If the trickle of talent departing these shores looked to have slowed down last week then it would now appear that it was only a brief respite. James Cronin signed a new deal with Munster and reports emerged that Marty Moore had decided to stay with Leinster after all.
Fast forward a week and the situation is looking significantly less palatable. Regardless of what actually happened behind the scenes, Moore has now confirmed that his move to Wasps is done and dusted. He joins Ian Madigan and JJ Hanrahan as the confirmed departees and it looks highly likely that he won't be the last as the increased budgets of the English Premiership and the French Top 14 continue to become all too apparent.
The latest Irish international to be liked with a move away from the provinces is Keith Earls who, according to the Irish Independent, is close to announcing a deal to Saracens. Earls has a contract offer on the table from Munster but it is thought that a three year deal from the London club will be enough to convince the 28 year old that his immediate future lies away from Thomond Park.
We'll continue to hold out hope that there may be a change of mind in that regard but it seems unlikely, as does the possibility that he may be the last of the high profile departures.
Earls' Munster teammate Simon Zebo has been widely linked with a move to France and given that there's quite a few clubs thought to be in for Zebo, it will be very difficult for Munster to hold onto the Corkman. If Earls does depart, and is subsequently followed by Zebo, it would be very difficult for Joe Schmidt to do anything other than take a look abroad when it comes to selecting an Ireland squad.
So far, Johnny Sexton is the only non-Irish based player that he's selected but with Madigan and Moore possibly being joined by Earls and Zebo, it's going to be increasingly difficult to offer preference to home based players.
