Twenty years ago when rugby was close to its peak in popularity the irfu should have ensured everyone from the age of 12-18 had a similar chance of making it if you u were good enough.
They didnât do that. They done the very opposite. The private schools were allowed run riot and the club produced players simply couldnât compete.
Limerick hurlers set up an academy over 15 years ago. What percentage of the Limerick starting 15 is made up of lads who came through that system?
Itâs the same thing in every sport. Money decides the results bar in crazy situations like man united or Barcelona and the odd miracle like a Leicester.
Nobody is going to compete with those top Leinster schools and theyâll continue to be the dominant producer of players in Ireland.
In the age bracket I referred to, Munster did not produce enough Ireland Under 20s.
That has increased though in recent years and the player output has improved.
Again this comes back to the rebuilding Thomond era. Wining and dining 17 year old Leinster schoolboys rather than focusing on the backyard. The worst thing is that the âmissing generationâ is largely the one that were children and early teens when Munster were at their most successful.
Leinster are producing gillions of players, why canât we just buy players from anywhere and be a top club?Why do I have to watch this collection of Ham and Eggers just because theyâre from Munster? This is pro sport baby.
Munster is a hurling and soccer strong hold. Rubby is a very small pool of the Munster population. They simply have to bring in lots of outside talent to be competitive
This is it, theyâre not going to unearth Paul OâConnell or Eddie Halvey again. That was from a time when the AIL was the main show in town. Thereâs an audience there if you put a good team on the field, but theyâre not going to be local guys unless theyâre exceptional like the Edogbos, Gleeson, Crowley or Casey.
Iâm not even sure have Young Munster a 20s team depending on the year. How are you supposed to compete against pro sports teams?
Academies are fine but you need proper pathways outside the cabal of Leinster private schools who dont have kids competing against other sports.
Bridging the gap between AIL and pro is a no brainer. Having a lad play constantly in AIL at 20-21-22 before getting your claws into him at 22/23 at pro level. Most academy lads are being discarded at 20 and never getting a look in again.
Most players in NFL arenât going pro until 22 on average ⌠theyâre semi pro in college⌠thats the model , with AIL as your college
They need to get some money behind Young Munster, try and get them competing to win it out with Con and the Dublin teams. Evan OâConnell doesnât even play with them right now which I donât get.
It wouldnât cost a whole pile to have a clatter of young lads at Con, Munsters, Garryowen⌠Munster continue to provide nutrition and supplements, access to gym and some travel money.
Like the ten year period where Munster didnât produce any players? Anyway itâs good that Munster have gotten their act together and are producing players again.
Actually yeah tbf itâs not that high, probably closer to 50 whoâve been at Academy or First Team level.
They quickly add up though when you go from the current ones of Beirne, Milne, Barron, Loughman, Jager, Patterson, Farrell and Smith in the first team squad alone. Even Sean OâBrien grew up in the Leinster clubs system, before joining Connacht. The Wycherleys were also in the Leinster schools system, although I accept theyâre from Munster and joined Roscrea late, more so that Munster have benefited from the Leinster âecosystemâ.