'Crazy Stuff': South Africa High Performance Director Lashes Out After Irish Rugby 'Poaching' Report

It didn’t take long for the IRFU’s reported interest in Massimo De Lutiis of the Melbourne Reds to make global headlines.

The Telegraph in Australia reported that De Lutiis had been offered a contract to play in Ireland on Monday morning.

The report sparked a huge reaction in rugby circles around the globe across the day, with the Irish Times confirming before the day was out that ‘two or three’ of the Irish provinces - along with the IRFU - had made contact with De Lutiis, though Gerry Thornley reported that no formal contract discussions had taken place.

This update was not surprising. The story - especially around the ‘life-changing’ contract offered to the Melbourne Reds prop - read as classic ‘agent-speak’. De Lutiis’s contract in Melbourne expires at the end of this season, and he and his representatives are currently trying to decide his next move in rugby, and create the biggest possible market for him.

However, Irish Rugby shipped a tonne of criticism amongst rugby fans on social media about the report.

Perhaps the most distinguished commentator to weigh in was Dave Wessels, who is the director of High Performance with South Africa Rugby.

Quote tweeting a tweet from this organisation, Wessels was quite strident in his criticism:

This is crazy stuff. Rugby needs a better model to compensate countries that are exporters of talent - similar to what FIFA has.

At the moment the farmer who has spent years fattening the cow doesn’t get a cent when the cow goes to the abattoir…doesn’t work for farming. Can’t work for rugby.

It’s not the first time Wessels has opined on this subject. After Rynards Gordon joined Ulster this year, Wessels tweeted "We must get the @IRFURugby a Loyalty Shopper Rewards card!”, which was a clear dig at the IRFU over Josh Neill’s move to Ireland after studying at Rondenbosch.

Wessels believes that the unions who develop players should be compensated accordingly if a player relocates and changes allegiance - it's not a million miles from some of the calls we heard in the wake of Kobe McDonald joining St Kilda.

The IRFU face a real conundrum in terms of player development. The player pool is relatively tiny and foreign-born players have been invaluable as Ireland have become a world powerhouse in rugby.

Bringing over a player like Josh Neill at age 18 is one thing. However many see the prospect of signing a player like De Lutiis - who is 22 and clearly on Rugby Australia's radar - as a different kettle of fish.

The Irish Times confirmed that De Lutiis wouldn’t be available to play for Ireland until November 2027, as he represented the Australia A's in 2024

Time will tell if there’s any real substance behind these links.

Click here to read article