Ireland women: Captain Nichola Fryday not among 29 players to sign professional deal
- Published
Hannah O'Connor, Sam Monaghan, Nichola Fryday and Katie O'Dwyer are among the senior players who have not signed a central contract
Ireland captain Nichola Fryday is among a number senior internationals not to have signed a professional contract with the Irish Rugby Football Union.
Gloucester-Hartpury duo Neve Jones and Sam Monaghan, both of whom were named in this year's Six Nations team of the championship, are also absent from the list of 29 players to have penned central contracts.
Ten of those are 15s players who have signed their first pro deals, with the rest going to players in the sevens set-up.
Last week IRFU performance director David Nucifora said eight internationals had turned down contract offers, including four who play for teams in the UK, while others remain invested in ongoing careers outside rugby.
It is understood that those who choose to sign the contracts must commit to playing their rugby in Ireland, however Nucifora said the IRFU would "cater for them to keep playing the game at the highest level".
The contracts are the first of their kind for female 15s players in Ireland, however the issues that remain are highlighted by a number of notable absentees from the list of players to have put pen to paper.
Edel McMahon, Christy Haney, Emma Hooban, Hannah O'Connor and Katie O'Dwyer, all of whom featured in Ireland's two-Test tour of Japan in August, are among the senior players not to have signed.
The 10 players to have signed contracts for the 15s team are: Dorothy Wall, Linda Djougang, Enya Breen, Natasja Beehan, Dannah O'Brien, Meabh Deely, Leah Tarpey, Kathryn Dane, Maeve Og O'Leary and Kayla Waldron.
They will now begin training at the IRFU High Performance Centre in Dublin before the annual Interprovincial Championship in January.
'Higher wages may be required to attract interest'
The contracts on offer range between 15,000-30,000 euro plus match fees and bonuses, leading some to question whether they are enough to attract players from their existing careers.
"I would like to see, as much as it's difficult, more money on the table for players giving up professional jobs," said former Ireland international Grace Davitt.
"We're in a cost of living crisis and you're going to up and leave your career for 15,000 euro? It's very difficult to do that.
"It's bittersweet. A real positive thing that we're getting professional contracts for 15s rugby.
"We want to develop the front five players and you would just have hoped that more players would have taken it up by now."
Ireland women's contracted players 2022/23
Kathy Baker, Natasja Beehan, Claire Boles, Enya Breen, Megan Burns, Aoife Dalton, Kathryn Dane, Meabh Deely, Linda Djougang, Vicky Elmes Kinlan, Kate Farrell McCabe, Stacey Flood, Katie Heffernan, Eve Higgins, Brittany Hogan, Erin King, Lucinda Kinghan, Emily Lane, Anna McGann, Lucy Mulhall, Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe, Dannah O'Brien, Maeve Og O'Leary, Beibhinn Parsons, Aoibheann Reilly, Leah Tarpey, Aoife Wafer, Kayla Waldron, Dorothy Wall.
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