Proud Carlow Rugby man Des Kavanagh made history by becoming the first IRFU president from Carlow, elected on Friday last.
This capped off a great week for the club after Ed Byrne recieved his first international cap in Ireland’s 6 Nations win over Italy nations
While elite games continue, Des told KCLR Scoreline that the union in itself are really feeling the implications of having no fans at games.
“Right now we are trying to survive, we are 37 million in debt all because the loss of revenue in the provinces and the international games. The international games tend to pay for 85% of the rugby in Ireland. We have to hope that if a vaccine becomes available we can have crowds back into the grounds in the springtime.”
Much has been said about the 2021 Six Nations and if it will go ahead with no fans in attendance. When asked about the annual competition the newly elected president said “Everyone is working towards the possibility of getting fans back, and I know their have been discussion at all levels about having a one or two metre gap in stadiums between spectators or indeed having a full stadium. The full stadium purely depends on the vaccine becoming available, a lesser attendance is possible under certain restrictions and guidelines, but there is no doubt about it the financial implications are huge.”
