The recruitment of overseas players remains one of the most contentious issues in Irish rugby. Given a history of imported ‘prop flops,’ a review of past failures suggests the IRFU should exercise extreme caution before pursuing a high-profile Australian strongman with a lucrative, ‘life-changing’ offer to switch allegiances to Ireland.
It’s worth noting that current head coach Joe Schmidt fast-tracked this particular young Australian prop into the Wallabies senior set-up even before he had made his senior debut for the Queensland Reds.
