Leinster Academy 2021-22

[mildlyinterested]

I don't think anyone has an issue with the sub academy. It's a clever idea to help young lads integrate into pro-sports from school. The issue is, in my opinion, that no one should be asked to do more than one year there ( i.e, first year college ). The majority of third level education in Leinster is in Dublin, with the exception of IT Carlow & NUI Maynooth. Maynooth is commutable and IT Carlow was due to get a high performance centre of it's own. One year in the sub academy to see the mental strengths and weaknesses of players and then make a decision.

Anything more than that creates a financial strain on the player and his family. If they set the sub-academy to a one year limit I think it would solve a lot of the issues Birch is complaining about here.

Ideally no body would do more than a year there but that isnt possible. For obvious reasons, injury or simply someone comes through youths/schools from year below who deserves a full spot more. financial strain for many of the players isnt really the case now? many will have attended fee paying schools etc and its not like a year like this would cause much of an issue now would it?

it's not about the players who attend fee paying schools, it's about the players who don't.

[erskinechilders]

Personally I don't think their school has any relevance to it regardless. Thousands of both public & private school students pour into Dublin every year. The problem with the sub-academy is that the players peers will have time for a part-time job, they won't. Hence the financial burden. A one year cap on the sub academy solves that issue and still gives Leinster the luxury of training the players for a full year before deciding on a full academy contract.

[mildlyinterested]

Personally I don't think their school has any relevance to it regardless. Thousands of both public & private school students pour into Dublin every year. The problem with the sub-academy is that the players peers will have time for a part-time job, they won't. Hence the financial burden. A one year cap on the sub academy solves that issue and still gives Leinster the luxury of training the players for a full year before deciding on a full academy contract.

the school may have no relevance, their financial situation of their family does. Some families can support an 18 year old not needing a part time job, others cannot. Players from outside of dublin have a greater financial burden when trying to make it via the sub-academy.

[mildlyinterested]

Leinster u18 club players named in ireland u18 squad for game against Italy during midterm, list incomplete:

Oisin Lynch(Prop/Boyne)
Niall O’Hanlon(Hooker/Athy)
Grant Palmer(Backrow/Wexford)
Tom Larke(Outhalf/Old Wesley)
Senan Phelan(Centre/St. Marys)
David Donohue(Fullback/Lansdowne)

[Morf]

Wexford have really blossomed recently with very few Enniscorthy or Gorey players after quite a few years of consistently bringing age grade reps though.

[mildlyinterested]

Wexford have really blossomed recently with very few Enniscorthy or Gorey players after quite a few years of consistently bringing age grade reps though.

I know several very talented underage players in gorey chose playing GAA over rugby.

Still both clubs had players involved with leinster u19.

[mildlyinterested]

U20's in sub-academy:

LH Prop
Ben Popplewell(Wexford RFC/Lansdowne)
Oisín Michel(Cill Dara RFC/Lansdowne)
George Hadden(Gorey RFC/Clontarf) - u19

TH Prop
Rory McGuire (Blackrock College/UCD)
JJ Hession (St. Michaels/Lansdowne)
Dylan Lynch (Boyne RFC/Clontarf)

Hooker
Howard Noonan (Greystones RFC/Old Wesley)
Barry Gray (Carlow RFC/Clontarf)

Lock
Mark Morrissey (Blackrock College/UCD
Conor O'Tighearnaigh (St Michael’s College/UCD)
Sean Walsh (Seapoint RFC/Lansdowne)
Ruairi Clarke (Cill Dara RFC/Lansdowne)

Lock-Blindside
Paul Deeny (Wexford RFC/Clontarf)
Stephen Woods (St. Michaels/DUFC)
Fionn McWey (Portloaise RFC-Roscrea/Old Belvedere)
Diarmuid Mangan (Newbridge/UCD) - u19

Backrow
Donough Lawlor (Newbridge/Lansdowne)
Luke Callinan (Castleknock/Lansdowne)
Dylan Ryan (St Michael’s/DUFC)
James Culhane (Blackrock)

Scrumhalf
Conor Duggan(Castleknock/MU Barnhall)
Oisin Devitt (Clongowes)
Michael Moloney (Blackrock)
Seanan Deveraux(St. Marys/UCD)

Outhalf
Charlie Tector(Kilkenny/Lansdowne)
Sam Prendergast(Newbridge/Lansdowne) - u19

Outside Backs
Conor Gibney(Mullingar RFC/DUFC)
Ben Brownlee(Blackrock/UCD)
Daniel Hawkshaw(Belvedere/Clontarf)
David Dooley(Tullamore RFC/MU Barnhall) - u19
Fionn Gibbons(Castleknock/UCD)
Shane Mallon(Longford RFC-Roscrea/UCD)
Aitzol Arenzana-King (Balbriggan RFC/Clontarf)
Callum O’Reilly(St Michael’s/DUFC)
Dylan O’Grady(Belvedere)
Scott Milne(Tullamore RFC)

[Morf]

Wexford have really blossomed recently with very few Enniscorthy or Gorey players after quite a few years of consistently bringing age grade reps though.

I know several very talented underage players in gorey chose playing GAA over rugby.

Still both clubs had players involved with leinster u19.

Not saying there are none but noticeably fewer from what I've seen.

[mildlyinterested]

Wexford have really blossomed recently with very few Enniscorthy or Gorey players after quite a few years of consistently bringing age grade reps though.

I know several very talented underage players in gorey chose playing GAA over rugby.

Still both clubs had players involved with leinster u19.

Not saying there are none but noticeably fewer from what I've seen.

less from Gorey anyway due to increased competition from GAA.

[the spoofer]

I know several very talented underage players in gorey chose playing GAA over rugby.

Still both clubs had players involved with leinster u19.

Not saying there are none but noticeably fewer from what I've seen.

less from Gorey anyway due to increased competition from GAA.

You really think a kid with a chance to play for Leinster is going to choose to play football or hurling for Wexford?

[mildlyinterested]

Not saying there are none but noticeably fewer from what I've seen.

less from Gorey anyway due to increased competition from GAA.

You really think a kid with a chance to play for Leinster is going to choose to play football or hurling for Wexford?

Yes the draw of club and county remains very strong for some down this way.

[hugonaut]

Not saying there are none but noticeably fewer from what I've seen.

less from Gorey anyway due to increased competition from GAA.

You really think a kid with a chance to play for Leinster is going to choose to play football or hurling for Wexford?

I've thought about this a fair bit in relation to two different incidences:
i] the particular case of Conor Nash [who really turned it around at the end of the season in Hawthorn, and now looks as if he has a good future in the AFL]; and
ii] the general case made by football [soccer] journalists about the Premier League being the ultimate in meritocracy, and the financial rewards of soccer ensuring that the selection process – of players getting to the top of the game, rather than selection by a manager – is really efficient.

Some people just prefer one sport to another. I think that there are/were Dubs footballers [Diarmuid Connolly and Stephen Cluxton spring to mind] who, had they decided to play soccer, had the ability to play for Ireland and make a professional career out of it.

Some people are really suited to one sport – like Mondo Duplantis at the pole-vault or Rickson Gracie at Jiu-Jitsu. They are just amazing at it, they have a preternatural gift. Karsten Warholm was initially an international class decathlete ... but became the greatest 400m hurdler of all time. Does that mean that all decathletes have that in them? Of course it doesn't. Does it shown that somebody can be competing in one sport at a really high level, but also be capable of competing in another sport at an even higher level?

There is an idea that is really widely subscribed to in soccer media that the rate of pay determines that they get the best athletes, that it's a complete meritocracy. While it's not a completely invalid idea, some commentators really cling to it as a principle and proof that soccer is the "best" game ... which of course is as subjective as any similar claim for any sport.

There are quite a few factors that determine how people choose the sport they participate in. Money is not necessarily the most important one.

[mildlyinterested]

https://www.leinsterrugby.ie/gorey-godf ... emi-final/

the starting the 13 and 9 in this side had the chance go far with rugby but chose to focus on GAA instead.

part of a club side who made all ireland final at u16 level only to lose in the final to bandon.

[Morf]

Not saying there are none but noticeably fewer from what I've seen.

less from Gorey anyway due to increased competition from GAA.

Are Kildare and Meath being rubbish at football for at least half a decade reflected in more club players from there?
Obviously clutching at straws to prove but seems to have correlated reasonably well.

[mildlyinterested]

Not saying there are none but noticeably fewer from what I've seen.

less from Gorey anyway due to increased competition from GAA.

Are Kildare and Meath being rubbish at football for at least half a decade reflected in more club players from there?
Obviously clutching at straws to prove but seems to have correlated reasonably well.

theres been a drop off in Meath based players in recent years which has coincided with Meath minor footballers have gotten a lot better. Kildare is a very strong county for leinster rugby.

I know that theres been a huge push in north wexford by the GAA to fight back against rugbys growth particularly in secondary schools. Local GAA clubs winning the county senior championship also wins hearts and minds, which has happened twice in recent years in the gorey area.

still it's nothing new that rugby loses top players to GAA, clubs just got to keep working away.

[joooooe]

Sounds like Fionn O'Hara is headed to the AFL.

As ever, mildlyinterested is weeks ahead of the news: https://the42.ie/5574333

[mildlyinterested]

Sounds like Fionn O'Hara is headed to the AFL.

As ever, mildlyinterested is weeks ahead of the news: https://the42.ie/5574333

disappointing to lose so much backline talent in such a short time in O'Hara, Martin and Berti.

[hugonaut]

Sounds like Fionn O'Hara is headed to the AFL.

As ever, mildlyinterested is weeks ahead of the news: https://the42.ie/5574333

disappointing to lose so much backline talent in such a short time in O'Hara, Martin and Berti.

Good interview with Karl Martin here: https://play.acast.com/s/lmfm-sunday-sp ... karlmartin

My summary of it is that he wanted to get moving and progressing with his rugby career, and a second year in the sub-Academy wasn't going to do that for him. He comes across well. Hope he works hard on his language skills and has a good experience in Montpellier.

[mildlyinterested]

As ever, mildlyinterested is weeks ahead of the news: https://the42.ie/5574333

disappointing to lose so much backline talent in such a short time in O'Hara, Martin and Berti.

Good interview with Karl Martin here: https://play.acast.com/s/lmfm-sunday-sp ... karlmartin

My summary of it is that he wanted to get moving and progressing with his rugby career, and a second year in the sub-Academy wasn't going to do that for him. He comes across well. Hope he works hard on his language skills and has a good experience in Montpellier.

yeah ive heard that before, I can't blame him he lost a large amount of development due to covid and without an academy contract he was facing another uncertain season ahead. Why Leinster allowed the him to leave is another question altogether given he was the best centre prospect in his age grade, as you said I hope he does well in Montpellier.

[berliner]

Interestingly he mentions that he had to choose between Montpellier, Clermont, and Toulon. I wonder if those clubs will be paying more attention to Irish prospects in the coming years.

Does the IRFU have any type of a structure to support Irish players overseas? I went to France at eighteen but had studied and loved the language at school, I think at that age access to advice and a friendly ear can be important. At least Montpellier is a big University city.