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Child Item

The Academies

goreyguy

List of every player currently in one of the four Irish academies.

Loosehead Ed Byrne
Loosehead Jack O'Connell
Loosehead Kyle McCall
Loosehead Finlay Bealham
Loosehead James Cronin
Loosehead/Hooker James Treacy
Hooker Niall Scannell
Hooker Brian Byrne
Hooker David Doyle
Hooker Jonny Murphy
Hooker Kevin O'Byrne
Hooker Duncan Casey
Hooker James Rael
Tighthead Martin Moore
Tighthead Tadhg Furlong
Tighthead Conor Carey
Tighthead Jake Caulfield
Tighthead Jamie Dever
Tighthead Peter Reilly
Lock Cathal O'Flaherty
Lock Tadhg Beirne
Lock Gavin Thornbury
Lock Alan O'Connor
Lock James Simpson
Lock Daniel Qualter
Lock Ultan Dilane
Lock Philip Donnellan
Lock Brian Hayes
Flanker/Lock Ben Marshall
Flanker Dan Leavy
Flanker Conor Gilsenan
Flanker Josh Van Der Flier
Flanker Jordi Murphy
Flanker Conor Joyce
Flanker Neil Faloon
Flanker Aaron Conneely
Flanker David Heffernan
Flanker Jonathan Gardiner
Flanker Shane Buckley
Flanker Ryan Murphy
Eight Jack Conan
Eight Sean O'Connell
Eight Jack O'Donoghue
Scrum Half Luke McGrath
Scrum Half Marcus Walsh
Scrum Half Kieran Marmion(may have signed a non academy contract recently)
Scrum Half Brian Haugh
Outhalf Cathal Marsh
Outhalf Noel Reid
Outhalf Stuart Olding
Outhalf Jack Carty
Outhalf Tadgh Leader
Outhalf Johnny Holland
Centre Cian Bohane
Centre Jordan Coughlan
Centre Colm O'Shea
Centre Chris Farrell
Centre Corey Hircock
Centre Harry McNulty
Centre/Fullback Robbie Henshaw(may have signed a non academy contract recently)
Wing Andrew Boyle
Wing Sam Coughlan Murray
Wing Conor Finn
Wing Steve Macauley
Wing Ronan O'Mahony
Wing/Fullback Darren Hudson
Wing/Fullback Darren Moroney
Fullback Mikey Sherlock*(not sure about his status)
Fullback Rory Scholes
Fullback Peter Nelson
Fullback Ricky Andrew
Fullback Shane Layden
Fullback Darragh Leader
Fullback Darren Sweetnam

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lurtz

backgreen wrote: »

looking at the AIL this year with lansdowne/ucd etc some of these lads would make super 7s players and i'am sure would jump at being contracted to play the IRB world circuit..not all are going to make the pro 15s game and this will create other opportunities for them as the 7s gets BIGGER and BIGGER and will be a more global game than 15s

I dont know if anyone heard but the closest thing we actually have to a 7s team won the kinsale tournament at the weekend,first irish team to do it in ages!
the wild geese,as theyre known, are a sort of invitational team with the best AIL players playing. the team for includes lads like charlie butterworth,craig ronaldson,ciaran ruddock,cian aherne, danny kenny..all top quality AIL players. they also won the amateur section of the dubai tournament earlier this year. The case is more prevalent than ever for an irish mens 7s team. I agree it would be absolutely invaluable experience for any player in Ireland and many would jump at such an opportunity as you said

Not Playing Tiddlywinks Vinny

lurtz wrote: »

I dont know if anyone heard but the closest thing we actually have to a 7s team won the kinsale tournament at the weekend,first irish team to do it in ages!
the wild geese,as theyre known, are a sort of invitational team with the best AIL players playing. the team for includes lads like charlie butterworth,craig ronaldson,ciaran ruddock,cian aherne, danny kenny..all top quality AIL players. they also won the amateur section of the dubai tournament earlier this year. The case is more prevalent than ever for an irish mens 7s team. I agree it would be absolutely invaluable experience for any player in Ireland and many would jump at such an opportunity as you said

Didn't Ireland have a 7s side before?? What happened to it. Am certain Cian Aherne was apart of it. NZ use it as a step from 20s to NPC/SXV, always have young lads going through that way. We should consider this, be great for centres, wings and fullbacks to improve their footwork, one-on-one defence and finishing ability

P.Walnuts

Might be out on my own with this one, but 7's leaves me completely cold.

I think we have enough teams to develop to younger players to be honest

Not Playing Tiddlywinks Vinny

P.Walnuts wrote: »

Might be out on my own with this one, but 7's leaves me completely cold.

I think we have enough teams to develop to younger players to be honest

Do we really, A sides and AIL clubs with amateur players. Having a 7s side that would take the best players from academy's and Clubs to progress them against other pros, think would suit backs and opensides really well

P.Walnuts

Not Playing Tiddlywinks Vinny wrote: »

Do we really, A sides and AIL clubs with amateur players. Having a 7s side that would take the best players from academy's and Clubs to progress them against other pros, think would suit backs and opensides really well

We have the B&I cup, regular A matches and when the international players go to Ireland it frees up some space in he first team for he better academy players, I think perhaps in a country with larger playing numbers it would make sense to use 7's as another development tool, but I reckon here most of the players that are of high enough standard are getting the development they need through the academy system.

Not Playing Tiddlywinks Vinny

P.Walnuts wrote: »

We have the B&I cup, regular A matches and when the international players go to Ireland it frees up some space in he first team for he better academy players, I think perhaps in a country with larger playing numbers it would make sense to use 7's as another development tool, but I reckon here most of the players that are of high enough standard are getting the development they need through the academy system.

B&I cup is played with lads on the fringes of the first team, Leinster are the only side to dip into their academy deeply to fill it. Munster have had likes of Gerry Hurley, Billy Holland, Marcus Horan, CJ Stander playing when they are all senior players, i dont think it works as well as it should for player development. The A fixtures aren't all that regulr, maybe 3 a yr. My point is putting lads that are outta 20s rugby in the backrow and back 3/centres up against other athletes like them would be a major learning curve and with squads only consisting of 10-12 players it would be very specified so would be the creme de le creme selected to further there development. Could see the likes of Rory Scholes, Rory Scannell, Joyce, Panther and Murphy from this seasons 20s side to a 7s squad to progress their development

ormond lad

backgreen wrote: »

would make a great 7s player...

would be better to concentrate on 15s.

lurtz wrote: »

I dont see why it isn't though,New Zealand support a hell of a lot more teams than we do

a national men and womens team, a maori team, a heartland XV,u20s, u18s, 4 super rugby franchises with development teams, 14 fully professional ITM cup teams with academies, as well as full time men and womens sevens competing on the world series

NZ national sport. Doesn't have half the competition with other sports.

backgreen wrote: »

looking at the AIL this year with lansdowne/ucd etc some of these lads would make super 7s players and i'am sure would jump at being contracted to play the IRB world circuit..not all are going to make the pro 15s game and this will create other opportunities for them as the 7s gets BIGGER and BIGGER and will be a more global game than 15s

Why not concentrate on helping more get to top level of 15 man game than starting from scratch at 7s.
Id love to see a 7s side but not to the detriment of the 15 man game.

Not Playing Tiddlywinks Vinny wrote: »

Didn't Ireland have a 7s side before?? What happened to it. Am certain Cian Aherne was apart of it. NZ use it as a step from 20s to NPC/SXV, always have young lads going through that way. We should consider this, be great for centres, wings and fullbacks to improve their footwork, one-on-one defence and finishing ability

We've had sides competing in world cups over the years.

P.Walnuts wrote: »

Might be out on my own with this one, but 7's leaves me completely cold.
I think we have enough teams to develop to younger players to be honest

Wouldn't say it leaves me cold. It aids many aspects of the game for players in certain positions but we should be concentrating on 15 man game.

Not Playing Tiddlywinks Vinny wrote: »

B&I cup is played with lads on the fringes of the first team, Leinster are the only side to dip into their academy deeply to fill it. Munster have had likes of Gerry Hurley, Billy Holland, Marcus Horan, CJ Stander playing when they are all senior players, i dont think it works as well as it should for player development. The A fixtures aren't all that regulr, maybe 3 a yr. My point is putting lads that are outta 20s rugby in the backrow and back 3/centres up against other athletes like them would be a major learning curve and with squads only consisting of 10-12 players it would be very specified so would be the creme de le creme selected to further there development. Could see the likes of Rory Scholes, Rory Scannell, Joyce, Panther and Murphy from this seasons 20s side to a 7s squad to progress their development

Munster dip into their academy quite a bit playing B&I cup as well. Maybe it might be better but staying in Ireland playing AIL, Provincial A games not better esp if training with full pro squad rather than going off to 7s for 3-4 months

its_phil

Not Playing Tiddlywinks Vinny wrote: »

B&I cup is played with lads on the fringes of the first team, Leinster are the only side to dip into their academy deeply to fill it.

Leinster are not the only team to use their academy in the B&I cup

backgreen

lot of people missing the point here...i think it's obligatory of the IRFU to promote the international mens7s game in conjunction with the womens game orherwise it's discriminatory ,they are in receipt of olympic funding which in effect is taxpayers money
the IRB are not also not very happy that the only top tier nation cannot put out a mens 7s side on the lead up to Rio after having voted for it's inclusion...it will happen in the future but too late for some

irishbucsfan

its_phil wrote: »

Leinster are not the only team to use their academy in the B&I cup

We certainly aren't! Ulster and Connacht fill their sides with academy players and there's plenty in Munster's B&I side as well

Tox56

irishbucsfan wrote: »

We certainly aren't! Ulster and Connacht fill their sides with academy players and there's plenty in Munster's B&I side as well

What's the story with Ulster? They're producing lots of players, but their Ravens team doesnt seem to make much of an impression. Munster and Leinster's A teams by contrast are always there or thereabouts in the semi's and finals of the B&I cup

bilston

Tox56 wrote: »

What's the story with Ulster? They're producing lots of players, but their Ravens team doesnt seem to make much of an impression. Munster and Leinster's A teams by contrast are always there or thereabouts in the semi's and finals of the B&I cup

It's a good question. There are a number of possible answers.

In terms of this season, our senior squad was ravaged by injuries at times which had a knock on effect on the Ravens.

Also many of our young players have been fast tracked through the system and probably haven't played as many Ravens games as other 20/21/22 year olds at the other provinces might have done. Remember Ulster missed out on the so-called golden generation so the likes of Henderson, Jackson, Marshall and Gilroy etc didn't have players like BOD, POC, ROG, D'Arcy etc holding them back. Take someone like JJ Hanrahan, he's clearly a top player, he's the same age as Jackson but has played most of his rugby for the Munster A team because of those ahead of him. Robbie Henshaw at Connacht is another case in point, if he were at Munster or Leinster he'd have spent the last 12 months playing B&I Cup rugby with the occasional Pro 12 cameo, so players like Hanrahan, Macken, Conway etc have had it tough in that respect. However it strengthens Munster and Leinster's A teams.

The final thing I can think of is that Ulster are pretty ruthless with their youngsters, if they are borderline they get sent packing to the likes of Rotherham or Doncaster for a year and I suppose these are guys who would otherwise be playing for the Ravens. In saying that I would have thought that all the provinces are ruthless in this way.

Buer

I would say, in addition to the above, bilston, the development and product line at Ulster has centered largely around the back line. You have them coming out your ears at this stage and of a high quality. Forwards not so much and, the ones that are coming through, take a longer time to get up to speed and adjust to senior rugby unless they're physical freaks such as IH (and that is not Ian Humphreys for the sake of clarity).

This is being addressed with recruitment initiatives and Ulster are keenly aware of the situation, I'm sure. The age profile of the pack is, generally, such that they'll be fine for another couple of years but now is the time to start feeding some angry, oddly shaped teenagers and telling them to stop picking up the ball.

jamiedav2011

Buer wrote: »

I would say, in addition to the above, bilston, the development and product line at Ulster has centered largely around the back line. You have them coming out your ears at this stage and of a high quality. Forwards not so much and, the ones that are coming through, take a longer time to get up to speed and adjust to senior rugby unless they're physical freaks such as IH (and that is not Ian Humphreys for the sake of clarity).

This is being addressed with recruitment initiatives and Ulster are keenly aware of the situation, I'm sure. The age profile of the pack is, generally, such that they'll be fine for another couple of years but now is the time to start feeding some angry, oddly shaped teenagers and telling them to stop picking up the ball.

The fact that Leinster (Auva'a, Carr, Bent, Browne etc) and certainly Munster (Deasy, Barnes, Nagle, Williams, Horan, Dougall, Ronan, Stander) probably all have more mid tier experienced players to play in the B&I when compared to Ulster is also a major factor.

That's partly why Leinster went down in the semi last year, and mainly why the semi win this year was such a surprise.

lurtz

the peter lydon contract offer confirmed on irish rugby

Recent Seapoint players who have progressed to professional ranks include Felix Jones (Munster), Aaron Dundon (Leinster) and Mick Noone (Leicester) while this year's 20 year-old out-half Peter Lydon has recently been offered a contract with Stade Francais.

bilston

Buer wrote: »

I would say, in addition to the above, bilston, the development and product line at Ulster has centered largely around the back line. You have them coming out your ears at this stage and of a high quality. Forwards not so much and, the ones that are coming through, take a longer time to get up to speed and adjust to senior rugby unless they're physical freaks such as IH (and that is not Ian Humphreys for the sake of clarity).

This is being addressed with recruitment initiatives and Ulster are keenly aware of the situation, I'm sure. The age profile of the pack is, generally, such that they'll be fine for another couple of years but now is the time to start feeding some angry, oddly shaped teenagers and telling them to stop picking up the ball.

Yep, I think this is pretty fair, the only two forwards of note that we've produced in the last few years have been Henderson and McAlistair and unfortunately Paddy Mac has spent a fair while injured. Our Ravens backlines can be as talented as they want but if the pack aren't up to it then the Ravens won't be very successful, at least not at the business end of the B&I Cup.

Kyle McCall is quite promising as is Conor Joyce but I'm not sure how far they'll go. I have heard rumour of a big second row in the Academy, think his name is Russell Blair, but he's been injured (shock an injured Ulster player:eek:) all season, I've never seen him play myself but apparently he is a large specimen and quite talented as well.

CGD

lurtz wrote: »

the peter lydon contract offer confirmed on irish rugby

Recent Seapoint players who have progressed to professional ranks include Felix Jones (Munster), Aaron Dundon (Leinster) and Mick Noone (Leicester) while this year's 20 year-old out-half Peter Lydon has recently been offered a contract with Stade Francais.

7 months a Seapoint Player. Developed in Kilkenny College and progressed with Lansdowne 21's and left them last season to go to Seapoint. Not sure its agreat move for him especially as he might have to listen to ROG next year if reports are correct. You go all that way for a fresh start and you end up listening to a Cork man every day. Hope he does well!

Ruck Inspector

good luck to lydon but i'd be fairly astonished if he made it at stade.

CGD

Ruck Inspector wrote: »

good luck to lydon but i'd be fairly astonished if he made it at stade.

Watched him a bit this year he is talented and has a serious boot but always wondered why he left Lansdowne? If he is that good he would be replacing Ronaldson there now maybe wasn't patient enough or they did't rate him that highly or maybe he just didn't get on there?? who knows but interesting that he hasn't been snapped up by a 1a club that would have probably been better for him. Still young though anything could happen!

the perfect ten

I'd be very surprised if O'Gara ended up in Stade Francais - only this week Stade have confirmed the signing of Morne Steyn on a three-year contract. They also have a young homegrown outhalf, Jules Plisson, who has really begun to break through this year and may well start for them in next week's Amlin final.

As for Peter Lydon I'd say fair play to him. You might as well take the opportunity while you have it and all the more so since he is still only 20. With the former outhalf Gonzalo Quesada coming in as head coach you never know what could happen.

Bogota

It's alleged to be in a coaching not playing capacity.

lurtz

CGD wrote: »

7 months a Seapoint Player. Developed in Kilkenny College and progressed with Lansdowne 21's and left them last season to go to Seapoint. Not sure its agreat move for him especially as he might have to listen to ROG next year if reports are correct. You go all that way for a fresh start and you end up listening to a Cork man every day. Hope he does well!

CGD wrote: »

Watched him a bit this year he is talented and has a serious boot but always wondered why he left Lansdowne? If he is that good he would be replacing Ronaldson there now maybe wasn't patient enough or they did't rate him that highly or maybe he just didn't get on there?? who knows but interesting that he hasn't been snapped up by a 1a club that would have probably been better for him. Still young though anything could happen!

How can you say its not a good move?
A move from ail 2a to one of the biggest clubs in Europe is obviously a good move! a contract anywhere would be a good move..you take what you're offered. the reason he moved from lansdowne to seapoint is because they incentivised it

CGD

lurtz wrote: »

How can you say its not a good move?
A move from ail 2a to one of the biggest clubs in Europe is obviously a good move! a contract anywhere would be a good move..you take what you're offered. the reason he moved from lansdowne to seapoint is because they incentivised it

Stade academy isn't that highly rated and notknown for developing non french talent think the coach from Seapoint has someort of connection not as glamourous as it sounds. But a I said I hope it woks out or him

lurtz

CGD wrote: »

Stade academy isn't that highly rated and notknown for developing non french talent think the coach from Seapoint has someort of connection not as glamourous as it sounds. But a I said I hope it woks out or him

professional is professional in the end of the day. if he moved to play super 10 in italy it'd be good! yeah Nigel Osbourne had the stade kicking coach over and thats how he got offered

hype101

Anyone know what happened Stephen Leckey.. He was ulster back-rower who played 20s a couple of seasons ago.. Played in the O2 challenge and looked like the best young back-rower on show.. Unbelievable pace for a big man

Ruck Inspector

hype101 wrote: »

Anyone know what happened Stephen Leckey.. He was ulster back-rower who played 20s a couple of seasons ago.. Played in the O2 challenge and looked like the best young back-rower on show.. Unbelievable pace for a big man

Well he went to Glasgow for uni, where he has since promptly fell off the map.

A little research suggests he is still playing club rugby in scotland but is a student.

lurtz

he's playing for glasgow hawks,turned down a spot in the academy to focus on his studies I heard

backgreen

lurtz wrote: »

the peter lydon contract offer confirmed on irish rugby

Recent Seapoint players who have progressed to professional ranks include Felix Jones (Munster), Aaron Dundon (Leinster) and Mick Noone (Leicester) while this year's 20 year-old out-half Peter Lydon has recently been offered a contract with Stade Francais.

rog also going there

CGD

backgreen wrote: »

rog also going there

Lydon Academy
ROG reportedly coaching Youth team

paratro

Lurtz and Ormond Lad you are both kinda right. NZ do support a lot more teams and sure you probably could regard Rugby as the national sport but to say that it doesn't have the competition is a mistake.
Rugby League is huge at home as is Soccer now, but also hockey and indoor basketball and recently we have also had kids being signed by the New York red socks in Baseball and other kids being offered basketball scholarships to unis in the USA.
rugby League is a huge drain on the resources of rugby so to say that there is no competition in sports in NZ is not entirely true.
I think its more to do with the sponsorship that the NZRFU can get due to the successes of their rugby teams. And these successes can only happen with support from the NZRFU.