Any word on the Academy?

[UlsterNo9]

Conor McKee is a handy scrum half in the academy

[ljsulster]

Only 9 players in the academy at the minute,
Probably going to be a big intake this year with 6/7 players joining

This years intake will probably look something like

James mcnabney 6/8
Lorcan mcloughlin 6/8
Ross McKay 10
Rory Telfer 12/11/14
Scott Wilson 1/3
Paddy Browne 4/5/6
James Wright 9

[Bayern]

Only 9 players in the academy at the minute,
Probably going to be a big intake this year with 6/7 players joining

This years intake will probably look something like

James mcnabney 6/8
Lorcan mcloughlin 6/8
Ross McKay 10
Rory Telfer 12/11/14
Scott Wilson 1/3
Paddy Browne 4/5/6
James Wright 9

Charlie Irvine?
Cameron Doak?

[ljsulster]

Only 9 players in the academy at the minute,
Probably going to be a big intake this year with 6/7 players joining

This years intake will probably look something like

James mcnabney 6/8
Lorcan mcloughlin 6/8
Ross McKay 10
Rory Telfer 12/11/14
Scott Wilson 1/3
Paddy Browne 4/5/6
James Wright 9

Charlie Irvine?
Cameron Doak?

Doak not good enough

Would need to see Irvine at u20s next season

[Silverstu]

Shame about Finlay, thought he could get past Shanahan.

Only 9 players in the academy at the minute,
Probably going to be a big intake this year with 6/7 players joining

This years intake will probably look something like

James mcnabney 6/8
Lorcan mcloughlin 6/8
Ross McKay 10
Rory Telfer 12/11/14
Scott Wilson 1/3
Paddy Browne 4/5/6
James Wright 9

So Wilson is highly rated - how are the rest? McNabney is a big guy, a bit raw maybe with the u20s but has another year I think. Wright did well in U19/u18 with ulster? Wasn't there another 10 as well from Bangor or is he still u18? Trying to think back to the interpros last September and a few seemed to stand out but they where across different age groups.

[ljsulster]

Shame about Finlay, thought he could get past Shanahan.

Only 9 players in the academy at the minute,
Probably going to be a big intake this year with 6/7 players joining

This years intake will probably look something like

James mcnabney 6/8
Lorcan mcloughlin 6/8
Ross McKay 10
Rory Telfer 12/11/14
Scott Wilson 1/3
Paddy Browne 4/5/6
James Wright 9

So Wilson is highly rated - how are the rest? McNabney is a big guy, a bit raw maybe with the u20s but has another year I think. Wright did well in U19/u18 with ulster? Wasn't there another 10 as well from Bangor or is he still u18? Trying to think back to the interpros last September and a few seemed to stand out but they where across different age groups.

Bangor 10 Ben Gibson is a good player but will be in a fight with Tristan Ferguson of ballymena academy for the u19 shirt this summer. Two excellent players both with bright futures

[Bayern]

Shame about Finlay, thought he could get past Shanahan.

Only 9 players in the academy at the minute,
Probably going to be a big intake this year with 6/7 players joining

This years intake will probably look something like

James mcnabney 6/8
Lorcan mcloughlin 6/8
Ross McKay 10
Rory Telfer 12/11/14
Scott Wilson 1/3
Paddy Browne 4/5/6
James Wright 9

So Wilson is highly rated - how are the rest? McNabney is a big guy, a bit raw maybe with the u20s but has another year I think. Wright did well in U19/u18 with ulster? Wasn't there another 10 as well from Bangor or is he still u18? Trying to think back to the interpros last September and a few seemed to stand out but they where across different age groups.

Bangor 10 Ben Gibson is a good player but will be in a fight with Tristan Ferguson of ballymena academy for the u19 shirt this summer. Two excellent players both with bright futures

I thought Gibson was eligible for the 18s again, but could be wrong there.

[UlsterNo9]

I see Reuban Crothers beat England yesterday. Well when I say beat, hoked them out the gate and gave them a 10 point head start.

This is a very strong Ireland U20 team, its fantastic there are so many Ulster forwards involved.

[Silverstu]

Shame about Finlay, thought he could get past Shanahan.

Only 9 players in the academy at the minute,
Probably going to be a big intake this year with 6/7 players joining

This years intake will probably look something like

James mcnabney 6/8
Lorcan mcloughlin 6/8
Ross McKay 10
Rory Telfer 12/11/14
Scott Wilson 1/3
Paddy Browne 4/5/6
James Wright 9

So Wilson is highly rated - how are the rest? McNabney is a big guy, a bit raw maybe with the u20s but has another year I think. Wright did well in U19/u18 with ulster? Wasn't there another 10 as well from Bangor or is he still u18? Trying to think back to the interpros last September and a few seemed to stand out but they where across different age groups.

Bangor 10 Ben Gibson is a good player but will be in a fight with Tristan Ferguson of ballymena academy for the u19 shirt this summer. Two excellent players both with bright futures

Yes Gibson! That was the fella I was thinking of and I remember it was said at the time there was another 10 as well. Sounds promising.

Great to see the Ireland u20s hammer the English, Postlewaite looks impressive and great that Willie Falloon is part of the coaching team, bodes well for the academy.

[HammerTime]

Postlewaithe class. McCormick good. Croethers industrious. Carson average.

[kingofthehill]

Postlewaithe class. McCormick good. Croethers industrious. Carson average.

Carson was picked ahead of Postlewaite for the academy


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[StandUp]

Postlewaithe class. McCormick good. Croethers industrious. Carson average.

Carson was picked ahead of Postlewaite for the academy


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Certainly not the first time they made a balls of selection.

[rumncoke]

Problem for the u20s is they have to be better than those already under contract not just as good but better

Why those under contract have the experience not just in terms of game time but the commitment necessary .

Thus many sometimes never get the chance and others find the commitment too much or alternative opportunities become more attractive

And then there are those who get the benefit of a kick in the teeth or realise that they could get it for a private misconstrued text message It makes the prospects unattractive

[Neill_M]

IRELAND UNDER-20 Team & Replacements (v Scotland Under-20s, 2022 U-20 Six Nations Championship, Musgrave Park, Cork, Sunday, March 20, kick-off 5pm): (BBC iPlayer / Sports Website & Virgin Media Two)
15. Patrick Campbell (Young Munster RFC/Munster)
14. Aitzol King (Clontarf FC/Leinster)
13. Jude Postlethwaite (Banbridge RFC/Ulster)
12. Ben Carson (Banbridge RFC/Ulster)
11. Fionn Gibbons (UCD RFC/Leinster)
10. Charlie Tector (Lansdowne FC/Leinster)
9. Matthew Devine (Galway Corinthians RFC/Connacht)
1. Jack Boyle (UCD RFC/Leinster)
2. James McCormick (Ballymena RFC/Ulster)
3. Rory McGuire (UCD RFC/Leinster)
4. Conor O’Tighearnaigh (UCD RFC/Leinster)
5. Mark Morrissey (UCD RFC/Leinster)
6. Lorcan McLoughlin (Queen’s University Belfast RFC/Ulster)
7. Reuben Crothers (Ballynahinch RFC/Ulster) (capt)
8. James Culhane (UCD RFC/Leinster).
Replacements:
16. Josh Hanlon (Ballynahinch RFC/Ulster)
17. Oisin Michel (Lansdowne FC/Leinster)
18. Scott Wilson (Queen’s University Belfast RFC/Ulster)
19. Adam McNamee (Malone RFC/Ulster)
20. Diarmuid Mangan (UCD RFC/Leinster)
21. Ethan Coughlan (Shannon RFC/Munster)
22. Tony Butler (Garryowen FC/Munster)
23. Chay Mullins (Bristol Bears/IQ Rugby).

[UlsterNo9]

https://www.the42.ie/ben-carson-injury ... -Mar2022/

'To be told you might not be able to play the game you love again was pretty heart-wrenching'
Ben Carson feared the worst when he ruptured his spleen but now the Ireland U20 international is on the cusp of winning a grand slam.

LAST SEPTEMBER BEN Carson punctured his spleen. Suddenly all the hopes and dreams a young man possesses were taken away and replaced with one simple thought: the question of whether he’d ever be able to play again.

“It was a tough time,” he says before detailing precisely how and why. Bed ridden for a couple of weeks, he had to wait three months before he was able to run again or lift weights.

That was the easy part. The hard bit was the purgatory. Would the medics give him the green light to resume his career? Or was it over before it had really begun?

“I just didn’t know,” Carson says. One thing he was aware of, though, was an inner drive. “I didn’t give up.”

That was never an option. Playing for Ireland, that was desirable. Playing at all, that was where the boundary of his ambition was placed.

Good news came in October. Yes, he could return. Better news came in February. Someone else’s injury misfortune – Ben Brownlee’s – had opened a door. The kid whose career was nearly over was now about to take off. He landed a place in the grand slam chasing Ireland U20s side and last week had a fine game against England. This weekend it’s Scotland. Win that and the kid who feared his rugby days were numbered will be completing the emotional leap from career low to career high in the space of six months.

“Thankfully I’m here,” he says “because at the time, I was distraught. Like, everyone plays the game because they love it and to be told you might not be able to play the game you love again was pretty heart-wrenching for a while but I didn’t really think about it too much after that. I sort of had a mindset of coming back better than ever.

“So yeah, I’m very grateful to be back.”

You can see why. The way outsiders look at Irish rugby is way different to the way we look at ourselves. We tend to be critical of the many flaws our teams possess but outside these borders, there is a kind of grudging respect for the structures that have been put in place, the system that maintains Ireland’s presence as a competitive nation.

The Under 20s are always a useful gauge. If it is going well at that level, well, then there is a good chance it’ll transfer into the senior set-up. Sure enough, that’s been happening over the last six years with Ireland, James Ryan, Andrew Porter, Ronan Kelleher, Ryan Baird, Caelan Doris, Craig Casey, Nathan Doak, Jacob Stockdale, Hugo Keenan all emerging in that timeframe.

“Ever since you come into the School’s set-up, standards are drilled into you,” says Carson. “Little demands, like being able to pass off both hands, kick off both feet, especially as backs but even as forwards, those things are asked of you. They want you to be a passing threat as well as a carry threat.

“You then enter the age grade with your province and you’re told, ‘we want you to play’. This is a tough game but it is made a lot more enjoyable when (the general strategy) encourages you to express yourself. You only have to look back at the fantastic tries that we have scored in this tournament. Being creative is drilled into us from a young age and it makes it easy for us to perform on the big stage.”

Another positive factor is the culture of winning that exists. It isn’t that long ago that a losing cycle was firmly in place. Any child of the ‘90s had defeats ingrained into the psyche. That changed with Brian O’Driscoll. Right now the bad old days appear to be gone completely.

“We go into every game believing we are going to win,” Carson says. “If you think any other way, you are doing something wrong. There’s a winning culture in Irish rugby and we want to continue that legacy.”

They’re going about it the right way. Their results in this championship have been extraordinarily good, not just the comprehensive home wins over Wales and Italy but also the come-from-behind victories in France and England. “Any win over England is a good one,” says Carson.

But last week’s victory was more than good. They trailed 10-0 early on and then found a way into a match that seemed beyond them. That takes mental fortitude as well as skill.

That’s what’s so encouraging about what is happening with these young Irish sides year on year. They aren’t winning courtesy of a safety-first philosophy. They’re attacking sides from deep, trusting in their technique and their gung-ho tactics.

Come Sunday the end result could be a grand slam. For sure, Carson will welcome that but given what happened in the second minute of Ulster A’s game against Connacht last September, he knows something special has already been won this year.