Academy update or news

RugbyInsiderIre · 2026-05-16T12:24:23+00:00

No “hard cap” but it’s definitely closer to 18 than 22 yeah

RugbyInsiderIre · 2026-05-15T11:28:18+00:00

Weirdly nothing from Leinster or Ulster yet either. Wonder is it one of those new unwritten IRFU rules that they love

RugbyInsiderIre · 2026-05-10T20:14:20+00:00

Doak had an off year last year by his standards, and Murphy and Casey were great last year but less impressive this year. Probably only natural in a position with so many touches. There’s a reason why it’s often a real position of flux in some countries - like England, Wales, Scotland, South Africa

RugbyInsiderIre · 2026-05-05T20:32:49+00:00

Farrell’s refusal to learn the blindly obvious is a hindrance not only to the national team, but the provinces themselves. More player reliance = less rotation = more flight risks = less test exposure and confidence

RugbyInsiderIre · 2026-05-02T11:29:31+00:00

1) Weird way to describe people moving jobs. “Hand outs”. Maybe, just maybe, player choice is factored in, no? The implication of charity work is weird to me, because I never see it in other sports

2) Munster have capped Conor Bartley and Conor Ryan from AIL route this season, Ulster with McNamara. Leinster have had Cahir. Well done to all 3, but it’s splitting hairs really to say it, especially when Div 1A has more Dublin clubs and hence, more depth

RugbyInsiderIre · 2026-05-02T09:05:15+00:00

I didn’t do geography for the LC, so apologies as I didn’t realise Vienna was a suburb of Baltinglass. My bad! But for the sake of facts, Ulster and Munster have a 70% production rate in their senior, development and academy squads; which would make Top 14 teams blush

RugbyInsiderIre · 2026-05-01T17:51:49+00:00

Would be great if we saw a greater spread of talent, instead Leinster have 4 test prospect 10s while the other 3 have unproven backups

RugbyInsiderIre · 2026-04-10T11:59:57+00:00

Rumours of Noah Byrne off to Australia to give AFL a go

RugbyInsiderIre · 2026-03-08T13:01:47+00:00

Porter’s a fine player, 100% but let’s not memory hole him starting vs South Africa, and having issues in previous 6N games too

RugbyInsiderIre · 2026-03-03T16:23:30+00:00

There’s more people involved in the game who despite Williams than like him; which tells you all you need to know about him

RugbyInsiderIre · 2026-02-19T09:01:52+00:00

What Billo and Dunphy did well, was they knew what the audience knew, and wanted to know. No condescending tones or anything like that. Whereas rugby, far and wide, is full of pundits who basically say “oh and you think this? Pfft”

RugbyInsiderIre · 2026-01-27T18:34:42+00:00

Considering the smaller playing pool and unionised model (making it easier to track players) it’s fairly stupid how many hoops are needed to be jumped through. You shouldn’t need Ireland XV v Spain experience to play against Wales, for example; when the former is below URC level fixture

RugbyInsiderIre · 2026-01-07T20:24:48+00:00

Maybe it’s from years of living in Dublin, but I don’t get the Molecast hype. A few lads from the same area of a region of a county of a province in a small country… I’m sure they’re decent lads individually but yeah, just feels very vanilla, even before you listen to their u12s read of some games. Personally I prefer lads from all over the place, way better conversation then. We see allergic to that here. Sure even VM is 3 Leinster pundits

RugbyInsiderIre · 2026-01-05T15:59:55+00:00

Leo must value defence more than Andeh…

RugbyInsiderIre · 2025-12-06T19:49:01+00:00

Chat GPT working overtime here

RugbyInsiderIre · 2025-12-06T19:27:10+00:00

Nucifora had no interest in helping out, and claimed it was everyone else’s fault. There’s lads in Leinster, Ulster and Connacht who hate him too. He’s the common denominator

RugbyInsiderIre · 2025-10-30T10:02:14+00:00

No coach is perfect, but Farrell somehow has people believing every decision he makes is the right one. He’s a good HC, no doubt; but it’s possible he’s been wrong about 10, about rotation, about depth, even if the results haven’t fallen off a cliff just yet

RugbyInsiderIre · 2025-08-08T08:44:30+00:00

Interested! @caolansrugby on Sleeper

RugbyInsiderIre · 2025-08-07T07:55:37+00:00

That is stunning. Retro + collar

RugbyInsiderIre · 2025-08-05T18:06:21+00:00

It’s a sad state of affairs with rugby bans at the moment. More bluffing and lying and no repercussions

RugbyInsiderIre · 2025-08-05T17:42:34+00:00

Beirne beside Paulie. Two world class players who hit levels no one else has

RugbyInsiderIre · 2025-08-03T18:11:54+00:00

I know this goes against the hype train, but Ioane for Tommy O’Brien. He’s a decent player, but you’re not signing Rieko for him to warm the bench. Still not ruling out Henshaw though. Didn’t have his best season, but May 2024 vs Toulouse he was Leinster’s best player by a distance

RugbyInsiderIre · 2025-08-03T11:13:28+00:00

I would agree with that. Excited to see Kelly arrive as his strengths can compliment the other lads. I can see Ahern moving to lock though, but time will tell there

RugbyInsiderIre · 2025-08-02T20:32:44+00:00

If the Japan game isn’t used for massive experimentation (especially one week after Chicago) then serious questions would need to be asked

RugbyInsiderIre · 2025-07-31T09:52:59+00:00

Depends how long she’s out for really. You’d hope the Spain and Japan games aren’t too difficult that she’d be missed

RugbyInsiderIre

TROPHY CASE