Despite all the money that's available to French clubs now, Ireland has done relatively well in holding on to our best and brightest. The Welsh regions have lost out big time when it comes to holding on to their players, while the likes the Armitage brothers and Nick Abendanon have shown England what they're missing.
In contrast, Johnny Sexton is the only player who you could say has left Ireland over the past ten years, at his peak, for a taste of a different rugby culture (we'd argue that Bowe was not at his peak). However, the more money floods into the Top 14, and even the Aviva Premiership, the more likely it is that we'll see Irish players look abroad for a change of scenery.
That's a big worry for the IRFU and it's no surprise that we've already seen some rumours given that this is the time when contracts renewals are up for discussion. Simon Zebo to Toulouse has been the big one. The remote possibility of Robbie Henshaw moving abroad has also been brought up and now we can add Sean O'Brien to the 'possible departures' list.
The Leinster man has been speaking to the Irish Independent and he has admitted that the option to move away from Ireland is an 'attractive' one. O'Brien certainly didn't issue a come and get me plea to the likes of Toulon but, after he had been linked with the European Champions back in 2014, he did concede that it's something that may be on his mind with his current IRFU contract coming to an end in 2016.
It's something I did think long and hard about and it is very attractive to go over somewhere foreign, to a different club.
At the same time Leinster have something special that I've been a part of for a long time and you really want to stay there and be part of that group. That's where my mind is, but when contracts are being talked about you have to do what's best for you.
Leinster have a Champions Cup game to think about this weekend so it's unlikely that fans will obsess over those comments too much. But it is certainly something that the IRFU will be sweating over during the next couple of weeks and months.
