Sean O'Brien to retire at the end of the season

[Flash Gordon]

A teacher employed by the school has to be in charge, nominally at least, for safeguarding reasons

It's very nominal in my experience. Coaches do all the actual coaching work, with my kids there was a teacher doing strength and conditioning but he happened to be one of the leading experts in the province in that field.

[mildlyinterested]

some of the non-schools players in the sub-academy:

George Hadden(Gorey RFC/Prop)
Ronan Foxe(Tullamore RFC/Prop)
Adam Daey(Tullow RFC/Prop)
James Doyle(Enniscorthy RFC/Lock-Backrow)
Luke O'Connor(Wexford RFC/Lock-Backrow)
Josh O'Hare(Dundalk RFC/Backrow)
Oscar Cawley(Naas RFC/Scrumhalf)
Andrew Osborne(Naas RFC/Back Three)

[paddyor]

Really really good conversation with Seanie and Berch on the42 podcast live from Tullow. Well worth a listen to the full thing if you're a subscriber.

Here's a 10 min free clip -

https://soundcloud.com/user-200743868/r ... ing-career

One of the things I found very interesting is that all of him, Leo and Stu are all in the office each morning before 6AM with the first meeting kicking off at 9AM.

The amount of effort and planning that goes in behind the scenes to making the side the best it can be is incredible.

He also said that Leinster are now actively trying to bring in guys who may not have an orthodox schools background but are athletically gifted.

Some funny stories around Xmas parties and training ground rows too.

Also mentioned how quiet and shy about speaking in a group some of the schools academy guys are and how guys from the youths background tend to talk more. That's very interesting as it's something Lancaster has hinted at too.

Thats not what he said. He said a lot of the lads were very quiet when the 22 internationals were about and only found their voice when they were away. Like Scott Penny was leading training sessions for the first time. He also said that it was widespread around other teams(he asked around) including LI where he had just been. Like it's not unique to Leinster.

He came across very well I thought. Those comments were in relation to his role as a coach trying to get the most out of players. He had some interesting stuff to say about his injuries and how he tried to gain from them.

[wixfjord]

Really really good conversation with Seanie and Berch on the42 podcast live from Tullow. Well worth a listen to the full thing if you're a subscriber.

Here's a 10 min free clip -

https://soundcloud.com/user-200743868/r ... ing-career

One of the things I found very interesting is that all of him, Leo and Stu are all in the office each morning before 6AM with the first meeting kicking off at 9AM.

The amount of effort and planning that goes in behind the scenes to making the side the best it can be is incredible.

He also said that Leinster are now actively trying to bring in guys who may not have an orthodox schools background but are athletically gifted.

Some funny stories around Xmas parties and training ground rows too.

Also mentioned how quiet and shy about speaking in a group some of the schools academy guys are and how guys from the youths background tend to talk more. That's very interesting as it's something Lancaster has hinted at too.

Thats not what he said. He said a lot of the lads were very quiet when the 22 internationals were about and only found their voice when they were away. Like Scott Penny was leading training sessions for the first time. He also said that it was widespread around other teams(he asked around) including LI where he had just been. Like it's not unique to Leinster.

He came across very well I thought. Those comments were in relation to his role as a coach trying to get the most out of players. He had some interesting stuff to say about his injuries and how he tried to gain from them.

You missed the relevant part.

He answers a question from Murray K on 5 minutes about youth players coming through and whether that was a big hurdle for him at the time.

At the end of the answer, after talking about the club and youths players coming through, he says:

'If those lads are in the system from a young age, the Tullow or Naas or Gorey fella, they'll work hard to try and make it. That's the attitude.

We trained in Enniscorthy and Wexford with Leinster today. Stu said to me afterwards and asked 'how do we get more of these lads talking, you were able to talk, Brian Deeney is a Wexford fella, he is too'.

I said 'that's the culture you're brought in. When you're in a club like Tullow or Wexford you get used to lads telling lies every week so you have to talk back and tell a few yourself. There's definitely that element of being comfortable with talking and speaking. It's very different that I see with some of the academy lads coming through not having when they're in front of you. It is different and it's getting better and there is more youth players are coming through and we're finding those nuggets now. It's great Leinster are made that effort but the schools still dominate''

[hugonaut]

I said 'that's the culture you're brought in. When you're in a club like Tullow or Wexford you get used to lads telling lies every week so you have to talk back and tell a few yourself. There's definitely that element of being comfortable with talking and speaking. It's very different that I see with some of the academy lads coming through not having when they're in front of you.

That's a funny and telling comment.

I was thinking about this thread the other day. 20-ish years ago, the lads who were were going from schoolboy legends into the first generation of pros were all BFDs. It was part of the package. Loads of socialising, loads of late nights, loads of drinking. To paraphrase Ross O'Carroll Kelly, "I'm talking Darce, I'm talking Drico, I'm talking Dillon etc."

Not to labour the point, but Paul Howard started writing the Ross O'Carroll Kelly character exactly at that stage. He wasn't making this stuff up out of thin air. The young Leinster lads at that stage would have been very confident and voluble ... but have nothing to say. Going out and drinking and getting in scrapes and talking a load of sh*te was the absolute norm for rugby players aged 17-25. You got loads of practice talking. As Seanie says about the club lads, it was the culture at the time.

[paddyor]

Really really good conversation with Seanie and Berch on the42 podcast live from Tullow. Well worth a listen to the full thing if you're a subscriber.

Here's a 10 min free clip -

https://soundcloud.com/user-200743868/r ... ing-career

One of the things I found very interesting is that all of him, Leo and Stu are all in the office each morning before 6AM with the first meeting kicking off at 9AM.

The amount of effort and planning that goes in behind the scenes to making the side the best it can be is incredible.

He also said that Leinster are now actively trying to bring in guys who may not have an orthodox schools background but are athletically gifted.

Some funny stories around Xmas parties and training ground rows too.

Also mentioned how quiet and shy about speaking in a group some of the schools academy guys are and how guys from the youths background tend to talk more. That's very interesting as it's something Lancaster has hinted at too.

Thats not what he said. He said a lot of the lads were very quiet when the 22 internationals were about and only found their voice when they were away. Like Scott Penny was leading training sessions for the first time. He also said that it was widespread around other teams(he asked around) including LI where he had just been. Like it's not unique to Leinster.

He came across very well I thought. Those comments were in relation to his role as a coach trying to get the most out of players. He had some interesting stuff to say about his injuries and how he tried to gain from them.

You missed the relevant part.

He answers a question from Murray K on 5 minutes about youth players coming through and whether that was a big hurdle for him at the time.

At the end of the answer, after talking about the club and youths players coming through, he says:

'If those lads are in the system from a young age, the Tullow or Naas or Gorey fella, they'll work hard to try and make it. That's the attitude.

We trained in Enniscorthy and Wexford with Leinster today. Stu said to me afterwards and asked 'how do we get more of these lads talking, you were able to talk, Brian Deeney is a Wexford fella, he is too'.

I said 'that's the culture you're brought in. When you're in a club like Tullow or Wexford you get used to lads telling lies every week so you have to talk back and tell a few yourself. There's definitely that element of being comfortable with talking and speaking. It's very different that I see with some of the academy lads coming through not having when they're in front of you. It is different and it's getting better and there is more youth players are coming through and we're finding those nuggets now. It's great Leinster are made that effort but the schools still dominate''

I heard that. The interview was a bit more than 5+ minutes. He looped around to it after about an hour after touching on a few things:
Banned from captaining Ireland over dirty dancing
Drico and shaggy tearing stripes off each other
How he managed to improve himself from his injuries
How farming was central to his identity
Birch chipped in a few stories about Kilkenny and Stan wright

He wasn’t rambling. He’s fairly deliberate(meeting Enda mcnulty and sketching out a plan on a whiteboard). He wouldn’t be where he is if he wasn’t.

I don’t think I disagree with you that much. I just think this interview had 2 audiences and we’re not the main one.

And he did say it wasn’t just a Leinster thing. I think this is him and stu trying to shift the culture to a more old school clubby vibe.