Don't think a big Exodus will happen like in Wales.

Gerry Thornley pointed out when all the Racing rumours started that Sexton doesn't qualify for the big Tax break that the likes of Heaslip, Kearney and others would get since they were on IRFU contracts from when they were quite young as opposed to Sexton who only got a central contract when he was 25.

This is his way of earning the extra cash that the others will get a chunk of as a lump sum tax rebate when they retire

"However, unless the current impasse is quickly resolved, there is also every chance that Sexton will relocate for a couple of seasons to Paris. He is different from other established Irish test players in that, at 27, he only broke into the Irish teams in the last three years and thus has only had two years on an international contract.

Hence, Sexton would not be in line for anything like the Government tax refund which players can earn over a 10-year period when based in Ireland, provided they finish their playing careers here, ie players such as Brian O’Driscoll."

www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2013/0115/1224328850601.html

Let all the good lads feck off to France.*
Then we can qualify for the Heineken Cup off our back










* Not really

I suppose he's dead right to an extent especially given the amount of money involved.

My main worry (similar to a few on here) is that this will spark an exodus of Irish players to France, similar to what happened with the Welsh players after Hook went to Perpignan that time.

I don't think it will become a common thing, realistically most of the players in the Irish set up would not be capable of commanding close to that sort of money. Maybe you would get an extra 50 or even 100k but if a player is already established and on a central contract and living comfortably the hassle of moving, family, etc it wouldn't be worthwhile to most of them.

sea_point wrote: IRFU have my full backing on this, there is a finite budget available to the them to contract players. Personally I believe that they can't be held to ransom, they have to stick to what they believe a players is worth (within reason). But when French clubs with limitless cash join the party they cannot be held to ransom in contract negotiations. They will have offered Sexton a very healthy deal by Irish standards, my belief is that if Leinster are desperate to keep him then they needed to stump up the difference...

swift4prez, straight in for the jugular on Twitter... TOUCHE... :evil:

haha yeah saw that! He's only saying what we're all thinking

IRFU have my full backing on this, there is a finite budget available to the them to contract players. Personally I believe that they can't be held to ransom, they have to stick to what they believe a players is worth (within reason). But when French clubs with limitless cash join the party they cannot be held to ransom in contract negotiations. They will have offered Sexton a very healthy deal by Irish standards, my belief is that if Leinster are desperate to keep him then they needed to stump up the difference...

swift4prez, straight in for the jugular on Twitter... TOUCHE... :evil:

The rumour mill had Sexton on 500K is he stayed. BOD never got anything like this (350K would be nearer the mark) though he of course made tons on the side from sponsorsip and so on.

I don't think it'll become the norm, as (1) you have to have no realistic competition for your Ireland place and (2) you have to be 27 tops and an established international place to avoid (1) being dropped from the Ireland squad or (2) blowing your end of career tax rebate.

If there's one province that could get badly hit by this, it's Ulster, since the tax rebate doesn't apply.

I believe 500k is the absolute max the IRFU will pay. 750k is an incredible offer for him, too good to turn down really. Makes the French and English demands for more money from the Heineken Cup even more laughable and unfounded. Seeing the mass exodus of Wales' finest over the last couple of years worries me that the same could happen here. Even though we are far better run and setup than the Welsh system, money talks at the end of the day, as confirmed by this news. Best of luck to him anyway, hopefully it will improve his game and he joins up with the Ireland squads a better player. Who they get to replace him will be interesting.

So Sexton is moving to Racing Metro on a salary of €750K a year. Many times before, players with IRFU contracts have threatened to move to France, only to eventually sign back up with the IRFU. BOD talked about doing it himself at one point, where he went to Biarritz purely to be seen there, so he could help move along his contract negotiations. The difference this time is Jonny has actually gone!

First of all, is €750K a big jump up from what the IRFU pay the top players? I suspect it is - I recall hearing a figure of €500K associated with BOD at one point but this smashes that. If it's true, then it's hard to argue with the lad.

Secondly, does this represent the start of a slide for Irish Rugby, where our top players decide to move abroad chasing more money - similar to what a lot of the Welsh stars elected to do?

Lastly, do people anticipate Leinster signing a big name to replace him, or will they put faith in Madigan. I think he deserves to be given a chance.

Anyway, just interested in hearing peoples opinions about this move in particular, as well as the broader issue as it relates to Irish rugby.