Ulster Rugby v Ospreys

Tom O’Toole, Matthew Dalton and Angus Curtis were all named in the match day 23 for the senior squad to take on Edinburgh last weekend. Can you tell us the significance of their inclusion for the Academy and its programme? It’s hugely exciting for us. I think they’re three guys who have had very prominent years in terms of their development. All three of them, Tom, Matty and Angus have played very well for the Irish U20s so they’ve met a significant signpost in respect of their development. Their performances for Ulster A have been hugely important for us reaching that quarter final this year so they’ve earned their right to have an opportunity with the seniors. There’s massive positives for the Academy and Ulster. A lot of the young guys that are coming through have the right level of talent married to character which will allow them to go a long way in the game and I think we’re seeing that at the moment. We’ve had six guys who have been capped this year and they’re still in the Academy which is hugely important as it shows the effectiveness of our programme that those guys can progress so rapidly to step up that early at senior level. I think we’re starting to grow a group of young guys who should be able to give Ulster a very strong future and form the backbone of the team. The present crop coming through now are doing particularly well at national level where Ulster seem to be growing leaders. Each team that has gone out at national level bar the U20s is captained by an Ulster player – in addition we had 9 starters in the U20s, 8 starters in the U18s, 6 starters in the U19s. So we’ve had a significant bulk of the representation starting teams as well which is important and a good signpost that they’re on the right course and bodes well for the senior team in the future. How does it make you feel as a coach to see your players develop so quickly and progress onto senior level? Obviously, there’s an emotional attachment. We’ve worked with most of these young guys since they were 14 or 15. For them we’re hugely proud of them. It’s a great recognition for them, for the work they’ve done and the time invested. We’re very proud of them and delighted that the Academy programme is of a quality to assist them in their development.

For me that’s the biggest thing, that intrinsic reward that the programme is doing what it is supposed to be doing, producing guys who are credible to be playing for Ulster and have the right character to do so. We’re creating leaders capable of captaining national underage teams; we’re investing in them both as people and from a rugby perspective. We’ve got guys like that in the programme who aren’t necessarily as talented as some of the others but their characters are unquestionable, their dedication and their determination to succeed allows them to deliver at A and senior level. Tell us about your vision for the Academy and what you hope to achieve next season The first thing is that we’ve got to sustain and build on the level of quality that we’ve brought through this year. We’ve got a really good level of quality within the Academy in terms of the players. My big hope for the Academy is that the programme again is producing another cycle of players who have the level of quality to keep creating a depth for Ulster Rugby. Not only a depth but a level of competition which keeps pushing boys to be better and better and ensures that the guys above are being faced with young players who are able to put them under pressure to exceed their potential too. That’s the biggest driver at the moment, we don’t want to just have one year of good players coming through. Next year has to be as good, if not better, than this year. Within that we want to make sure our programme is good and that we’ve a successful summer programme to deliver success on the pitch whether at provincial level or A level and keep growing the depth and quality of the guys who play national rugby which is hugely important for us. Last year we had 27 national jerseys, this year we have 30 at present. If we can keep pushing that up a little bit each year we’re going to have more boys who have the quality to create that depth and competition meaning the next cycle of players are going to be even better. It’s going to take another significant improvement and drive within the programme now as we begin again for the next summer cycle but we’re on our way to delivering that.

INTERVIEW: KIERAN CAMPBELL

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