As the 2017/18 season draws to a close, Abbey Insurance Ulster Rugby Academy Manager Kieran Campbell reflects on some of the significant successes over the past season and looks ahead to what is in store for next year...
“All things considered, it has been a pretty good year for the Academy”, says Campbell. “We had eight Academy players feature for the senior squad throughout the year, seven of whom made their senior debuts. Within that, we had Nick Timoney who made 20 appearances and was one of the key figures throughout the year. In addition, six of those eight are forwards which is really satisfying in itself as it is key that we are developing home grown forwards to play for Ulster in the future.”
“We also had another good year with the Ulster A team in the British & Irish Cup, which is the main testing ground for the Academy players who are aiming to break into the senior squad. We won five of our six pool stages games but just came up short away to Bedford in the quarter-finals. Although there is that overhanging disappointment of losing at that stage, those younger guys got an opportunity to play in front of a pretty hostile crowd, in a pressurised situation against a good quality Championship side. They didn’t come up short of winning due to work ethic or lack of passion, they just came up short in terms of having a bit more composure in the critical stages of the game, but that will come with experience. The campaign was another great growth opportunity for these players and I think that was recognised in the senior team selections towards the end of the season with the likes of Tom O’Toole and Angus Curtis.”
“Further down the pathway we are continuing to achieve unprecedented success in terms of the number of players earning national age-grade jerseys – 32 in total this season which is a 76% increase over the past six years. Within that, we also had the captain of the Irish U18 and U19 teams so it is encouraging that we are developing leaders. It is also worth mentioning that Ulster players occupy 36% of the places on the NTS (National Training Squad) programme, which is a group of players who are selected by the IRFU as being of the requisite quality to Ireland.”
“Our U18 Schools team won the Inter-provincial Schools series for the first time in twelve years which was one of the highlights of the year and was a noteworthy acknowledgement of the quality of schools’ rugby right across the Province with no less than 17 different schools represented on the squad. While schools’ rugby continues to be the most popular avenue into the Academy, last year five of the 20 contracted Academy players joined us via the club youth game which is more than ever before and an indicator of the various entry points into our system.”
“In terms of next year, the first thing is that we’ve got to sustain and build on the level of quality that we’ve brought through this year. My big hope for the Academy is that the programme is again producing another cycle of players who have the level of quality to keep creating a depth for Ulster Rugby - not only a depth but a level of competition which keeps pushing boys to be better and ensures that the guys above reach their potential too. That’s the biggest driver at the moment, we don’t want to just have one year of good players coming through. Next year has to be as good, if not better, than this year. It’s going to take another significant improvement and drive within the programme as we begin again for the new summer intake but we’re on our way to delivering that.”
“All things considered, it has been a pretty good year for the Academy”, says Campbell. “We had eight Academy players feature for the senior squad throughout the year, seven of whom made their senior debuts. Within that, we had Nick Timoney who made 20 appearances and was one of the key figures throughout the year. In addition, six of those eight are forwards which is really satisfying in itself as it is key that we are developing home grown forwards to play for Ulster in the future.”
“We also had another good year with the Ulster A team in the British & Irish Cup, which is the main testing ground for the Academy players who are aiming to break into the senior squad. We won five of our six pool stages games but just came up short away to Bedford in the quarter-finals. Although there is that overhanging disappointment of losing at that stage, those younger guys got an opportunity to play in front of a pretty hostile crowd, in a pressurised situation against a good quality Championship side. They didn’t come up short of winning due to work ethic or lack of passion, they just came up short in terms of having a bit more composure in the critical stages of the game, but that will come with experience. The campaign was another great growth opportunity for these players and I think that was recognised in the senior team selections towards the end of the season with the likes of Tom O’Toole and Angus Curtis.”
“Further down the pathway we are continuing to achieve unprecedented success in terms of the number of players earning national age-grade jerseys – 32 in total this season which is a 76% increase over the past six years. Within that, we also had the captain of the Irish U18 and U19 teams so it is encouraging that we are developing leaders. It is also worth mentioning that Ulster players occupy 36% of the places on the NTS (National Training Squad) programme, which is a group of players who are selected by the IRFU as being of the requisite quality to Ireland.”
“Our U18 Schools team won the Inter-provincial Schools series for the first time in twelve years which was one of the highlights of the year and was a noteworthy acknowledgement of the quality of schools’ rugby right across the Province with no less than 17 different schools represented on the squad. While schools’ rugby continues to be the most popular avenue into the Academy, last year five of the 20 contracted Academy players joined us via the club youth game which is more than ever before and an indicator of the various entry points into our system.”
“In terms of next year, the first thing is that we’ve got to sustain and build on the level of quality that we’ve brought through this year. My big hope for the Academy is that the programme is again producing another cycle of players who have the level of quality to keep creating a depth for Ulster Rugby - not only a depth but a level of competition which keeps pushing boys to be better and ensures that the guys above reach their potential too. That’s the biggest driver at the moment, we don’t want to just have one year of good players coming through. Next year has to be as good, if not better, than this year. It’s going to take another significant improvement and drive within the programme as we begin again for the new summer intake but we’re on our way to delivering that.”
Here are some of the key stats from the Abbey Insurance Ulster Rugby Academy for the past year ?
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