The initial pilot which took place before COVID has subsequently been built on and adapted by Ulster Rugby to educate and broaden their network of talent spotters and enhance their ability to monitor a larger cohort of talented players within the Ulster clubs and schools system.
The project in Ulster is led by Michael Black (Ulster Rugby Provincial Talent Coach) and Jonny Graham (Ulster Rugby Provincial Pathway Coach) and has already borne fruit with players flagged and scouted from the programme having already pulled on an underage Ulster Rugby representative jersey.
The IRFU Talent ID Programme in Ulster has only been fully operational in for 18 months with the pilot predominantly focused on schools as an initial starting point.
10 players were identified and included in the U17 summer programme and at U18 Level Alexander Brennan (Campbell College), Josh Gibson (RBAI) and Callum Bradley (Dromore High School) came through the new TID process. All three featured for Ulster in the U18 Interprovincial Championships this year.