Has JJ Hanrahan made a mistake in moving to Northampton Saints? Shane Horgan thinks he might be. Speaking to Second Captains yesterday, Horgan speculated on the reasons behind Hanrahan's impeding move to Northampton.
Horgan is clearly a fan of Hanrahan, like the most of the country, and suggests that Hanrahan has the most potential and most complete outhalf on the island of Ireland. Horgan suggests that Hanrahan shouldn't be blamed for any financial incentives he received.
It's hard to argue with the former Ireland and Leinster legend. Hanrahan is a special talent, and as a former IRB Junior World player of the year nominee, his abilities have shone on the world stage before.
Hanrahan has found things difficult at Munster, behind Ian Keatley, and finding most of his gametime at inside centre. It's been suggested that Hanrahan is making his move for 'rugby reasons'.
But is he making a mistake leaving Munster?
There's no suggestion that Hanrahan will get more gametime at Northampton. The only obstacle ahead of Hanrahan in Munster was Ian Keatley. The obstacles ahead of him in Northampton include Stephen Myler, Luther Burrell and George Pisi. He won't have the fall back option of getting gametime at inside centre with Burrell and Pisi around. Northampton like to play the 'power game' as Horgan points out, and a 6'3'' 17 stone Burrell is more likely to provide that than the 6' 14 stone Hanrahan.
Then there's the main obstacle in the way for Hanrahan. Is Ian Keatley a tougher challenge to get past than Stephen Myler? I wouldn't have thought so. Myler has just lead Northampton to a Premiership title and is on the cusp of an England call up behind George Ford and Owen Farrell.
While Keatley has been much improved this season, he's not a better player than Myler. Keatley has Madigan and Sexton ahead of him in the international pecking order at least, and it doesn't look like Joe Schmidt will throw him into a meaningful international anytime soon. Myler is 3 years older than Hanrahan though, so we may see some decline in Myler as he ventures further into his 30s as Hanrahan arrives.
Furthermore, there is a question mark about whether the Premiership is the right environment for developing talent. Horgan hypotheses that the Pro 12, with less pressure and more time allows for a better avenue to hone skills, rather than the ultra-physical Premiership, where there is pressure to win all the time.
Is this opinion supported with evidence? There are historical cases of Irish rugby players, and backs in particular making a name for themselves in the Premiership. Most recently, Eoin Reddan went to the Premiership after semi-succesful stints in Munster and Connacht before making his name at Wasps. This is on the back of Geordan Murphy's hugely successful career at Leicester.
But for every success story, there are multitudes of nomadic careers. In fact, the story of Munster outhalves moving to England to further their careers is not a new one. Jeremy Staunton and Barry Everitt are two of the prime warnings to Hanrahan. Hanrahan is just a year younger than when Staunton made a similar move, after he decided that playing at fullback wasn't his thing, and that O'Gara couldn't be shifted.
It's clear that there was a big obstacle blocking his path in Munster, but are there more obstacles blocking his development in Northampton?
To listen to the interview click here
Photo Credit Stephen McCarthy/SPORTSFILE
