Rugby Australia chairman Daniel Herbert has fired a broadside at cashed-up French rugby clubs whom he says have extended their tentacles deep into the junior ranks in Australia in a bid to poach some of the country's promising young talent.
Herbert on Wednesday joined RA chief and former Wallabies teammate Phil Waugh in fronting the media after the governing body unveiled a $36.8 deficit, a figure the duo is adamant would be offset by the financial windfall of hosting the British & Irish Lions later this year.
From there RA will look to build itself into a more financially stable position - its debt facility paid off - and then set itself up for the longer-term future with the help of the 2027 and 2029 Rugby World Cups, which will be both be hosted in Australia.
One of the keys to that will be responsible contract management, which Waugh has made a focus of his first 18 months in the job, though RA is now facing another direct competitor for the nation's best young talent in the form of France's Top 14 clubs.
Recently, 16-year-old Queenslander Visesio Kite was signed by La Rochelle, but not until his father had taken to social media to accuse RA of blocking his path.
James Kite had insisted that his son had received no formal contract from the Queensland Rugby Union and had then been shopped to overseas clubs, with La Rochelle taking up the opportunity to sign and develop him as a JIFF-qualified player [someone eligible for France via a five-year academy placement].
When asked about that situation, Herbert took the opportunity to vent his frustration and called on the game's global stewards to act amid circumstances he felt there were many more instances of.
"It's something that we're talking to World Rugby about, because there's more than what's been reported as well that we're aware of, and our view is that France has the ability to produce its own players," he said.
"They don't need to come and talk to our player agents to try and poach ours at a very young age. So there's going to be some discussions at World Rugby level around what is actually allowed to happen in that market.
"Because, you know, [France's] population of 70 million without the major competition [rugby league] that we have and doesn't need to go to other markets to try and poach players.
"So it's a live discussion with World Rugby at the moment."
Asked whether it was a difficult situation to police, Herbert insisted the French clubs needed to be brought into line.
"Well, I just think there has to be... a coming together on what is allowed and what isn't allowed," he said. "At the moment, it's the French clubs, it's not the French Federation, it's the French clubs. And they're working directly with player agents here. And we don't do it. Most other countries don't do it. And so it's something that we'll take up with World Rugby."
While Herbert did not specify the other examples of French interference Down Under, a recent report suggested Australia under 18s star Heinz Lemoto, who is already at the centre of a tug-o-war between RA and multiple rugby league clubs while still at school, had also had a French contract dangled in front of him.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Lemoto had, intriguingly, recently signed with Entourage Management, who spruiks itself as a "global market leader" which has "more than 50 Australian clients under contract in Europe, 30 in Japan and dedicated offices located around the world. Entourage provides its client base with a global reach unmatched in this market."
While there are eligibility and residency rules in place to help prevent players from being poached internationally, and even domestic league rules that aim to foster as much local talent as possible for national unions, overseas clubs have long recognised the talent in the Pacific islands and now appear to be extending that reach even further.
One tool RA does have up its sleeve in the meantime, at least for more established players, are short-term sabbatical deals with specific overseas clubs. That appears to be the case with Len Ikitau, who is rumoured to be on his way to English club Exeter on a nine-month deal where RA and Wallabies performance staff will both be kept abreast of his health and fitness.
At just 26, Ikitau remains an integral part of not only Australia's Lions campaign but also then the run to the Rugby World Cup in 2027. Allowing him to enjoy a short-term stint overseas, while being kept informed of his progress, offers RA a win both on a financial and retention front.
It may be that RA looks to form mutually beneficial relationships with specific clubs moving forward.
"Yeah, we've got an open mind. I guess as you think about that fiscal responsibility, there's some creative solutions that we need to entertain to ensure that we've got optionality to set the game up financially," Waugh said.
"So again, working through a lot of that work as we look forward to 2026 through to 2030, and creative solutions to get to the best outcome for rugby in Australia."