Row over 'tapped up' Exiles
Wed, 23 Apr 2008 10:44
Heineken Cup semifinalists London Irish find themselves at the centre of a new 'tap up', amidst accusations of illegal approaches to several of their international players.
A report in the Daily Mail said the Exiles, who face Toulouse in Saturday's Heineken Cup semifinal at Twickenham, have made a formal protest over the illegal approaches and are calling for an investigation into what they claim is a series of attempts by agents to 'tap up' high-profile players.
Amongst the players linked to these illegal approaches are veteran England World Cup-winning star Mike Catt, flyhalf Shane Geraghty and Ireland lock Bob Casey.
Their complaint is also understood to include accusations of illegal approaches to some of their outstanding young generation of prospective England players, which includes Nick Kennedy, David Paice and Topsy Ojo.
The Exiles confirmed that they have referred a number of such approaches to players under long-term contract to the Premiership's umbrella organisation, Premier Rugby Ltd. The practice may be relatively common in soccer, but this is understood to be the first case in rugby.
"London Irish have expressed their concern on this particular issue and it's certainly the first of its kind during my three years at Premier Rugby," Premier Rugby chief executive Mark McCafferty told the Daily Mail.
"The regulations are very clear - no approaches can be made to players or members of the coaching staff unless they are within the last six months of their contract.
"Irish haven't asked me to take any specific action, but I am talking to them about it. We are at the early stages of this matter, but this is clearly something which clubs will have to be increasingly vigilant about."
Clearly, Irish would welcome any action on an issue which one of their Premiership rivals described as "a can of worms".
Catt, who rolled back the years to help England make a second successive World Cup Final, is increasingly in demand as a coach but he is under contract to Irish until the end of next season, making any approach without the club's permission illegal before next January.
