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Academy Press Release

Academy Press Release

The I.R.F.U. wish to announce the formation of 4 Provincial rugby academies under the umbrella of the National academy structure. Click Full Story for details

The I.R.F.U. wish to announce the formation of 4 Provincial rugby academies under the umbrella of the National academy structure. These new Provincial academies are an integral part of the I.R.F.U. High Performance Strategy outlined in the recently published Strategic Plan and are designed to ensure the continuance of the current levels of success enjoyed at both National and Provincial levels.

The objective of this developed process is to increase both the quantity and quality of Irish players capable of entering the professional team structures in Leinster, Munster, Ulster and Connacht.

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The Provincial academies will work in very close alignment with the professional teams and their coaches and the new process is in keeping with best International practice in the Elite Team sport area.

The contracted academy players will undertake individualised physical, technical and skill development programmes coupled with all the relevant psychological and lifestyle management modules which are an integral part of this high calibre process.

The academy programmes are designed to bring players to a consistently high level of performance and their participation in the club game and in particular the A.I.B. league is essential to that development process. The success of this new initiative will be determined by the numbers of players entering the professional ranks of an increasing competitive sporting arena.

The Chairman of the National Academy Board Mr. Patrick Whelan in introducing this new development stated, The new Provincial Academy structures places great emphasis on the individualised development of players to their maximum ability. It also places great responsibility on the Irish Provincial structures to ensure that the critical introduction and development processes at school and club level are integrated and synchronised to maximise the benefits of these new structures. Succession planning is a critical element in continued success. We believe these new academies in conjunction with our clubs/schools will deliver the levels of success we all wish to achieve in the future.

The Academy Board believes that this high quality programme will increase the number of Irish professionals capable of meeting the challenges at Celtic European and International level in the years ahead.