The start of a new season is always an exciting time for our young players in the Academy with new players joining the province and the year two and three members pushing for senior places.
Eight new Munster Rugby Academy recruits joined the province over the summer in one of the most exciting groups to come through the Munster system.
Each player is an Ireland U20 international with the full 18-man Academy group for 2026/27 having come through the Munster clubs and schools pathway.
The new additions are Christopher Barrett, Rob Carney, Jamie Conway, Joe Finn, Christian Foley, Alex Lautsou, James O’Leary and Charlie O’Shea with O’Shea already impressing in Munster’s four games in the URC and Champions Cup so far this season.
Max Clein, Seán Edogbo, Ronan Foxe, Ben O’Connor and Ben O’Donovan graduated from the Academy to the senior squad over the summer and have all featured in the early rounds of the URC.
Academy players Michael Foy, Jake O'Riordan, Charlie O'Shea and Gordon Wood have all featured in the early weeks of the season with Foy and O'Shea earning their first Munster caps.
We spoke to Academy & Pathway Manager Gar Prendergast this week to see how the opening weeks of the season are going.
8 new recruits hitting the ground running…
“I think they performed excellently throughout the Ireland U20s campaign last year in the Six Nations and the Junior World Championship in Georgia.
“They have settled in really well into the academy and just a tip of the hat to all the schools and clubs, and our domestic game and NTS staff, who have contributed in their development throughout the last number of years. It's great to see these guys coming through.
“Charlie O’Shea has really excelled over the last number of weeks, he’s been given an opportunity and he’s grabbed it. It shows how great the system has been for him in that he's 20 years of age and he's come up through Dolphin, Christians and UCC and he's ready to play URC rugby from the minute he stepped into the Academy. He's excelled in so many departments, on and off the pitch.
“He's a very mature young man, very level-headed. He's still so young, and has a very bright future head of him.
“They have all played in the AIL and that is an absolute cornerstone of their development. Without this, they don't get that exposure to adult rugby. The development fixtures and A games are also very important in addition to the Ireland U20s programme.
"Of course they train with the senior team as well in the HPC. With all of the above, they start to get really good exposure in terms of their progression and growth."
Fully homegrown Academy…
“We have 18 homegrown players in the Academy and we’ll shortly be announcing another prop who has come through our pathway.
“There are so many people involved to get to this point where we have 19 homegrown players and it’s something that we’re very proud of.
“It starts off with the parents and families, and what they do for these guys when they're younger, starting out at their clubs and schools.
“There is a massive contribution from our schools, clubs, and domestic game staff in developing these players.
“As they move through the system, a huge amount of work goes in from our NTS and Academy staff to help them make the step up to URC and Champions Cup rugby.
“We do keep an eye on getting guys in from further afield if we feel they can add value to the Academy. Good examples of that would be Ronan Foxe and Ben O’Donovan, who both came from outside the province to join our Academy and have moved up to the senior squad in the summer.
“The priority is to obviously go homegrown, but we have to go with the best option. Sometimes when we have a gap in a position or a gap in the depth chart, that may mean looking elsewhere.”
Michael Foy debut in Belfast...
“I'm delighted for Michael, he's a player that I had been admiring from a distance when he was younger playing schools and underage for Munster. A real leader and student of the game, he’s got lots of potential and has already signed a senior deal for next season so really looking forward to him making his mark in the years to come.
“We have a really exciting crop of young back five players coming through in Michael, Brian Gleeson, Evan O'Connell, Seán Edogbo, Conor Ryan, Luke Murphy, Oisín Minogue and Alex Lautsou.”
Centres and props coming through…
“It's quite exciting when you're looking at a guy like Gordy Wood producing the goods at Thomond Park against the Bulls. Then you've got Eoghan Smyth and Rob Carney who have been really impressive for the Ireland U20s over the last few years and then exciting talents at school level as well.
“Props Emmet Calvey, Jamie Conway, and Christian Foley are all playing senior rugby in the All Ireland League and that is a crucial stage in the development of all our young players, especially front row forwards.”
Seán Cronin working with young front-row forwards…
“Seán is a Provincial Talent Coach, that's his main role, but in addition to that he's also now our Academy & Pathway Scrum Coach. So he'll be working with our Academy, NTS, and schools and club players, players that we've identified through our talent ID process.
“There are very exciting young front-rows coming through and Seán is working closely with the IRFU Performance Pathway Scrum Coach Seamus Toomey. There are also a number of identified coaches in our schools and clubs, including former pro players, who are working with our young front rows and are aligned with Seán’s scrum programme and indeed Seamus Toomey’s.”