be forced to tear up the contract and tell their newly signed golden ticket that they should stay where they are and show loyalty.

So, it's been a blast Bundee, Jake and Danie, but you came here after being taught by others, so please pack your bags, We were wrong to show you our ankles, we know, your heads were turned. But you have betrayed your roots, and for that you must be forever shunned.

Or does loyalty only cut one way?

menacethedenis wrote: Macca and Cronin had both been capped when they left. I'd be nearly sure Birch was too, if not it was very soon after.

Funnily enough Birch got capped the summer he had left us for Leinster, at the time though he had been usurped in the Connacht side by John Fogarty who departed east three years later and got his one and only cap (in 60 point thrashing in NZ)... Move east, get capped...yep there was a reoccurring theme for sure..

Anyways, with regards "de the bauld roberto"....wouldn't hold my breath waiting for an announcement from Leinster any time soon, this will be orchestrated to allow as much time to pass as possible after Connacht announcement to allow the anger to subside...

Benji wrote:

Evil_g wrote:

Benji wrote: 3 years ago I was telling people he would be better that Bod. I still think so .

Ah, here.

His still young and developing. Maybe a change of club will bring him on again. Physically he can mix things up better than Bod and he can kick something which Drico and Darcy couldnt do.
Only time will tell.

It looks like Leinster's intentions are to use him as bosh merchant at 12. We'll see how that brings him on.

Evil_g wrote:

Benji wrote: 3 years ago I was telling people he would be better that Bod. I still think so .

Ah, here.

His still young and developing. Maybe a change of club will bring him on again. Physically he can mix things up better than Bod and he can kick something which Drico and Darcy couldnt do.
Only time will tell.

Decadence wrote:

menacethedenis wrote: When we lost Cronin, Carr and Keatley in one go there was a real sense of anger that we had lost the core of what could have been a good team, had we been allowed to build on it and those players ended up being bench-warmers at their respective destinations.

For me the real anger at that time was towards the IRFU, who had enforced one year contracts for all our players while they conducted a review of how viable Connacht Rugby was. And when the year was up they harvested our best young players and told us to carry on as normal, equal funding didn't come along until years after. Those players had not come from Connacht so I didn't and don't particularly blame them, but Robbie's case is very different.

That's what I was getting at. I was not suggesting there was any anger directed at the players. Where they're from shouldn't make any difference. This isn't GAA. If you want to be technical about it he's from west Meath/ Leinster! If we invest significant time, money and resources into a player they should not be snatched away from us on a whim from one of the big boys. That may not have been the case here but it has been in the past and a lot needs to change before it stops as I said in an earlier post.

Benji wrote: 3 years ago I was telling people he would be better that Bod. I still think so .

Ah, here.

Well, That put a damper on a nice Sunday afternoon.
Sure , I heard he had contracts presented to him by Leinster two years ago by a good source. I wouldnt blame Leinster they are still trying to replace one of the best international centre partnerships in Darcy/ Bod.

I put this decision firmly with Robbie. Nobody else. For a long time its been rumoured that he was offered a Central Contract to stay in Connacht and it seems now that he has moved for a Leinster contract instead.
Leinster have the money, They were able to add Money to get Sexton and Heaslip to sign so we dont really know what the package is worth to Robbie when you include Sponsorship bonus's and freebies.
We rightly said Robbie was the marketing face of Connacht but with Leinster he will become more of a draw and more money will follow.
Would a central contract and revenues for him in Connacht be worth more to him than a Leinster contract with all the added marketing and bonus's. I dont think so.
Its a pity that he didnt stay as Ive always like the lad and his family. His from good stock the Henshaws of Athlone. I'd hoped that the ties to Connacht would hold him but I wasnt hopeful when its taken so long to come to a decision.

But its a career for him now when he leaves Connacht and he needs to provide for himself. Is he also saying his doing further studies in Ucd. In the last few years so many players have had their careers ended suddenly and not been able to continue at a young age.

Its a tough day that his leaving but I wish him all the best and would welcome him back again. As a Connacht man that attends a fair few Leinster games its not going to be easy. I think we have lost a World class player and I hope he reaches those heights. 3 years ago I was telling people he would be better that Bod. I still think so .
Feck it Leinster have gotten a gem

menacethedenis wrote: When we lost Cronin, Carr and Keatley in one go there was a real sense of anger that we had lost the core of what could have been a good team, had we been allowed to build on it and those players ended up being bench-warmers at their respective destinations.

For me the real anger at that time was towards the IRFU, who had enforced one year contracts for all our players while they conducted a review of how viable Connacht Rugby was. And when the year was up they harvested our best young players and told us to carry on as normal, equal funding didn't come along until years after. Those players had not come from Connacht so I didn't and don't particularly blame them, but Robbie's case is very different.

Im open to correction on this but what I've heard is that there was a central contract on the table if he stayed and a provincial one if he left.

The way it has been announced is strange to say the least.

dobby wrote:

menacethedenis wrote: It's sad to think that like former star performers such as Macca, Cronin, Keatley, Carr, Jackman etc who left that I'll now be completely indifferent to Robbie. I don't wish him ill or well. I just won't care about him. It's all about Connacht for me..

. But all of those other players left because connacht were rubbish at that time and we wished them the best and hoped for them to do well..

I wouldn't agree with that. When we lost Cronin, Carr and Keatley in one go there was a real sense of anger that we had lost the core of what could have been a good team, had we been allowed to build on it and those players ended up being bench-warmers at their respective destinations. Keatley starts for Munster now but you wouldn't exactly call him a fan favourite. Same with Macca, his leaving felt like the rug being pulled from under us again, just when we might start to build. He's hit a good run of form at the moment but when he left he looked set to be a regular in the Irish team and he ended up being usurped by his new clubmate. Did leaving do him any good? It's been a constant cycle, you'd almost not want Connacht players to do too well or get capped as they'd be cherry picked, often just to be a squad member somewhere else. I've no doubt Robbie will be a starter at Leinster but it confirms that the cycle still exists and that is the most disappointing thing for me.

dobby wrote: I remember those games also. Robbie was a raw talent. But you simply do not get the visibility that Robbie got without the belief of the connacht management.. There is raw talent and there is developed talent. They believed in him and stuck with him. And today he thanked them

Dobby, They believed in him because he was class. It swings both ways. His always given his best and from an early age with Connacht it was obvious that he was going to make it and be a class player.