I have heard of 12 year olds wanting to only going to X or Y school because they’re the top tier rugby school at that time.
Once upon a time the schools outside of the Blackrock types went up and down depending on the interest and quality of teacher coaching. You start just having the same few with a funnel approach and overall the game gets weaker.
The Leinster Branch introduced a rule a few years ago to stop people moving schools and playing rugby the very next year for the other school. Definitely stopped the flow of that for 15/16/17 year olds as it had become endemic. Ryan Baird is a recent example of it.
Don’t think there’s anyway around 12 years olds and parents doing it themselves though.
Had a recent interaction with the mother of a young fella who was on the Junior Cup team for a well known rugby school. What she described in terms of S+C and skills coaching from 1st year on was startling. Training was essentially at least once a day with gym program’s in place also. Then followed at the weekend with a training session/talk from a former pupil (usually a current international).
The school in question were producing rugby players in a fulltime, professional environment from the age of 12. It’s no wonder Ireland are on the up since the dreary days of the 90’s. And it’s not going to change anytime soon.
She also told me of how it’s tradition for the captain of the team to host all the players and their parents in the captains house. That would come to roughly 80 people siting down for dinner. The poor captains house wasn’t big enough, so the vice captains house was utilized. Catering company and a number of chefs/waiters drafted in. Imagine feeding 80 people in your own home.
I suppose it’s no different fo the young lads in England signing for the academies of the premier league clubs. Except the blackrocks etc are giving them a proper academic education too.
Can I ask a potentially silly question. In schools hurling/football/rugby/soccer, do the coaches have to be members of staff or can you draft in outside help?
I may have read that wrongly. I was under the impression his job was hurling coach and not teaching.
Pat Critchley works in SCR as a coach since his retirement as a teacher but knowing Critchley its probably all voluntary. I’d be surprised this wasn’t common enough around the place.
In a lot of instances, I think the ‘teacher’ bit is very loose. In some instances, I know of firsthand, it’s very very very loose. @fenwaypark will know what, or should I say who, I’m getting at here!
