Irish RFU limits non-Irish players: 6+5 all over again?

The recent well publicised contract negotiations between Munster and South African national BJ Botha regarding an extension to his contract with the province have again focused the spotlight on the Irish Rugby Football Union’s (‘IRFU’) controversial Player Succession Strategy and its potential infringement of both EU and domestic Irish law. This article examines the new strategy from the perspective of Article 45 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (hereinafter “TFEU”)1 and its likely infringement of the provisions pertaining to it.
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Written by
Cormac WIlde
Cormac Wilde is an Irish qualified lawyer working in the areas of dispute resolution, IP/IT and commercial law. He has a keen interest in the business and law of sport and recently completed the Global Executive Master in International Sports Law with the ISDE University in Madrid.
Tim O'Connor BL
The Zambrano aspect was first covered some two years ago. https://rugbylaw.blogspot.ie/2011/04/kolpak-zambrano-and-players.html
And the NIE aspects were extensively covered in the press and elsewhere over a year ago.
https://www.independent.ie/sport/rugby/irfu-may-be-forced-into-policy-uturn-26813105.html
https://rugbylaw.blogspot.ie/2012/02/irfu-non-irish-eligible-policy.html
https://www.philiplee.ie/Libraries/Publications/ARE_THE_IRFU_RULES_ON_LIMITING_THE_NUMBER_OF_FOREIGN_PLAYERS_LEGAL.sflb.ashx
(2012) 30 ILT 194
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Dara Mc Donald
Hi Cormac,
My name is Dara Mc Donald and I am a final year Law and Business student in Trinity College Dublin. I am currently conducting research on the IRFU's Player Succession Strategy from a European Law perspective as part of my dissertation module. Having read your very informative article, I was wondering would it be possible to get in contact with you by email to ask you a few questions? Many thanks. Regards, Dara Mc Donald
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