Ireland women: Past and present players call for government support having 'lost trust' in IRFU

Former captain Ciara Griffin (middle), who retired last month aged 27, is among 59 past and present players to have signed the letter

A large group of past and present Irish rugby players have written to the Irish Government expressing a loss of "all trust and confidence in the IRFU".

Recently retired captain Ciara Griffin and a host of current internationals are among the signatories.

The letter requests government support in enacting "meaningful change" in the women's game in Ireland.

In response, the IRFU says it "refutes the overall tenor of the document" and is disappointed by the timing of it.

The letter is the latest development in an increasingly fraught relationship between Irish rugby's governing body and its elite female players - some of whom publicly rebuked comments made by IRFU women's rugby director Anthony Eddy in November regarding the level of support offered to the women's game.

Hooker Cliodhna Moloney, who received backing from her team-mates after likening Eddy's comments to "slurry spreading", is among the current players to have signed the letter along with Sene Naoupu, Linda Djougang, Eimear Considine, Sam Monaghan, Kathryn Dane, Laura Sheehan, Lauren Delany, Ailsa Hughes, Anna Caplice, Nichola Fryday, Leah Lyons and more.

Legendary former players Claire Molloy, Lynne Cantwell, Grace Davitt and Jenny Murphy are also among those to have signed.

In October the IRFU launched two reviews into recent failings in the women's game; one directly relating to the team's failure to qualify for next year's World Cup and the other a "separate, broader structural review" focusing on a 'Women in Rugby Action Plan' released in 2018, the main aims of which have not been met.

Ireland will not feature in next year's World Cup having lost qualifiers against Spain and Scotland

Additional to the issues facing the national team, problems in the women's game in Ireland were put into the spotlight in September when Ulster and Connacht players were made to get changed beside waste bins before their interprovincial derby.

In their letter to the sports ministers, the past and present players have asked the government to oversee the ongoing reviews to "help guarantee the findings are transparent and help ensure that they maintain their independence".

"Despite there being well-qualified independent leads running these, we have no faith that in the end that these will do anything significantly different to all those which have gone before and therefore the overarching objective of this letter is to ask for your help to intervene in these processes to make them genuinely transparent and meaningful," it reads.

"The aim of this letter is to seek your support now to enable meaningful change for all levels of the women's game in Ireland from grassroots to green shirts.

"We write in the wake of a series of recent disappointments for the international team, on and off the field, but ultimately recent events simply reflect multiple cycles of substandard commitment from the union, inequitable and untrustworthy leadership, a lack of transparency in the governance and operation of the women's game both domestically and at international level, and an overall total lack of ambition about what it could achieve.

"We have always believed that with the right structures, processes and support that Ireland could become a leading women's rugby nation, providing opportunities for everyone at all levels, and even with all of the recent challenges, we are certain that with your support we can come out of this better and stronger."

Players who work for the IRFU or are contracted to them via the sevens programme were not asked to sign the letter to avoid a conflict of interest.

IRFU 'fully committed' to women's game

A subsequent statement released by the IRFU said it was "aware of a letter sent to the Minister for Sport re Irish Women's Rugby and refutes the overall tenor of the document which questions the IRFU's commitment to, and leadership of, the women's game in Ireland".

"It is disappointing that this group should chose now to come out with a series of allegations, given all involved in Irish Rugby are fully aware that two well resourced, independent reviews are in train and it is from these reviews that lessons, based on fact, can be learned and the foundations built which will serve the women's game well for future generations.

"The IRFU is fully committed to the development of the women's game based on a sustainable structure, from grassroots up to international level.

"This is evident from the level of absolute commitment already in place by volunteers in clubs throughout the country, the IRFU rugby development team who are working tirelessly to bring the game to ever widening playing audiences and the committee who have sanctioned ever increasing budgets in support of the women's game.

"The responsible approach would be to allow these reviews progress and conclude their work independently, without attempts to influence their work through outside interference."

'I could not with integrity sign my name' - McLaughlin

McLaughlin explained her absence from the letter on social media

Bushmills native Claire McLaughlin is a current international who did not put her name to the letter and she took to social media on Monday to explain why.

"Having been asked today why my name was absent from the list sent to the Sports Minister, I feel the need to comment," she said.

"While I support the overall aim of the letter and the ultime goal of improving women's rugby in Ireland, I could not with integrity sign my name.

"After studying the letter, I simply struggled to replace my name for some of the "we" statements, and therefore felt I could not sign.

"Those who seek to improve the landscape for current and future Irish women's rugby players have my support, and I'm confident that with the insight being offered from current and former players, we could see Irish rugby in a much better place."