Mack Hansen and Joe McCarthy are the latest players to move onto national deals.
Commonly referred to as ‘central contracts,’ these IRFU deals are reserved for players of prime importance to the Ireland men’s national team.
As confirmed today, Mack Hansen and Joe McCarthy are the two fresh faces in the exclusive national contracts club.Hansen joins Connacht team-mate Bundee Aki as a nationally-contracted player next season, Tadhg Beirne is the only Munster player with a national deal, Ulster have none, and McCarthy’s deal means Leinster are set to have 11 players on national contracts next season.
So if a player is on a national contract worth €300,000 per season, their province now has to contribute up to €90,000 from their provincial budget that they didn’t have to before. Out-half Jack Crowley had clearly been Munster’s best bet until the rapid emergence of Sam Prendergast as Ireland’s starter at number 10.
He only made his senior Leinster debut in January 2022 but had his first Ireland cap 10 months later and has rapidly established himself as a key man for province and country. He is the kind of large, explosive specimen that Irish rugby doesn’t produce many of.
IRFU Joe Mccarthy Mack Hansen National Contracts
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