Irish rugby in terms of the national side’s results and performances, is in rude health at the moment under the guidance of Joe Schmidt and his coaching team. Delve deeper though and our provincial sides are really starting to look under-powered in terms of being contenders to win the European Cup which, if we are honest, is the marker by which our professional players judge themselves.

We always were able to punch above our weight in Europe through playing intelligent rugby, incredible levels of professionalism and huge on and off-field work rates.

If we are being honest, the fact our domestic league didn’t have relegation and we didn’t have to qualify for entry into the Heineken Cup improved our chances as our teams were able to target even group matches in the Heineken Cup from a few weeks out, whether that meant resting or rotating players or simply starting to prepare for an opposition two weeks beforehand whilst our opponents in other leagues only had the luxury of working week to week.

While Munster made the semi-final the last two seasons, this year Leinster will be the only Irish team to qualify for the quarter-finals and they may have to go through as one of the better second-placed teams and have to play their quarter-final away from home should they lose to an in-form Wasps side this weekend. Even though Leinster have the quality to win the competition, if judging them on current form, I would have to say Clermont, Toulon, Northampton or Bath are more likely winners.

Welsh rugby has managed to have a successful national side without any success in their regions and Ireland apart from a Grand Slam in 2009, failed to convert the dominant Munster and Leinster sides’ form into regular success at national level. Can we be successful at both provincial and national level at the same time?

I believe we can but to do so we need to get the right structures in place so that our provinces can go toe to toe with the biggest and best in Europe.

The reality is that the level of money needed to compete with the best on a consistent basis is increasing year on year. Every team is professional and extremely fit. The problem Irish provinces have is that the cost of retaining Irish players is high and to recruit the top class foreigners is expensive while France’s lower tax rates and generous social security system are a big attraction. France is attractive for many southern hemisphere players who fancy learning a new language and as a base to travel in their leisure time. Clubs like Toulon can allow players to live in the Cote D’Azur, earn a packet and still achieve success on the field. Leinster have pulled off a great coup by bringing back Johnny Sexton but look at Toulon’s recruitment for next season: they have already signed star names Samu Manoa, Nonu, Duane Vermulen and Napolioni Nalaga, and there will be more to come.

With Irish provinces now limited to three non-Irish-qualified players and one project player, they must maximise these four places in terms of impact on their squad.

I would argue the success of the recruitment in these spots is so important, that it may be worthwhile having someone employed whose role is solely about targeting the right players and then finding a way to convince them to commit to playing in Ireland. Lifestyle benefits — housing, cars, schools, holidays, post-career opportunities — are all areas that the Irish provinces can outsell other clubs. When it comes to raising the finance to be able to offer competitive salaries the Irish teams may have to look at third parties to top up the contracts through sponsorship deals.

In 2008, Leinster signed RockyElsom, Isa Nacewa, CJ Van Der Linder and along with Stan Wright, Chris Whitaker and Felipe Contemponi, they gave us the quality and strength in depth to win the Heineken Cup. For Irish teams to be contenders consistently, we need to spend to accumulate.