Is Luke Fitzgerald really going to be playing his rugby abroad next season?

It seems hard to believe but it looks like Luke Fitzgerald will be playing his rugby outside Ireland next season as contract talks have broken down with the IRFU.

Luke Fitzgerald may be one of the poster boys of the all-conquering Leinster team but it looks highly likely that he will will now be playing abroad next season. According to today’s Irish Times, the versatile back has been unable to agree a deal on his central contract with the IRFU, with the paper saying talks are at an impasse.

According to the reports, the 24-year-old has been offered a two-year deal worth around €200,000 a year, a reduction of around 30 per cent on his current salary that is believed to be in the region of €280,000.

The news of Fitzgerald’s availability is bound to be of interest to any number of clubs from the Aviva Premiership, but France is where the really big money is and that is where you imagine the most interest in his services would be too. He could probably command  higher salary inthe Top 14 as well.

The paper quotes Leinster team manager Guy Easterby, who said he was still hopeful of a deal. “Everyone is working hard to get it over the line. Luke wants to stay and the IRFU want him to stay so sometimes going through these negotiations take a little bit longer. It is just one of the ones that is taking its time.

“You would obviously be worried because you want Luke to be here, put his name in the succession planning for the next couple of years and pencil him in.

“Again, that is the way the business is. That is going to happen from time to time with certain contracts. Keep working hard on it and hope it comes down in our favour.”

The Leinster winger has had a tough time of late, missing out on the World Cup and battling back from a serious knee injury but nobody expected him to be forced out of the Leinster set-up.

Now that the news of these difficult negotiations is in the public domain that may put some pressure on both sides to just make a deal and keep Fitzgerald in blue next season. We hope so anyway.