Eddie O'Sullivan believes Ireland's prospects are being hindered by the influx of overseas players into the provincial system.
Ireland coach bemoans the lack of depth in Irish rugby
Eddie O'Sullivan believes Ireland's prospects are being hindered by the influx of overseas players into the provincial system.
The coach's comments follow Ireland A's record 67-7 defeat to Scotland A on Friday, which O'Sullivan feels exposed the lack of depth in Irish rugby.
Munster and Leinster both fielded four non-qualified players in their back lines for the last round of Magners League matches and the coach feels production line of young Irish talent is being restricted.
While O'Sullivan is sympathetic to the provinces' obligation to assemble the strongest possible squad, he fears the damage their recruitment policies will do to the national side.
Contrast
"The numbers of overseas players in Ireland has always been a concern," he said. "There are some good young players who are being held out at the moment.
"That's not a criticism of the provinces. They have a job to do as well, and that's the tricky part for us. We're trying to compete in the Heineken Cup and Magners League but we are basing our playing pool around four provincial teams.
"England base theirs around the 12 Guinness Premiership clubs, so they can afford to have more foreign players in the mix without diluting their playing pool as much.
"This is the way the professional game is developing right now, and this issue shows there are still growing pains."
Exposure
Ireland stars Eoin Reddan and Geordan Murphy have proved themselves in the Guinness Premiership, but O'Sullivan is reluctant to use his power to approve the departure of Irish talent overseas.
"The alarm bell for us at the moment is that we don't have that same amount of depth that maybe we thought we had," he added.
"I'm not saying that the players aren't out there - there are actually some very good young guys in the system - but it's all about exposure.
"The danger with the guys going overseas though is that we don't see them as much as we'd like to, and there's all sorts of issues getting them back to train and to manage.
"I think that problem will be exacerbated next year. We've already had red flags this year getting players over for squad sessions.
"There's a bigger political picture at play here - the dynamics of the professional game between club and country - and we're caught in the crossfire."
Ireland are the only team standing in Wales' way of the Triple Crown in the RBS Six Nations tournament meanwhile, with the teams set to face each other on March 8.
