BEING HANDED AN academy contract is a thrilling moment in a young rugby player’s life.
Professional rugby beckons – a future at provincial level and perhaps even Ireland caps. Embarking on this journey with one of the four academies is a truly exciting time, but it can also be challenging.
For a portion of players, the road will indeed lead to provincial and international honours. For others, a good provincial career awaits. But for some, the dream could end within a year or two – through injury or failing to convince coaches.
Marcus Horan was the key man in bringing the rookie camp together. Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
With all of that in mind, Rugby Players Ireland [RPI] ran its inaugural ‘rookie camp’ two weeks ago in Wicklow, with the IRFU providing support for a two-day event involving all the new academy players from the four Irish provinces.
A ‘rookie camp’ might sound like a rugby-heavy couple of days but this new venture is more about off-field development.
Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt and the now-retired Jamie Heaslip visited the camp to speak to the young players, who were given a taste of what to expect in the coming months and seasons.
“We get guys into the system and they’re inundated with new things,” explains ex-Munster and Ireland prop, Marcus Horan, who is now a player development manager with RPI.
“Some of them are coming out of secondary school into college and that alone is a big change at that age. At the same time, they’re looking to become professional players and the two things can clash.
“One of the things we drive with players is the idea of a ‘dual career’ and trying to get them to work towards that dual career, especially in the early days because that’s when we feel they have the most time to dedicate to college life.
“The likes of the Conor Murrays and those guys, their time is so busy with Irish camps and Munster that trying to nail down a college course at that stage is difficult. If we can get these young guys to get through the four-year cycle, the academy cycle can run smoothly with that as well.
“It’s sometimes about saying, ‘I know you’re dreaming about becoming a professional rugby player but the reality of it is that every player who has retired has had to go back into the workforce at some stage.’”
Horan was the key driving force behind the rookie camp taking place this year after the idea had “floated around” in recent seasons, and the hope is that it will become an annual event for new academy players.
The inaugural camp saw a number of Year 2 and Year 3 academy players involved to bring them up to speed alongside the new Year 1 players, with modules across a broad range of subjects.
Ireland U19 captain Azur Allison was among the latest intake into the Ulster academy. Bryan Keane / INPHO
Bryan Keane / INPHO / INPHO
There were presentations and discussions on leadership, engaging with the media and mental health. With BDO having sponsored the camp, there was also a focus on financial planning – helping players to understand their payslips and how tax works.
One module on behavioural attitudes involved “difficult conversations around consent,” a particularly relevant topic in rugby in recent times.
The issue of ‘dual careers’ was a main theme of the rookie camp, RPI hoping to help the youngsters to find the balance between chasing their rugby dream and giving themselves another option.
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“While we want the coaches in the provinces to give players some leeway for college, we look for the same with the college – that there’s some leeway when it comes to big games or competitions,” says Horan.
“For example, we had lots of guys at the rookie camp who will be involved with the Ireland U20s this season and that involves a lot of camps away from college so they miss lectures and could fall behind.
“We try to get a relationship going where the lecturer might provide notes to guys and they might get extensions on assignments they’ve missed. That’s really important and something we work towards on a one-on-one basis with the players.”
Horan stressed that the IRFU were particularly supportive of the new rookie camp, with the union’s high performance manager, Colin McEntee, keen to ensure academy youngsters are developing as people, as well as players.
The visit of Schmidt and Heaslip was another important element of the camp.
“When we speak from a Rugby Players Ireland point of view, we’re aware that it might be a bit preachy sometimes, especially young players,” says Horan.
“But when you get a former player like Jamie to come in and probably reinforce what we’ve said in our workshops, then Joe backing it up as the Ireland coach, just to see the players hanging on every word showed the impact they had.
Jamie Heaslip and Joe Schmidt visited the rookie camp. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
“Joe is living it, Jamie has lived it and even in Jamie’s transition out of the game, he’s showing these guys that they need the tools for their rugby careers and afterwards.”
Horan, who retired from playing in 2013 after 14 years with Munster and 67 Ireland caps, has been working with RPI since 2014, although he was part of the association throughout his playing days – when it was called IRUPA – and even served as chairman.
The 40-year-old says he doesn’t miss playing, in part because he enjoys his work with RPI so much. Still based in Munster, Horan does some scrum coaching with the province’s underage teams, while he also does television work with TG4.
Horan has seen rugby change since he retired from playing, explaining that the dropout from academies and professional contracts is continuing to rise. His sense is that some players “get rude awakenings about how difficult it is” to make it in the sport.
Part of his job with RPI is to help players who drop out of the provincial game to move on with their lives, whether that’s through education, a new profession or taking an opportunity to play rugby abroad. Horan points to Tadhg Beirne as a prime example of someone who has gone away and thrived.
“That’s another element we’re trying to help young guys to understand – even if it doesn’t work out here we will try to support you getting a rugby career elsewhere.”
While the new rookie camp caters to academy players, Horan’s work extends further down the pipeline into Munster’s underage sides too.
“We try to get them to understand what’s ahead of them, so if we get them earlier and earlier, they understand that it isn’t that easy,” says Horan. “You may be the big fish in your school or club but there are a lot of big fish trying to get into the academy and it will get harder again in the academy.
“We have an important role in trying to get guys to understand the difficulty of making a career in rugby.
“We’re trying to make sure that players go in with their eyes open and they’re looking at that dual career, whether it’s academically in university or in a trade, picking up a skill along the way.
Horan had 14 excellent years with Munster. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
“It’s so important to have something to fall back on and, even aside from that, we tell the guys how important it is to occupy your spare time, whether it’s being involved with a charity or doing community work with coaching. It takes your mind off the pressures of what you’re involved in with rugby.”
Ex-Munster hooker Duncan Casey, now playing with Grenoble in France, has been inspirational to others with his work around homelessness, and Horan feels more players can be similarly influential.
“Sometimes our guys don’t realise the power they have with their name or their status,” says Horan. “I think when we educate the guys like that, we’ll see more of them influencing positive changes in society.”
One area where Horan is certain RPI members are having a positive influence is mental health, with the ‘Tackle Your Feelings‘ campaign having earned deserved plaudits.
The likes of Jack McGrath, Ian Keatley, Hannah Tyrell, Cathal Sheridan and Pat Lam have featured in powerful videos outlining how they have dealt with mental health challenges, while Horan also got involved in the latest release.
At the recent rookie camp, Tackle Your Feelings featured front and centre too.
“When you see someone like Jack McGrath coming out and talking like that, I think it does inspire people to make a change in their life or speak about it,” says Horan.
“If that alone is the effect, I think it’s really powerful and I have huge admiration for Jack and the other people who have been involved.
“The power of their stories can affect people’s lives in a positive way. Tackle Your Feelings is growing all the time and I’m obviously working with the younger players coming into the system.
“I think that’s the group we can really mould and develop and change attitudes in. If we can effect change there, we will have better and happier people down the road.”
Horan featured in the latest Tackle Your Feelings video. Tackle Your FeelingsTackle Your Feelings
Too many people have suffered in silence in the past, but Horan is proud to see that continuing to change.
“I wouldn’t hesitate in saying that a lot of rugby players have helped with that,” says Horan. “Alan Quinlan is one guy, Bressie [Niall Breslin] who was with Leinster before.
“When you see well-known guys like that speak about it and speak so eloquently, it does have an effect.
“I’ve MC’ed at Tackle Your Feeling events and seen young kids stand up at the back of a room and ask a difficult question to someone like Alan Quinlan. I think that’s really powerful, so long may that continue.”
- This article was updated at 10.55am to include the word ‘event’ in the fourth paragraph.
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Schmidt and Heaslip visit Irish rugby's inaugural 'rookie camp'
BEING HANDED AN academy contract is a thrilling moment in a young rugby player’s life.
Professional rugby beckons – a future at provincial level and perhaps even Ireland caps. Embarking on this journey with one of the four academies is a truly exciting time, but it can also be challenging.
For a portion of players, the road will indeed lead to provincial and international honours. For others, a good provincial career awaits. But for some, the dream could end within a year or two – through injury or failing to convince coaches.
With all of that in mind, Rugby Players Ireland [RPI] ran its inaugural ‘rookie camp’ two weeks ago in Wicklow, with the IRFU providing support for a two-day event involving all the new academy players from the four Irish provinces.
A ‘rookie camp’ might sound like a rugby-heavy couple of days but this new venture is more about off-field development.
Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt and the now-retired Jamie Heaslip visited the camp to speak to the young players, who were given a taste of what to expect in the coming months and seasons.
“We get guys into the system and they’re inundated with new things,” explains ex-Munster and Ireland prop, Marcus Horan, who is now a player development manager with RPI.
“Some of them are coming out of secondary school into college and that alone is a big change at that age. At the same time, they’re looking to become professional players and the two things can clash.
“One of the things we drive with players is the idea of a ‘dual career’ and trying to get them to work towards that dual career, especially in the early days because that’s when we feel they have the most time to dedicate to college life.
“The likes of the Conor Murrays and those guys, their time is so busy with Irish camps and Munster that trying to nail down a college course at that stage is difficult. If we can get these young guys to get through the four-year cycle, the academy cycle can run smoothly with that as well.
“It’s sometimes about saying, ‘I know you’re dreaming about becoming a professional rugby player but the reality of it is that every player who has retired has had to go back into the workforce at some stage.’”
Horan was the key driving force behind the rookie camp taking place this year after the idea had “floated around” in recent seasons, and the hope is that it will become an annual event for new academy players.
The inaugural camp saw a number of Year 2 and Year 3 academy players involved to bring them up to speed alongside the new Year 1 players, with modules across a broad range of subjects.
There were presentations and discussions on leadership, engaging with the media and mental health. With BDO having sponsored the camp, there was also a focus on financial planning – helping players to understand their payslips and how tax works.
One module on behavioural attitudes involved “difficult conversations around consent,” a particularly relevant topic in rugby in recent times.
The issue of ‘dual careers’ was a main theme of the rookie camp, RPI hoping to help the youngsters to find the balance between chasing their rugby dream and giving themselves another option.
“While we want the coaches in the provinces to give players some leeway for college, we look for the same with the college – that there’s some leeway when it comes to big games or competitions,” says Horan.
“For example, we had lots of guys at the rookie camp who will be involved with the Ireland U20s this season and that involves a lot of camps away from college so they miss lectures and could fall behind.
“We try to get a relationship going where the lecturer might provide notes to guys and they might get extensions on assignments they’ve missed. That’s really important and something we work towards on a one-on-one basis with the players.”
Horan stressed that the IRFU were particularly supportive of the new rookie camp, with the union’s high performance manager, Colin McEntee, keen to ensure academy youngsters are developing as people, as well as players.
The visit of Schmidt and Heaslip was another important element of the camp.
“When we speak from a Rugby Players Ireland point of view, we’re aware that it might be a bit preachy sometimes, especially young players,” says Horan.
“But when you get a former player like Jamie to come in and probably reinforce what we’ve said in our workshops, then Joe backing it up as the Ireland coach, just to see the players hanging on every word showed the impact they had.
“Joe is living it, Jamie has lived it and even in Jamie’s transition out of the game, he’s showing these guys that they need the tools for their rugby careers and afterwards.”
Horan, who retired from playing in 2013 after 14 years with Munster and 67 Ireland caps, has been working with RPI since 2014, although he was part of the association throughout his playing days – when it was called IRUPA – and even served as chairman.
The 40-year-old says he doesn’t miss playing, in part because he enjoys his work with RPI so much. Still based in Munster, Horan does some scrum coaching with the province’s underage teams, while he also does television work with TG4.
Horan has seen rugby change since he retired from playing, explaining that the dropout from academies and professional contracts is continuing to rise. His sense is that some players “get rude awakenings about how difficult it is” to make it in the sport.
Part of his job with RPI is to help players who drop out of the provincial game to move on with their lives, whether that’s through education, a new profession or taking an opportunity to play rugby abroad. Horan points to Tadhg Beirne as a prime example of someone who has gone away and thrived.
“That’s another element we’re trying to help young guys to understand – even if it doesn’t work out here we will try to support you getting a rugby career elsewhere.”
While the new rookie camp caters to academy players, Horan’s work extends further down the pipeline into Munster’s underage sides too.
“We try to get them to understand what’s ahead of them, so if we get them earlier and earlier, they understand that it isn’t that easy,” says Horan. “You may be the big fish in your school or club but there are a lot of big fish trying to get into the academy and it will get harder again in the academy.
“We have an important role in trying to get guys to understand the difficulty of making a career in rugby.
“We’re trying to make sure that players go in with their eyes open and they’re looking at that dual career, whether it’s academically in university or in a trade, picking up a skill along the way.
“It’s so important to have something to fall back on and, even aside from that, we tell the guys how important it is to occupy your spare time, whether it’s being involved with a charity or doing community work with coaching. It takes your mind off the pressures of what you’re involved in with rugby.”
Ex-Munster hooker Duncan Casey, now playing with Grenoble in France, has been inspirational to others with his work around homelessness, and Horan feels more players can be similarly influential.
“Sometimes our guys don’t realise the power they have with their name or their status,” says Horan. “I think when we educate the guys like that, we’ll see more of them influencing positive changes in society.”
One area where Horan is certain RPI members are having a positive influence is mental health, with the ‘Tackle Your Feelings‘ campaign having earned deserved plaudits.
The likes of Jack McGrath, Ian Keatley, Hannah Tyrell, Cathal Sheridan and Pat Lam have featured in powerful videos outlining how they have dealt with mental health challenges, while Horan also got involved in the latest release.
At the recent rookie camp, Tackle Your Feelings featured front and centre too.
“When you see someone like Jack McGrath coming out and talking like that, I think it does inspire people to make a change in their life or speak about it,” says Horan.
“If that alone is the effect, I think it’s really powerful and I have huge admiration for Jack and the other people who have been involved.
“The power of their stories can affect people’s lives in a positive way. Tackle Your Feelings is growing all the time and I’m obviously working with the younger players coming into the system.
“I think that’s the group we can really mould and develop and change attitudes in. If we can effect change there, we will have better and happier people down the road.”
Too many people have suffered in silence in the past, but Horan is proud to see that continuing to change.
“I wouldn’t hesitate in saying that a lot of rugby players have helped with that,” says Horan. “Alan Quinlan is one guy, Bressie [Niall Breslin] who was with Leinster before.
“When you see well-known guys like that speak about it and speak so eloquently, it does have an effect.
“I’ve MC’ed at Tackle Your Feeling events and seen young kids stand up at the back of a room and ask a difficult question to someone like Alan Quinlan. I think that’s really powerful, so long may that continue.”
- This article was updated at 10.55am to include the word ‘event’ in the fourth paragraph.
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Future planning Jamie Heaslip Joe Schmidt Marcus Horan Rookie Camp RPI Rugby Players Ireland