RECENTLY-RETIRED Leinster winger Shane Horgan has criticised the IRFU’s player management system, in particular the decision to allow Nathan Hines join ASM Clermont Auvergne last summer.

The ongoing Luke Fitzgerald contractual negotiations are also part of a larger problem, Horgan believes, that may stymie the greatest period of success in Leinster rugby history.

The European champions face Clermont in Bordeaux on Sunday in their fourth successive Heineken Cup semi-final.

“If you do a risk analysis of where the threats are coming for Leinster, I think one of the threats that has raised its head over the last number of months is retaining the best players,” said Horgan.

“Last season I think we lost players that we didn’t want to lose. There were constraints put on the club from the IRFU. Hinesy was a perfect example. I think if we had a choice we wouldn’t be losing him.”

Cook Islands prop Stan Wright, who joined Michael Cheika’s Stade Francais, and Scottish Test lock Hines were replaced by Kiwi Nathan White and South African Steven Sykes. However, White is switching to Connacht this summer, while Sykes returned to the Natal Sharks in January having failed to settle in Dublin due to injury and personal issues.

“There are issues at the moment contractually for Luke, and Jonny [Sexton] is out of contract at the end of next year,” Horgan continued.

“There is this faintly ridiculous [foreign] players rule that has been forced on the provinces without proper consultation. They are threats.”

Despite Horgan’s injury-enforced retirement, and Brian O’Driscoll and Leo Cullen only recently returning from surgery, along with the departure of Hines and Wright, Leinster remain on course for their best campaign.

But Horgan’s concern centres around the IRFU/Platinum One (Fitzgerald’s agents) negotiations that leave the 2009 Lion on the brink of not remaining at Leinster on a national contract.

“If you look even at the case of Luke, a key player for Leinster and Ireland, someone who is home-grown, passionate about Leinster, and has been successful since the day he put on a jersey for Ireland and Leinster. He has only known success.

“I know this isn’t entirely Leinster’s deal, it is an IRFU deal, but it sends out a bad message if Leinster can’t retain the players they want to contain at their club. They don’t want a team that has had three or four semi-finals on the trot losing players to other clubs.

“I think the main issue is trying to retain your best players. Players that have performed for you, players that are only going to get better. Luke is not in his mid-30s. He is only going to get better.”

That said, Leinster’s success since capturing their first European title in 2009 allowed them attract All Black Brad Thorn mid-season when Sykes returned to South Africa.

Horgan said Thorn had more lucrative offers but chose Leinster.

“It’s something that couldn’t have happened a few years ago. It shows where Leinster are in the hierarchy, where before they were a mid-range team,” said Horgan.

“To attract a player of his quality – he had other financially more lucrative offers but actually decided to come to Leinster – is a real positive.

“The main positive is the group of individuals there at the moment at their age profile. That generation of Jonny Sexton, Lukey, Rob [Kearney] and the one below it as well.”

Horgan, speaking yesterday at a Sky Sports media function ahead of the weekend’s semi-finals, having faced Clermont three times in the past two years, believes the meeting at Stade Chaban Delmas will be decided by the narrowest of margins.

“If either team doesn’t perform to the very top level of their capabilities they are going to lose. Clermont are the sort of team that can embarrass you,” he said.

And Hines could have a say in that outcome as Horgan identifies Clermont’s offloading game as their primary strength.

“Their front five actually are very good at that for some reason. They don’t have a mentality to go to ground or to run into people. They bump and offload,” said Horgan.

“Hinesy has brought that to them as well. We know the way he plays. He is so annoying to play against. He is always in the wrong position, he’ll always be scragging someone back, he’ll always be irritating someone, lying on the wrong side. You saw it against Ulster [in January] where he blocked [for the Clermont try]. That’s what he does.

“It’s fine saying it’s illegal or whingeing about it but it’s those very traits that we loved having when he was playing for us.

“If we allow him to do that to us, ultimately, we’ll be punished for it.”