Any word on the Academy?

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UlsterNo9
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Re: Any word on the Academy?

Post by UlsterNo9 »

I wonder if he is on a IRFU 7s contract therefore costing Ulster branch nothing.

Not that his salary would be much.

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rumncoke
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Re: Any word on the Academy?

Post by rumncoke »

watched some of highlights on Youtube he looks more like a back row than a second row to be honest ( if he can tackle the one thing not highlighted on the available footage ???)

He has a lot of filling out to do in my opinion to be a second row ( tall thin and reasonably fast )
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volvo
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Re: Any word on the Academy?

Post by volvo »

Big Willie Anderson retiring from coaching Academy and A team at the end of the month.

Great character and will be missed,hope a lot of the young lads coming through now can be as passionate about Ulster Rugby as Willie was.

Hope he has a long and happy retirement.

Thanks Willie
Bayern
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Re: Any word on the Academy?

Post by Bayern »

Kieran Campbell
“Reuben Crothers is an out-and-out seven; an excellent tackler and superb at turning opposition ball over. He’s a hard-working seven who is extremely dedicated to his team and one thing that is very strong in his makeup is his leadership. He was captain at Wallace High School and he also skippered Ulster U18 Schools and U19s a year early. He brings a really high work ethic and will bring real leadership qualities too.
“Ben Carson is a big, physical centre. He is a very well-rounded player who carries the ball well, but has a good passing game and is an effective kicker with his left foot. He brings a physical profile but also a good skillset to his position and into our Academy.
“Nathan Doak’s acceleration speaks for itself. He has played a year already at Celtic Cup level as part of the Ulster A team, which reached the Celtic Cup final. Nathan is an exceptionally good reader of the game. His game understanding is excellent for such a young boy, and he comes with an excellent pass and his kicking game is strong. Another addition to Nathan’s game is that he’s such a strong goal-kicker as well."
“Ethan McIlroy is a different type of player. He’s a little bit of a maverick; I don’t know if anyone saw what he produced against England U20s in the Six Nations, throwing a ball out the back of his hand for Hayden Hyde to score. It’s one of those moments as a coach when your heart is in your mouth but he’s a highly talented rugby player. In his back three position, he’s strong aerially and carries the ball really well considering he isn’t at the physical potential he can be yet. He’s come out of a strong schools’ system in Methody with Nicky Wells, and the skills Ethan brings as a real game-breaking player are pretty exciting.”
“James McCormick has captained our Ulster U18 Schools and is a real credit to Dalriada, which is a good school and run an excellent programme; they have done an exceptional job with him. He is a good scrummaging hooker with the potential to be very good. His throwing is very accurate and for a young guy, he’s really tough and dynamic. We’re excited about James; he is another one who has a special leadership quality reflected in how he owns his own development and he always striving to get better. He is a quiet, unassuming guy but there is a real toughness to him.”
“Lewis Finlay, I can’t speak highly enough of. He is one of the players who invested in our sub-Academy for the last 18 months and his dedication is second-to-none. His acceleration in his own development and the ownership he has taken of it demonstrates that he is a real leader; he was in the leadership group in the Ireland U20s team. What Lewis brings is tempo, he has got an excellent pass, is extremely fit and quick between breakdowns. He also possesses the ability to break the line, but I think the real growth in him – and it has been totally down to him and his dedication to what he does – is his game understanding. He has been really good at delivering tactically for the team. We are fortunate with him and Nathan and Conor McKee in our sub-Academy, as we have three really good nines who are going to be battling hard. It’s great to see a home-grown set of nines waiting to get into that senior squad and hopefully nail down a permanent position.”
“Cormac Izuchukwu or “Izzy” as he likes to be called is coming in and we have had support from Operations Director, Bryn Cunningham, and our senior coaches with that recruitment. He has come in as part of our succession planning to compete with two local players in our sub-Academy, Matthew Sands and Cormac McMenamin. There will be a healthy competition now to push those guys on and Izzy will be a welcome addition with his athletic profile. It’s well documented now, but he’s 6’ 7” and extremely quick coming out of the Sevens programme.

“I’ve worked with Izzy in the Irish U20s and Sevens and there’s no doubt he is a gifted athlete. He is a really good person too. We need to hone that raw ability and there are areas he is working very hard on in lockdown at the moment, such as lineout calling which I commend him for. He is working exceptionally hard with our coaches, Michael Black and Jonny Graham, on that at the moment and he has taken ownership of that himself. Once we combine that athleticism with positional role delivery, he is going to be a really strong acquisition for us."
Silverstu
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Re: Any word on the Academy?

Post by Silverstu »

All sounds good - hadn't realised Crothers was seen as a specialist 7, hope he can stay fit.
Good to hear that about Finlay as well, Doak is obviously a serious talent but really we need to bring through 2 from Doak, Finlay and McKee . Good to hear them emphasising the importance of sub academy as well- its a bit of unknown quantity in terms of admissions.

I wonder who will replaceWillie Anderson in the academy set up.
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Loki
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Re: Any word on the Academy?

Post by Loki »

Cheers for those quotes Bayern - really interesting. Sounds as though Finlay v Doak could be fascinating going forward; Bernard Jackman had a good line on the 42 recently about boys who, having not been stars at under-age, benefited from going under the radar in the bigger professional environment - keeping learning, staying grounded and so on. Sounds as though Finlay's mindset is top notch.

Info on Crothers sounds very promising.
rumncoke
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Re: Any word on the Academy?

Post by rumncoke »

Finlay unfortunately has the look of second stream a bit like beagle .
Doak is the more robust of the two and the truth is if your small you need to be extra special and while Finlay has a consistent pass I ‘m not sure it has the length of Springers or Ruans to be first name on the team sheet.

Like Lowry in any physical hit he’ll come out second best
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Loki
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Re: Any word on the Academy?

Post by Loki »

Fair point. I don't doubt that Doak is in the lead (possibly by some degree given the chat surrounding him) - but as Stu says it'd be great to get Doak +1 through in that position!
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kingofthehill
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Re: Any word on the Academy?

Post by kingofthehill »

For anyone who is interested about why I go on about Rhys O’Donnell.

https://t.co/eF5TQBFZch?ssr=true
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Bayern
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Re: Any word on the Academy?

Post by Bayern »

:lol: how isn't he involved with Ulster
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thecrouch
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Re: Any word on the Academy?

Post by thecrouch »

Bayern wrote: Fri Jun 26, 2020 10:29 am :lol: how isn't he involved with Ulster
I think this is the question we've all been asking for a few years now.
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rumncoke
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Re: Any word on the Academy?

Post by rumncoke »

Basically the answer is in the clip .
Professional rugby is playing to a script he plays like Wee Pea it’s wonderful when it comes good when it goes wrong it’s a Brainfart .

Too individualistic.
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kingofthehill
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Re: Any word on the Academy?

Post by kingofthehill »

rumncoke wrote: Fri Jun 26, 2020 11:06 am Basically the answer is in the clip .
Professional rugby is playing to a script he plays like Wee Pea it’s wonderful when it comes good when it goes wrong it’s a Brainfart .

Too individualistic.

You watched him lots Rum?
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Lurgan Lad
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Re: Any word on the Academy?

Post by Lurgan Lad »

That is pretty impressive I have to say, not easy caught and a constant threat with ball in hand eases it for those outside him.
Bobbievee
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Re: Any word on the Academy?

Post by Bobbievee »

Even watching it for a second time, I was still buying some of those dummy passes!
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