ON THE MUNSTER bench today against the Stormers [KO 5.30pm, Premier Sports] are three proud products of the clubs system in Edwin Edogbo, Ethan Coughlan, and Tony Butler.
22-year-old second row Edogbo came through Cobh Pirates RFC, while 23-year-olds Coughlan and Butler were halfback partners up through the ranks in Ennis RFC.
The three of them played together for the Munster U18 Clubs team and they were all part of Munster’s Club Select Player [CSP] programme.
The CSP initiative involves the best players in the club system coming together to play games against schools in the pre-Christmas pool stages of the Munster Schools Junior and Senior Cups.
It means that the cream of the clubs players continue to get exposed to as many high-level games as possible beyond the inter-provincial campaigns with the Munster Clubs team during the summer months.
There are three CSP teams, with an U16 side competing in the Schools Junior Cup pool stage and an U19 team taking on schools in the Senior Cup pool campaign. There’s also a U17 team who play friendlies against Munster schools or sides from other provinces.
It’s good for the clubs players’ development and means that Munster can continue to assess a wider pool of youngsters at another stage of the season as they go up against the best schools players.
“Basically, it means we can compare apples to apples or as close as possible,” says Munster’s rugby development manager Eneliko Fa’atau.
This year, the Munster CSP U16 team have won one of their three games in the Junior Cup pool stage, with one more to go. The U19 side lost their four matches against Crescent, Ardscoil Rís, Bandon, and CBC, but the experiences were invaluable.
Munster lock Conor Ryan was part of the CSP programme. Laszlo Geczo / INPHO
Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO
The U17 CSP side beat both PBC and St Munchin’s, as well as losing by just a point against CBC, and had a game against Connacht recently.
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Last season, the U16 CSP team topped their group and there have been some particularly strong sides in the five years since the programme launched.
“We definitely hold our own, depending on the year and the quality that comes through,” says Fa’atau.
“The key for us is that it’s a development tool and it’s a talent ID tool to see where our club players are at.”
Munster’s CSP sides train together once a week on a Monday evening from September, while the players continue with their regular club commitments too.
“Without the support of the clubs, this would be a dead duck, so they deserve a lot of credit,” says Fa’atau.
While the clubs around Munster are doing fantastic work, they don’t get as much time with their players as the schools. That’s among the reasons that the CSP programme was launched.
“Schools are training three, four, five times a week,” says Fa’atau. “Whereas a club player might be twice a week.
“So that’s the gap we’re trying to close by bringing these players into our programme. It’s partly about the gym life, the athletic development, the understanding of nutrition, and mental skills.”
Munster still has four Regional Development Squads across the various age-grades, meaning that even when the CSP programme finishes after the Schools Cup pool stages, club players continue to be monitored and coached.
Munster academy out-half Dylan Hicks. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
While the schools have welcomed the CSP sides into the pre-Christmas pool stages, there has been no jump into the actual Cup competitions yet. That would still be a huge leap for some of the traditionalists.
“That’s definitely been discussed, but we haven’t got there yet with it,” says Fa’atau.
“But then we’re kind of thinking about how that would impact our club teams, especially at that time of year.
“We’re really cognisant that our key stakeholder here is our clubs, and we want to try and make sure we look after them as well.
“If it’s a programme that runs that deep into the rugby season, there’ll definitely be impacts on the players’ clubs.”
Edogbo, Butler, and Coughlan are the latest poster boys for the CSP and overall clubs system – still known as the ‘youths’ system by many – but there are several other promising recent graduates.
Bantry Bay RFC product Dylan Hicks, Midleton man Eoghan Smyth, and Cobh’s Seán Edogbo – Edwin’s younger brother – are all in the Munster academy, while Clonakilty RFC product Conor Ryan is on a development contract.
The IRFU’s National Talent Squad currently includes the likes of Bruff man Jamie Walsh and Christian Foley of Abbeyfeale, who played for the CSP sides and are now kicking on further up the pathway.
It takes an army of Munster Rugby staff and volunteers to help all these promising clubs players along the way.
Those coaches and staff take pride in seeing the likes of Edogbo, Butler, and Coughlan making progress, while they’re sure there are many more like them to come.
“We’re going to find plenty of gems as long as we continue this programme,” says Fa’atau. “There are a few others coming through now.”
Players who come through the clubs system might not have as much training time as their schools counterparts, but that sometimes means they are more instinctive and less reliant on coaches giving them highly-structured plans to follow.
“Dylan Hicks is a very good example of that,” says Fa’atau.
“He plays very much on feel and instinct. Sometimes players can miss that feel or being able to turn nothing into something or see something differently to someone who’s a little bit more structured.”
The Munster CSP programme is adding a bit of polish, but they want to keep some of the edges on the gems they’re helping through the clubs game towards professional rugby.
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'We're going to find plenty of gems as long as we continue this'
ON THE MUNSTER bench today against the Stormers [KO 5.30pm, Premier Sports] are three proud products of the clubs system in Edwin Edogbo, Ethan Coughlan, and Tony Butler.
22-year-old second row Edogbo came through Cobh Pirates RFC, while 23-year-olds Coughlan and Butler were halfback partners up through the ranks in Ennis RFC.
The three of them played together for the Munster U18 Clubs team and they were all part of Munster’s Club Select Player [CSP] programme.
The CSP initiative involves the best players in the club system coming together to play games against schools in the pre-Christmas pool stages of the Munster Schools Junior and Senior Cups.
It means that the cream of the clubs players continue to get exposed to as many high-level games as possible beyond the inter-provincial campaigns with the Munster Clubs team during the summer months.
There are three CSP teams, with an U16 side competing in the Schools Junior Cup pool stage and an U19 team taking on schools in the Senior Cup pool campaign. There’s also a U17 team who play friendlies against Munster schools or sides from other provinces.
It’s good for the clubs players’ development and means that Munster can continue to assess a wider pool of youngsters at another stage of the season as they go up against the best schools players.
“Basically, it means we can compare apples to apples or as close as possible,” says Munster’s rugby development manager Eneliko Fa’atau.
This year, the Munster CSP U16 team have won one of their three games in the Junior Cup pool stage, with one more to go. The U19 side lost their four matches against Crescent, Ardscoil Rís, Bandon, and CBC, but the experiences were invaluable.
The U17 CSP side beat both PBC and St Munchin’s, as well as losing by just a point against CBC, and had a game against Connacht recently.
Last season, the U16 CSP team topped their group and there have been some particularly strong sides in the five years since the programme launched.
“We definitely hold our own, depending on the year and the quality that comes through,” says Fa’atau.
“The key for us is that it’s a development tool and it’s a talent ID tool to see where our club players are at.”
Munster’s CSP sides train together once a week on a Monday evening from September, while the players continue with their regular club commitments too.
“Without the support of the clubs, this would be a dead duck, so they deserve a lot of credit,” says Fa’atau.
While the clubs around Munster are doing fantastic work, they don’t get as much time with their players as the schools. That’s among the reasons that the CSP programme was launched.
“Schools are training three, four, five times a week,” says Fa’atau. “Whereas a club player might be twice a week.
“So that’s the gap we’re trying to close by bringing these players into our programme. It’s partly about the gym life, the athletic development, the understanding of nutrition, and mental skills.”
Munster still has four Regional Development Squads across the various age-grades, meaning that even when the CSP programme finishes after the Schools Cup pool stages, club players continue to be monitored and coached.
While the schools have welcomed the CSP sides into the pre-Christmas pool stages, there has been no jump into the actual Cup competitions yet. That would still be a huge leap for some of the traditionalists.
“That’s definitely been discussed, but we haven’t got there yet with it,” says Fa’atau.
“But then we’re kind of thinking about how that would impact our club teams, especially at that time of year.
“We’re really cognisant that our key stakeholder here is our clubs, and we want to try and make sure we look after them as well.
“If it’s a programme that runs that deep into the rugby season, there’ll definitely be impacts on the players’ clubs.”
Edogbo, Butler, and Coughlan are the latest poster boys for the CSP and overall clubs system – still known as the ‘youths’ system by many – but there are several other promising recent graduates.
Bantry Bay RFC product Dylan Hicks, Midleton man Eoghan Smyth, and Cobh’s Seán Edogbo – Edwin’s younger brother – are all in the Munster academy, while Clonakilty RFC product Conor Ryan is on a development contract.
The IRFU’s National Talent Squad currently includes the likes of Bruff man Jamie Walsh and Christian Foley of Abbeyfeale, who played for the CSP sides and are now kicking on further up the pathway.
It takes an army of Munster Rugby staff and volunteers to help all these promising clubs players along the way.
Those coaches and staff take pride in seeing the likes of Edogbo, Butler, and Coughlan making progress, while they’re sure there are many more like them to come.
“We’re going to find plenty of gems as long as we continue this programme,” says Fa’atau. “There are a few others coming through now.”
Players who come through the clubs system might not have as much training time as their schools counterparts, but that sometimes means they are more instinctive and less reliant on coaches giving them highly-structured plans to follow.
“Dylan Hicks is a very good example of that,” says Fa’atau.
“He plays very much on feel and instinct. Sometimes players can miss that feel or being able to turn nothing into something or see something differently to someone who’s a little bit more structured.”
The Munster CSP programme is adding a bit of polish, but they want to keep some of the edges on the gems they’re helping through the clubs game towards professional rugby.
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clubs CSP Munster pathway system youths