Leinster Academy 2021-22

[mildlyinterested]

Some good sized backs on display yesterday for Leinster:

Ben Brownlee(Blackrock)(u20)

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Aitzol King(Balbriggan RFC-CUS/Clontarf)(u20)

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Fionn Gibbons(Castleknock/UCD)(u20)

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Daniel Hawkshaw(Belvedere)(u20)

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Callum O'Reilly(St.Michaels)(u20)

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Sam Prendergast(Newbridge)(u19)

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[Ruckedtobits]

Are all three "Frenchs" on Munster team from one family?

[mildlyinterested]

Are all three "Frenchs" on Munster team from one family?

The backs are brothers, the prop is their cousin afaik

[LeRouxIsPHat]

Leinster Dev 14 Munster 0

Well, well, well!

Come on now MI, you definitely weren't expecting that

Well done to all involved. A great turn around after last week.

of course not after recent results, happy to see them perform and get the win.

Funny, a couple of pages ago someone said that past results are no guarantee of future performance.

[mildlyinterested]

First-quarter tries from Martin Moloney and Luke Callinan – converted by out-half David Hawkshaw – were enough to give Leinster Development a 14-point victory over Munster Development at the IRFU’s High Performance Centre in Blanchardstown on Friday.

Following their recent reversal to the Connacht Eagles in the same venue, Simon Broughton’s side were hoping to bounce back with a strong performance. With Hawkshaw, Moloney and Callinan all in fine form – aside from their scoring exploits – they managed to do just that.

Munster had shown their intent during the early moments, with out-half Jack Crowley – a Triple Crown winner with the Ireland U-20s in 2020 – kicking a penalty to touch in the third minute. Yet, the Leinster defence held firm to force a turnover and subsequently establish territory in the opposing half of the field.

Like his direct opponent Crowley, Hawkshaw decided against a shot at goal on seven minutes and instead opted for a line-out deep inside the Munster 22. This proved to be a shrewd decision as Leinster secured front-foot momentum off the resulting set-piece move and Kildare native Moloney was on hand to ground underneath a slew of bodies.

Despite being at an awkward angle, Hawkshaw superbly judged a tricky wind to add the bonuses off the kicking tee. This represented an encouraging start for Leinster and they proceeded to double their lead in the 15th minute.

At the tail end of another powerful line-out maul, dynamic No 8 Callinan dotted down beyond the whitewash in clinical fashion. Another Hawkshaw two-pointer provided Leinster with additional daylight on the scoreboard, but there was still a lot of rugby left to play.

Munster were enjoying their fair share of possession with Crowley and Paddy Patterson combining well in the half-back positions. Patterson’s lung-bursting run on 24 minutes asked questions of the Leinster defence, albeit the Blues eventually averted the danger.

The leaders continued to pose an attacking threat of their own, however, with winger Callam O’Reilly jinking into the Munster half in fine style. His final pass towards centre Daniel Hawkshaw (brother of David) didn’t quite come off, but the intent was clear to see from Leinster.

Although Patterson was close to picking out Seán French off a close-range scrum on 32 minutes, the Blues brought a 14-0 buffer into the interval.



Their work out of possession was impressive throughout and they won a turnover scrum four minutes after the resumption to disrupt Munster’s attacking rhythm.

Moloney was eager to leave his imprint on this game and was perilously close to instigating a third Leinster try on 53 minutes. He carried superbly into the opposition 22, but – to their credit – Munster closed down the space and ensured they didn’t fall further behind.

Their lead remained at 14 points moving past the hour mark and with the majority of the play taking place around the middle-third of the pitch, it was to remain that way. However, they continued to search for scores while in possession and an outstanding David Hawkshaw break had them within inches of the whitewash in the closing minutes of normal time.

The Munster rearguard may have stopped them from extending their cushion, but there will be plenty for Broughton and his fellow Leinster coaches to take from a very positive performance overall.

[mildlyinterested]

nm

[mildlyinterested]

Top U20 prospects

LH Prop
Jack Boyle (St. Michael's College/UCD)
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-Temple Carrig/Old Wesley)
Barry Gray (Carlow RFC/Clontarf)

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

Lock-Blindside
Stephen Woods (St. Michaels College)
Fionn McWey (Portloaise RFC-Roscrea)
Diarmuid Mangan (Newbridge College/UCD) - u19

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

Scrumhalf
Conor Duggan (Castleknock College/MU Barnhall)
Oisin Devitt (Clongowes Wood College)
Michael Moloney (Blackrock College)

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

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

[Longtimelurker]

Simon Broughton has been appointed academy manager

[mildlyinterested]

Simon Broughton has been appointed academy manager

yeah that was expected.

[mildlyinterested]

"Jamie Osborne has been very impressive for us," says Ringrose. "He would have trained with us last year and he's obviously kicked on. He's been incredible.

"Even watching over the summer, playing the [Ireland] 20s, he's grown and is getting better. He's someone I've no doubt that will contribute to Leinster.

"Chris Cosgrave has gone away has gone away with [Ireland] Sevens, and is back. He's been incredibly impressive"

[berliner]

"Jamie Osborne has been very impressive for us," says Ringrose. "He would have trained with us last year and he's obviously kicked on. He's been incredible.

"Even watching over the summer, playing the [Ireland] 20s, he's grown and is getting better. He's someone I've no doubt that will contribute to Leinster.

"Chris Cosgrave has gone away has gone away with [Ireland] Sevens, and is back. He's been incredibly impressive"

In the same piece he was also full of praise for Liam Turner and Rob Russell.

[mildlyinterested]

unclear to me if dev games will continue now or if players will be playing AIL this weekend, anyone know?

[mildlyinterested]

good to see Max O'Reilly training today, same with Charlie Ryan whose been missing since January.

[Lock9541]

Official stats for academy players on LR website, how believable some of them are...

Prop
Marcus Hanan(21/Clane RFC/Old Belvedere) - 5'11, 110kg
Temi Lasisi(19/Enniscorthy RFC/Lansdowne) - 6'0, 115kg
Jack Boyle(18/St. Michaels/UCD) - 6'1, 105kg

Hooker
John McKee(21/Campbell/Old Belvedere) - 6'0, 105kg
Lee Barron(20/St. Michaels/DUFC) - 6'3, 108kg

Lock
Charlie Ryan(22/Blackrock/UCD) - 6'8, 115kg
Brian Deeny(21/Wexford RFC/Clontarf) - 6'7, 111kg
Joe McCarthy(20/Blackrock/DUFC) - 6'6, 119kg

Backrow
Martin Moloney(21/Athy RFC/Clontarf) - 6'1, 101kg
Sean O'Brien(21/Blackrock/UCD) - 6'3, 103kg
Mark Hernan(21/St. Michaels/Lansdowne) - 6'2, 99kg
Alex Soroka(20/Belvedere/Clontarf) - 6'5, 105kg

Scrumhalf
Cormac Foley(21/St. Gerards/Lansdowne) - 5'11, 88kg
Ben Murphy(20/Pres Bray/Old Wesley) - 5'9, 80kg

Centre
Liam Turner(22/Blackrock/DUFC) - 5'9, 90kg
Jamie Osborne(19/Naas RFC/Naas) - 6'4, 96kg

Back Three
Rob Russell(22/St. Michaels/DUFC) - 6'0, 90kg
Andrew Smith(21/St. Michaels/Clontarf) - 5'11, 93kg
Niall Comerford(21/Blackrock/UCD) - 6'0, 85kg
Max O'Reilly(21/St. Gerards/DUFC) - 5'11, 85kg
Chris Cosgrave(20/St. Michaels/UCD) - 6'0, 85kg

Liam Turner is not 5’9, he’s about 5’8 at most. All the other stats seems correct tbf

[Lock9541]

Official stats for academy players on LR website, how believable some of them are...

Prop
Marcus Hanan(21/Clane RFC/Old Belvedere) - 5'11, 110kg
Temi Lasisi(19/Enniscorthy RFC/Lansdowne) - 6'0, 115kg
Jack Boyle(18/St. Michaels/UCD) - 6'1, 105kg

Hooker
John McKee(21/Campbell/Old Belvedere) - 6'0, 105kg
Lee Barron(20/St. Michaels/DUFC) - 6'3, 108kg

Lock
Charlie Ryan(22/Blackrock/UCD) - 6'8, 115kg
Brian Deeny(21/Wexford RFC/Clontarf) - 6'7, 111kg
Joe McCarthy(20/Blackrock/DUFC) - 6'6, 119kg

Backrow
Martin Moloney(21/Athy RFC/Clontarf) - 6'1, 101kg
Sean O'Brien(21/Blackrock/UCD) - 6'3, 103kg
Mark Hernan(21/St. Michaels/Lansdowne) - 6'2, 99kg
Alex Soroka(20/Belvedere/Clontarf) - 6'5, 105kg

Scrumhalf
Cormac Foley(21/St. Gerards/Lansdowne) - 5'11, 88kg
Ben Murphy(20/Pres Bray/Old Wesley) - 5'9, 80kg

Centre
Liam Turner(22/Blackrock/DUFC) - 5'9, 90kg
Jamie Osborne(19/Naas RFC/Naas) - 6'4, 96kg

Back Three
Rob Russell(22/St. Michaels/DUFC) - 6'0, 90kg
Andrew Smith(21/St. Michaels/Clontarf) - 5'11, 93kg
Niall Comerford(21/Blackrock/UCD) - 6'0, 85kg
Max O'Reilly(21/St. Gerards/DUFC) - 5'11, 85kg
Chris Cosgrave(20/St. Michaels/UCD) - 6'0, 85kg

Andrew Smith is very heavy for a winger who’s only 5’11. Very impressive for someone his height and considering he’s a winger

[Lock9541]

Official stats for academy players on LR website, how believable some of them are...

Prop
Marcus Hanan(21/Clane RFC/Old Belvedere) - 5'11, 110kg
Temi Lasisi(19/Enniscorthy RFC/Lansdowne) - 6'0, 115kg
Jack Boyle(18/St. Michaels/UCD) - 6'1, 105kg

Hooker
John McKee(21/Campbell/Old Belvedere) - 6'0, 105kg
Lee Barron(20/St. Michaels/DUFC) - 6'3, 108kg

Lock
Charlie Ryan(22/Blackrock/UCD) - 6'8, 115kg
Brian Deeny(21/Wexford RFC/Clontarf) - 6'7, 111kg
Joe McCarthy(20/Blackrock/DUFC) - 6'6, 119kg

Backrow
Martin Moloney(21/Athy RFC/Clontarf) - 6'1, 101kg
Sean O'Brien(21/Blackrock/UCD) - 6'3, 103kg
Mark Hernan(21/St. Michaels/Lansdowne) - 6'2, 99kg
Alex Soroka(20/Belvedere/Clontarf) - 6'5, 105kg

Scrumhalf
Cormac Foley(21/St. Gerards/Lansdowne) - 5'11, 88kg
Ben Murphy(20/Pres Bray/Old Wesley) - 5'9, 80kg

Centre
Liam Turner(22/Blackrock/DUFC) - 5'9, 90kg
Jamie Osborne(19/Naas RFC/Naas) - 6'4, 96kg

Back Three
Rob Russell(22/St. Michaels/DUFC) - 6'0, 90kg
Andrew Smith(21/St. Michaels/Clontarf) - 5'11, 93kg
Niall Comerford(21/Blackrock/UCD) - 6'0, 85kg
Max O'Reilly(21/St. Gerards/DUFC) - 5'11, 85kg
Chris Cosgrave(20/St. Michaels/UCD) - 6'0, 85kg

Joe McCarthy the heaviest 2nd Row in the squad?

[mildlyinterested]

Official stats for academy players on LR website, how believable some of them are...

Prop
Marcus Hanan(21/Clane RFC/Old Belvedere) - 5'11, 110kg
Temi Lasisi(19/Enniscorthy RFC/Lansdowne) - 6'0, 115kg
Jack Boyle(18/St. Michaels/UCD) - 6'1, 105kg

Hooker
John McKee(21/Campbell/Old Belvedere) - 6'0, 105kg
Lee Barron(20/St. Michaels/DUFC) - 6'3, 108kg

Lock
Charlie Ryan(22/Blackrock/UCD) - 6'8, 115kg
Brian Deeny(21/Wexford RFC/Clontarf) - 6'7, 111kg
Joe McCarthy(20/Blackrock/DUFC) - 6'6, 119kg

Backrow
Martin Moloney(21/Athy RFC/Clontarf) - 6'1, 101kg
Sean O'Brien(21/Blackrock/UCD) - 6'3, 103kg
Mark Hernan(21/St. Michaels/Lansdowne) - 6'2, 99kg
Alex Soroka(20/Belvedere/Clontarf) - 6'5, 105kg

Scrumhalf
Cormac Foley(21/St. Gerards/Lansdowne) - 5'11, 88kg
Ben Murphy(20/Pres Bray/Old Wesley) - 5'9, 80kg

Centre
Liam Turner(22/Blackrock/DUFC) - 5'9, 90kg
Jamie Osborne(19/Naas RFC/Naas) - 6'4, 96kg

Back Three
Rob Russell(22/St. Michaels/DUFC) - 6'0, 90kg
Andrew Smith(21/St. Michaels/Clontarf) - 5'11, 93kg
Niall Comerford(21/Blackrock/UCD) - 6'0, 85kg
Max O'Reilly(21/St. Gerards/DUFC) - 5'11, 85kg
Chris Cosgrave(20/St. Michaels/UCD) - 6'0, 85kg

Joe McCarthy the heaviest 2nd Row in the squad?

Toner and Dunne are listed as heavier.

[mildlyinterested]

Official stats for academy players on LR website, how believable some of them are...

Prop
Marcus Hanan(21/Clane RFC/Old Belvedere) - 5'11, 110kg
Temi Lasisi(19/Enniscorthy RFC/Lansdowne) - 6'0, 115kg
Jack Boyle(18/St. Michaels/UCD) - 6'1, 105kg

Hooker
John McKee(21/Campbell/Old Belvedere) - 6'0, 105kg
Lee Barron(20/St. Michaels/DUFC) - 6'3, 108kg

Lock
Charlie Ryan(22/Blackrock/UCD) - 6'8, 115kg
Brian Deeny(21/Wexford RFC/Clontarf) - 6'7, 111kg
Joe McCarthy(20/Blackrock/DUFC) - 6'6, 119kg

Backrow
Martin Moloney(21/Athy RFC/Clontarf) - 6'1, 101kg
Sean O'Brien(21/Blackrock/UCD) - 6'3, 103kg
Mark Hernan(21/St. Michaels/Lansdowne) - 6'2, 99kg
Alex Soroka(20/Belvedere/Clontarf) - 6'5, 105kg

Scrumhalf
Cormac Foley(21/St. Gerards/Lansdowne) - 5'11, 88kg
Ben Murphy(20/Pres Bray/Old Wesley) - 5'9, 80kg

Centre
Liam Turner(22/Blackrock/DUFC) - 5'9, 90kg
Jamie Osborne(19/Naas RFC/Naas) - 6'4, 96kg

Back Three
Rob Russell(22/St. Michaels/DUFC) - 6'0, 90kg
Andrew Smith(21/St. Michaels/Clontarf) - 5'11, 93kg
Niall Comerford(21/Blackrock/UCD) - 6'0, 85kg
Max O'Reilly(21/St. Gerards/DUFC) - 5'11, 85kg
Chris Cosgrave(20/St. Michaels/UCD) - 6'0, 85kg

Liam Turner is not 5’9, he’s about 5’8 at most. All the other stats seems correct tbf

Ryan, Deeny and McCarthy are all look an inch shorter than listed to me, Smith and O'Reilly are taller than 5'11 too.

[mildlyinterested]

unclear to me if dev games will continue now or if players will be playing AIL this weekend, anyone know?

dev competition over for now afaik, academy players to play AIL this weekend.

[mildlyinterested]

Brendan Fanning on the academy: https://www.independent.ie/sport/rugby/ ... 01153.html

“I’m well embedded and I understand how the pathway works, the clubs that are involved also in the AIL and the product that comes out of those competitions is really, really good.”

Leinster’s new Academy manager Simon Broughton has been around the circuit between club and representative rugby for most of his adult life. So while he’s new to this particular promotion, he takes over the job having an in-depth knowledge of what works and what doesn’t in Leinster.

If you’re looking at this from a distance, you could that infer it’s the handiest gig in Irish rugby. Big is usually beautiful in a small system. Leinster are the biggest, with direct access to the best, so they are first on the catwalk. Leo Cullen put this in perspective when announcing Broughton’s appointment, and the importance of the job.

“It (the Academy) is a pathway that saw 15 players play for the Leinster Rugby senior team for the first time last season,” he said. “Those players come from our clubs and our schools. They played in the Shane Horgan Cup, in the Bank of Ireland Junior and Senior Schools Cup and had taken their first representative steps at age grade level.

“That pathway is critical to our future success and I am delighted that we have someone in the position that already has a first-hand understanding of its importance to us as a club.”

This is a remarkable stat. Even allowing for the difference between rugby and football models, where the latter dwarfs rugby financially and relies massively on that buying power, this looks like the picture-perfect example of self-sufficiency. A whole team of new lads making senior debuts having learned the Leinster way. What could possibly go wrong?

Eleven of that group were in the Academy proper while three – Tim Corkery, Marcus Hanan and Jamie Osborne – were in the Sub Academy. Prop Greg McGrath, meanwhile, managed to make his debut solely on the back of progress made with Lansdowne in clubland. The reward for that exposure was a contract with Connacht, signed over the summer.

Getting into the Leinster Academy is the goal for a raft of young lads in the schools and youths systems. Following the line that success breeds success, Leinster are lucky enough to have scores of potential professional players getting their headset switched on in their mid-teens. The more they want it, the more likely they are to be following the right road well before the destination comes into view.

On the face of it, this is ideal: no fat lads rocking up with a breakfast roll in one hand and a packet of Marlboro Lights in the other. Even if they haven’t gone to a private school where rugby is a central part of the curriculum – with a gym to reflect that – they understand the drill.

For many, however, the first signpost is the Sub Academy. Nothing illustrates better the comfort zone in which Leinster operate than this casting couch. It’s rugby’s equivalent of the zero hours contract – except, from the employer’s perspective, even better. Mostly, it’s a one-year gig where lads are part of a group committing to four gym sessions and three pitch sessions a week, either with the Sub Academy or thrown in with the full Academy, depending on the time of the season.

If you live locally, the 7am gym appointments are an inconvenience, but manageable. If you live further afield then, well, living further afield is not feasible. Maybe if you were coming to Dublin for college you could play for a club and ask them to help with accommodation. But that would be in contravention of IRFU regulations, so of course it wouldn’t happen.

In any case, why would a club want to bend the rules to help out when the lad’s playing and training load would be dictated by the entity – Leinster - who were committing the sum total of diddly squat to this pressing financial issue? Nah, that’s a fools’ game.

For those who survive and graduate to full Academy status, it’s the dream come true. For those who don’t, they have the benefit of a year or two of quality rugby tuition in their locker, and the discipline gained from seeing that out. But nothing else.

Catching up with a bunch of those will make for an interesting ‘where are they now’ piece. You’d wonder how many are even playing rugby within three seasons of failing to make the grade, never mind playing in the upper reaches of the AIL.

Then there are the late bloomers, lads who get picked up by the pros through the club game. It might be down to latent talent or an injury crisis, or a bit of both. As luck would have it, the All-Ireland League is kicking off again this weekend, the first round of games since February last year.

Given the lack of rugby across the board for the last year, the league has never looked so attractive to all four provinces with Academy lads – and others higher up the chain – needing a run.

If only the relationship between the provinces and the AIL clubs was always this close. Given his experience of coaching and playing in the competition, you’d expect Simon Broughton to know the verses of that song off by heart. Moreover, given his new status in Leinster, he’s in a position to positively affect it. Once upon a time the schools were the thorn in Leinster’s side given their focus solely on their own cup competitions.

Changing that for the better has been a plus, but Broughton will also appreciate that standing still in this business is the same as going backwards. Complacency, sameness, comfort in the system – these are all the things that should keep him awake at night in a job where it would be easy to go to sleep.