Munster 2017 -2018

[ronk]

http://www.the42.ie/cork-schoolboys-pau ... 1-Jun2018/

And so it is

[dropkick]

Cork people talk about it being a hurling county, but its not. Its football. Very few hurling All Irelands won by Cork.

Cork have won 30 Senior Hurling All Ireland titles, surpassed only by KiIkenny.

Communicated that back to front, 30 hurling and 7 football. Very few football All Irelands for a county that see's itself as a football powerhouse.

It doesn't. Hurling is king and football is a distant second in the eyes of GAA people in cork. In fact some GAA people don't like football at all.

[dropkick]

http://www.the42.ie/cork-schoolboys-pau ... 1-Jun2018/

And so it is

Pau signing Barrett makes for a nice headline.

[ronk]

http://www.the42.ie/cork-schoolboys-pau ... 1-Jun2018/

And so it is

Pau signing Barrett makes for a nice headline.

Why would these guys try Munster. They signed SA kids to the academy, they tossed a load of academy players, they signed players so aggressively its's hard to break into the squad based on almost zero opportunities.

[LeRouxIsPHat]

The article says they missed out on academy places with Munster.

[ronk]

The article says they missed out on academy places with Munster.

Out of school, which isnt the same thing.

[LeRouxIsPHat]

Point is that it doesn't sound like they turned Munster down.

[fourthirtythree]

No, Munster turned them down. Apparently they are targeting quality not quantity. Given that they turfed a bunch out that would make sense.

Maybe it's a hard reset getting their house in order? Or maybe they'll be asking Daddy to buy them new toys on his trip abroad in a few years time when they don't have academy graduates to fill their squad.

[hugonaut]

No, Munster turned them down. Apparently they are targeting quality not quantity. Given that they turfed a bunch out that would make sense.

Maybe it's a hard reset getting their house in order? Or maybe they'll be asking Daddy to buy them new toys on his trip abroad in a few years time when they don't have academy graduates to fill their squad.

Munster are allowed run their academy whatever way they want to. Given that it hasn't been very productive in the past, I think it makes a degree of sense to radically alter how it works, how they bring players into their system and progress them through to the professional ranks.

The only part I disagree with is taking in SA teenagers straight from school, which I strongly disagree with.

[ronk]

Hiring a bunch of kids and turfing them out so soon is one of the worst things they could have done. They threw out everything they had ever said about preparing players for a life after rugby. It was all a lie.

I dont know how talented they are but I dont blame them for not wanting to try for the academy in a year. If they do well Munster will trample over the guys who made the Academy to bring them back.

[hugonaut]

Hiring a bunch of kids and turfing them out so soon is one of the worst things they could have done. They threw out everything they had ever said about preparing players for a life after rugby. It was all a lie.

I dont know how talented they are but I dont blame them for not wanting to try for the academy in a year. If they do well Munster will trample over the guys who made the Academy to bring them back.

Bit over the top for my tastes Ronk.

Academy deals are on a year-by-year basis these days. Nucifora wanted it a number of years ago, and it was brought in officially when the stipend went from €4k p.a. to €8k p.a. Munster are exercising that option on more players than usual this season, because they want to try a different approach with their academy.

The majority of youngsters go through the three years, but some don't - see Harry Brewer and David O'Connor. They were both let go by the Academy before the typical three-year term. McNulty probably would have got the chop earlier this year if Richardt hadn't been injured.

It's obviously really tough to have somebody else pull down the shutters on a deep-seated ambition, and on the occasions I think about it, I feel sympathy for the guys involved. But I also feel sympathy for guys like Ian Fitzpatrick and Billy Dardis who both went through four years in the Academy and were then released without playing a game. What's better? Being given the flick early or being spun along? Death by guillotine or a thousand cuts?

[FLIP]

Better to have loved and lost rather than be cleared out because your job has been outsourced to South Africans

[tomthefan]

It's a great opportunity for young lads South African or Irish to experience life in another country.

[tomthefan]

[Communicated that back to front, 30 hurling and 7 football. Very few football All Irelands for a county that see's itself as a football powerhouse.

It doesn't. Hurling is king and football is a distant second in the eyes of GAA people in cork. In fact some GAA people don't like football at all.

+1
Apart from one club in the city, football is mostly played in the sparsely populated west of the county

[ronk]

Hiring a bunch of kids and turfing them out so soon is one of the worst things they could have done. They threw out everything they had ever said about preparing players for a life after rugby. It was all a lie.

I dont know how talented they are but I dont blame them for not wanting to try for the academy in a year. If they do well Munster will trample over the guys who made the Academy to bring them back.

Bit over the top for my tastes Ronk.

Academy deals are on a year-by-year basis these days. Nucifora wanted it a number of years ago, and it was brought in officially when the stipend went from €4k p.a. to €8k p.a. Munster are exercising that option on more players than usual this season, because they want to try a different approach with their academy.

The majority of youngsters go through the three years, but some don't - see Harry Brewer and David O'Connor. They were both let go by the Academy before the typical three-year term. McNulty probably would have got the chop earlier this year if Richardt hadn't been injured.

It's obviously really tough to have somebody else pull down the shutters on a deep-seated ambition, and on the occasions I think about it, I feel sympathy for the guys involved. But I also feel sympathy for guys like Ian Fitzpatrick and Billy Dardis who both went through four years in the Academy and were then released without playing a game. What's better? Being given the flick early or being spun along? Death by guillotine or a thousand cuts?

Academies are competitive it’s understood that not everyone makes it to the end or gets a career. There are plenty of success stories. A lot of ex-Leinster guys got pro careers, even if they were elsewhere. When kids make a commitment, they deserve a crack. Even the guys who graduated but never got capped, we’ll they got a shot at A level/training.

Academies are fragile because their senior players have 2 years more experience, but they can also take a while to establish. Munster have done 5 things that must be very discouraging for hopefuls.

They have consistently recruited ahead of academy talent
They torched an intake class
They’ve primarily hired and tried to hire projects and exiles
The combined training venue is tougher on the Cork lads
They recruited SA kids straight from school ahead of hopefuls

Those are discouraging but what is there to offset that. You have to be a unicorn to push through the barriers.

Trying a different approach is scat solace to the players who’ve been thrown on the scrapheap and I can’t imagine that it doesn’t also weigh heavily on school leavers.

[FLIP]

It's a great opportunity for young lads South African or Irish to experience life in another country.

No pride, no passion

[RAILWAY1]

Recruiting foreign players for the academy ahead of local prospects is bad specially when the selection process for the academy is already biased very heavily towards the schools neglecting large rugby playing sections of the province where the schools don't have a draw on the players.

[ronk]

The Pau exodus from Munster was interesting in its own way. As Munster signed South Africans, guys were getting out.

As Munster have pivoted hard away from their academy this year, effects are already visible.

[blockhead]

The Pau exodus from Munster was interesting in its own way. As Munster signed South Africans, guys were getting out.

As Munster have pivoted hard away from their academy this year, effects are already visible.

T'Pau?
Ask your Dad.
I'll get me coat.
Before I go though, 7 consecutive seasons without winning anything.
And the Leinster trophy room is so crammed, Smaug could arrive any day.

[TerenureJim]

The Pau exodus from Munster was interesting in its own way. As Munster signed South Africans, guys were getting out.

As Munster have pivoted hard away from their academy this year, effects are already visible.

T'Pau?
Ask your Dad.
I'll get me coat.
Before I go though, 7 consecutive seasons without winning anything.
And the Leinster trophy room is so crammed, Smaug could arrive any day.

You have to handle these academy prospects gently, it's as if they're China in your hands....