Greencore Munster Academy Update

It has been a busy month for the academy with players involved with the Irish Under-20s, Munster A and their club sides.

Munster A Head Coach and Elite Player Development Manager Peter Malone takes a look at the last four weeks in the Munster academy.

Munster A Interprovincials….

"The two Munster A games against Connacht Eagles gave our lads the chance to play at a higher level and they need to play these matches.

"We beat Connacht both times but the real aim of the game is to play high quality, faster-paced rugby."

Involvement with the Ireland Under-20s….

“Overall I would be reasonably happy with the numbers from Munster playing for the Irish Under-20s.

"Dan Goggin started against Italy so he’s got his chance, Jack O’Donoghue is leading there very well, Rory Burke and Max Abbott have started every game and both Jack Cullen and Sean McNulty came off the bench against Italy last weekend as well so we’re happy enough with that representation.

"I think the lads showed well and it was good to see two of the younger guys, Jack Cullen and Sean McNulty – they’re both actually 19 – get a good bit of time so that’s great to see as well."

Ireland Under-20s campaign so far….

"They had a good win on Friday night, it was a scrappy enough game to be fair. I know the 20s themselves are slightly disappointed with their performances.

"I was speaking to Greig Oliver who is the Assistant Coach up there, they felt they didn’t perform to their level against Wales – that was probably their poorest performance of the Championship.

"We were actually a lot better against England although the scoreline didn’t reflect it and the win against Italy gave a lot of our lads the chance to shine."

Coming up in March…..

"For the academy guys it’s individual really, it depends where they are.

"The Irish Under-20s will play another round of games and they’ll have a light week when they come back.

"Guys involved in the B&I Cup will certainly have a focus on the quarter-final but it will also be about the long-term plan.

"Whatever their long-term goals are or whatever performance plan we have for them at the moment – that will all be part of it as well. They’re all on a longer-term programme working on certain skills, off-field stuff and strength and conditioning too.

"We won’t change too much from that but the lads involved in the B&I Cup game will be taken out of their normal programme around a week or ten days before the game itself."

Injury Update….

"Seán McCarthy has had a very unfortunate time with injuries and he picked up an injury to his hand recently so we’re hopeful that Seán can be back in the next few weeks. He’s hoping to get a cast off next week and hopefully he can be back playing in two weeks time.

"John Madigan has an ongoing issue with his groin so that’s going to be a long-term thing but we’re going to make sure that we follow best practice and get John back in good nick as soon as possible.

"Another two guys out of action are Greg O’Shea and Gearóid Lyons – both have groin injuries. We’re hoping Greg will be back in the next 2-3 weeks and Gearóid will be slightly longer than that.

"And, lastly, Niall Horan picked up an ankle injury while training with Shannon so he’s out for three or four weeks as well."

Munster A face Leinster in the quarter-final of the B&I Cup at Donnybrook on Friday, April 4th at 7pm.