David Kelly: IRFU Will Persevere with the Chequebook Recruitment Strategy for the Ireland Team. Why? Because It Works

David Kelly: IRFU will persevere with the chequebook recruitment strategy for the Ireland team. Why? Because it works

A few weeks before he was called into Joe Schmidt’s January Wallabies’ two-day training camp, 22-year-old Australian tighthead Massimo De Lutiis, long-touted as an international star, detailed his quietly determined optimism to shed recent injury travails and take a giant leap forward in 2026.

Rugby Transfers: SA boss on Irish move for Aussie prop, Springboks captain linked to Top 14

With tighthead props a short-in-supply commodity in Ireland, an approach has reportedly been made for a 22-year-old making his way in Australia.

Wessels calls for poaching payback

SA Rugby high-performance GM Dave Wessels has called for compensation for talent-exporting unions after reports Ireland are targeting an Australian prop. According to Codesports.com, Massimo De Lutiis is weighing up a “life-changing” offer from the Irish RFU as they seek to bolster their tighthead stocks. The 22-year-old, currently on the Reds’ books, qualifies for Ireland through his mother’s side of the family. “This is crazy stuff,” Wessels t…