Firstly Gavin, can you provide an update on the season so far in the Ulster Rugby Academy?
It has been a really exciting time for me personally. Starting my role in June last year, it has taken a little bit of time to get up to speed and understand the various aspects of how the pathway operates. It has also taken a some time to develop relationships with the staff and players from our Regional Development Squads right through to who we have at Academy level. Over the last 6-9 months, we’ve seen lots of change with regards to new initiatives within our programmes – our National Talent Squad (NTS), Provincial Talent Squad (PTS) and Regional Development Squad (RDS) programmes. We have had the addition of new staff roles across a number of departments such as Athletic Development and Medical. It’s been fantastic to get to know those staff members, give them time to settle in, and hopefully it makes for a really exciting period ahead of us starting to see them blossom and influence change to develop the areas of work they’re responsible for. It’s been a fantastic 6-8 months.
There have been challenges around some of the \[COVID\] restrictions and how the Academy operates across two sites at Kingspan Stadium and Newforge, as well as for our provincial and regional sides. At times, that has made things difficult in terms of how we can move staff and players between each of those areas.
It’s been great to see each of the areas of the pathway in full operation and we’re starting to see some of the benefits of the hard work that Kieran \[Campbell – previous Head of Ulster Rugby Academy\] had put in place over the last number of years, particularly around our NTS programme. We’re seeing some of those guys gain international recognition at Under-20s, for example.
This year we saw five new entrants to the Ulster Rugby Academy - James Humphreys, Conor McKee, Jude Postlethwaite, George Saunderson and Harry Sheridan – how have those players been progressing in their first year?
The important thing to recognise is when you’re working with a young player, they’re individuals and each have their own strengths and areas where they need support. For us staff, it’s been fantastic to get to know them around where they are in their development at the moment, and put a plan in place on what the next 12-24 months are going to look like for each of those players to move towards the Senior squad. The exciting bit for us is to understand each of them are at different stages of their development; they have embraced coming into the Academy and the responsibility that brings. It’s a real opportunity that they have all grasped individually. It’s important that we put the mechanisms in place to support them to make the most of the opportunity.
Jude Postlethwaite has recently signed a Development contract for next year, followed by a 3-year Senior contract, and Ben Moxham has also upgraded to a Development contract this season, followed by a Senior deal next year. They must have really impressed the senior coaching team?
Absolutely. We as staff are delighted for both boys and everyone should take a sense of pride in playing their part to support both Jude and Ben. What stood out for me when both guys undertook their interviews, it was fantastic to see them refer to some of the individuals they felt supported them – not only at Academy level but in previous years through the pathway – and the work the clubs’ and schools’ coaches and staff working at various stages within their development to help them get where they are now.
The other thing to note that was really positive was that the journeys Jude and Ben took weren’t linear; they both had personal set-backs in their pathways, so it was great to see the determination, commitment and resilience they showed to overcome those and come out the other side. I know both boys have made a fantastic impression with the Senior staff and players. It’s a real recognition of the attributes they have and the behaviours that have enabled them to make the jump into Senior rugby.
Can you tell us a little about how you work with the Senior coaching team, as the Academy players train with the senior team, so it must be a close relationship with the Senior setup?
It’s something that started just before my time during that period of COVID when the Academy were integrated within the Senior schedule. That has become very ingrained and fluid since then. It’s great for the Academy players to be stretched and challenged within that Senior environment. Not only the opportunity to play alongside Senior players but also getting support from the Senior coaches has been fantastic for their development. You can see our young Academy players are training alongside the Senior players and getting feedback from the Senior coaches. That is all aligned in terms of getting those players in a position where they can progress and become important players in the Senior squad moving forward.
That relationship is fantastic. On a personal level, it’s great to have the sharing of knowledge with the Senior coaches and getting that alignment with the terminology and technical or tactical information we want to share up and down the pathway is really important. It not only develops the Academy players but also the players coming through over the next two to three years as well.
There are eight players from Ulster involved in the Irish Under-20s Six Nations squad, how pleased are you to see that contingent representing their country?
We’re delighted with the Under-20s representation from Ulster. This is a reflection of the strength of our NTS programme, and the support those players received over the last season and the last few years.
What really pleased us as a staff team was the late entrance into the pathway for Scott Wilson and Josh Hanlon. Those two players came into our pathway in the last 12 months. It shows the value of our Talent ID to flag players at different stages, but also the work the clubs and schools are doing to develop those players. It’s a really encouraging message for some young players out there; if you don’t make it into the pathway at U16 or U17, there are still opportunities to come in at a later date. Scott and Josh have really grasped those opportunities and it’s been great to see them gain caps at Under-20 level.
How important has club rugby been for this young group of players this season, particularly during COVID?
It’s been massively important. When you look back over the last 12-18 months in terms of playing opportunities, it’s been very limited for players. For part of the Academy, over the past 12-18 months, some players maybe only played 5-6 games. That has a big impact on their development, so to see them play regularly on a Saturday at a really competitive level has been fantastic. For us, it provides a fantastic balance between the stress and challenge they get training alongside the Senior players and going out on a Saturday to put those things into practice on a consistent basis. We’re grateful to the clubs for the difficult balance they have struck to have individual plans for each of the players and working alongside us has helped develop those players. Hopefully that will start to reap the rewards over the next 6-12 months.
Schools’ rugby has played a major part in these players’ development to reach this point – how do you work with the schools to support players who may have opportunities going forward?
One thing we have tried to improve on this year is our connection and alignment with the work the Rugby Development department does – Chris Webster \[Head of Rugby Development\] and Budge Pountney \[Rugby Development Manager\] do a lot of brilliant work around coach education and development to overlap with what we’re trying to do. We have introduced a couple of additional roles with new pathway coaches. We have two designated staff members now – Ricky Andrew and Daryl Maxwell who are responsible for supporting players who exist in the pathway within their own environments, whether that is club or school. They are there to provide those connections and get out to support coaches and players in the school and club programmes. That is in its infancy at the moment and I think it’s something we’re starting to see huge positives from. It’s an area we want to continue to improve on over the next few years.
Finally, what are the plans for the Ulster Rugby Academy for the rest of the season?
There are two or three things in the imminent pipeline. The first one is that we’ve had lots of new developments within the pathway over the course of the season, so it’s important we take time at the end of this season to review what impact those changes have had and make alterations as needed. As part of that, we have the opportunity to mould as a staff team to work towards a busy summer programme. We will bring our Age-Grade squads in from U16 to U19 to train at Newforge and other venues across the province. It’s a chance to give the best opportunity for all of those players to develop and perform in a white Ulster jersey against the other provinces in the Inter-Pros at the end of August.
In the Academy, it’s an exciting time as we start to look at who will be the new intakes next season. We’re having those conversations with Peter Smyth \[Head of Elite Player Development\] at the IRFU around players we want to bring in as Year 1 entrants next year and how we support them on their journey. When you look at where Jude and Ben are at and how they’ve progressed, we have the next cohort coming in and you get excited about supporting those guys as well. Hopefully Jude and Ben’s stories will motivate the players who do come into the Academy to go on and become professional players.