FAQs

PSA Academies is registered as business name & operated by Rugby Academy Ireland Ltd., a company registered in Ireland (company number #623831).

Our founding and staff teams have worked hard since launching in 2016 (and from the operational take over by Rugby Academy Ireland in July 2023) to refine our programmes and the positive impact that they have on young rugby players, of both genders.  We’re proud of what we have built and the positive feedback (and ongoing support) that we continue to get from our customers.  We are rated ‘Excellent’ (4.8 of 5.0) on Trustpilot and you can see the testimonials of our customers here https://ie.trustpilot.com/review/psaacademies.com.

As part of our overall company mission and specifically our commitment to delivering high-performance programmes that are genuinely player development focussed, we have developed a values framework called the 9PSAVs.  These values are core to every element of our Academy programmes.  Our coaching & staff teams are focussed on the outer company values of ‘Fun, Positivity & Excellence’, while our players are positively challenged each day around the 6 inner core values that we feel are most important to enable each player to maximise their rugby and personal potential long term. Each programme ends with a PSA Players Awards ceremony where our staff and players acknowledge those players who have best demonstrated our 9PSAVs values during the programme. Finally, we surface the 9PSAVs values through the player report pdfs that our testing team share with parents and players post-programme.

We live and breathe our values and this is something that we look to imbue in every player that attends a PSA Rugby Academy programme!

To book your place, click on the BOOK button in the top navigation bar or in the specific product page to complete the relevant package booking form and make payment via card or other method.  As part of the booking process, you will be creating a secure customer account with PSA Academies, allowing you to log back in to update and, if applicable, amend your booking details.

When completing your PSA Rugby Academy programme booking, please ensure that you and the parents of the other players involved include details of the group names in the field for ‘preferred training and/or rooming requests’.  Our programme delivery team will note all requests made via the booking process and/or flagged via direct message on the WhatsApp Broadcast Groups associated with each Academy programme. Please note that due to possible COVID-19 or other protocols that may be in place for Academy programmes, we will be unable to make changes to training groups or rooming arrangements after the start of each Academy programme. 

It sometimes happens that due to the cross over of ages within a specific underage rugby age grouping, younger players looking to book a PSA Rugby Academy programme with their older teammate friends can fall outside of a specific programme package age range. In this situation, as long as the player is physically and technically advanced enough for the older group, we are happy to accommodate their booking of the older programme.  Likewise, in a situation where a customer prefers their player to be part of a younger programme age grouping in order to train & stay with teammates, we will accommodate these requests when notified.

For players that fall just outside our minimum (10yrs) or maximum (16yrs) ages, we are happy to consider accommodating customers and their players that would like to attend.  Any final decision will be made on a case-by-case basis having evaluated the specific circumstances of each request.

When booking selected PSA Rugby Academies, you can choose to either pay in full upfront or, if applicable depending on the programme and time of the year, pay a non-refundable deposit of a fixed amount or % of your package cost (up to 40%) to secure your place.  For our 2023 Irish Rugby Academies, the option to pay a non-refundable €100/£100 deposit payment option will finish on Monday 2nd May, with all bookings after this date to be paid in full at booking (includes the €100/£100 non-refundable booking fee).

Full and final payment is due a minimum of 60 days before the start date of an individual or group booking with PSA Academies. Our sales team will be in touch by email and/or WhatsApp Broadcast Group to remind customers regarding payment deadlines, with final payment payable via the Stripe payment link in the balancing payment pending invoice emailed to customers at the time of their booking.

In the event of an Academy programme cancelled due to circumstances beyond the control of PSA Academies, customers will be given the option to accept an Account Funds Credit which will be applied to their fully secure PSA Academies account. If/when in future the customer wishes to book a new Academy place in future, they can log in to their PSA Academies account and use Account Funds as their preferred payment method when booking their place.  See the pdf here for a step-by-step of how the process should work.

For residential programmes: The Int/Adv players 12-16yrs group check-in from 6-7pm Sunday afternoon, with check out & pick from 4pm Friday.

For the younger 10-11yrs Minis group, check-in takes place from 9-9.30am Tuesday morning, with check out & pick from 4pm Friday.

For non-residential programmes: The Int/Adv only attend from drop off 8:45am / 9:00am Register, 9:00 to 4:30pm on Monday morning, Tuesday to Thursday 9/9:15am to 4:30pm and Friday 9/9:15am to 4:00pm.

For the younger 10-11yrs Mini group Tuesday 9/9:30 to 4:30, Wednesday and Thursday 9/9:15am to 4:30pm and Friday 9/9:15am to 4:00pm.

Timings may vary by venue and are subject to change dependent on various factors including potential bad weather, staff availability etc. Our programme staff will be in contact with customers pre- and during programmes via our dedicated WhatsApp Broadcast Groups and/or email.

As part of our PSA Rugby Academy programmes each summer, we include an Sports Science Education module that includes;

– 3/4 daily talks with a PSA high-performance mentor, covering sports science topics such as Sports Nutrition, Mental Wellness, Physical Development and Injury Prevention/Concussion Awareness. These sessions will last approximately 60 mins and will be recorded and we ask that all players bring a small notebook and pen with them this year to take down any notes. The recording links will be shared on our WhatsApp comms.  We would encourage players and parents on both residential and non-residential programmes to fully engage with this valuable content, as part of the direct benefits from attending a high-performance Rugby Academy programme with PSA Academies.

Each Academy programme will have a WhatsApp Broadcast Group associated with it and this is the preferred method of communication in terms of our Academy programme delivery team staying in touch with customers in advance of and during each programme. Customers will be able to private message our programme staff directly via this channel for any specific feedback, queries or issues.  We would encourage parents to get in touch with us via WhatsApp early with any concerns so that we can proactively address any issues ASAP to ensure everyone enjoys and gets the most out of their PSA Rugby Programme experience. Parents have the option of opting out of WhatsApp communication, but there will be less frequent programme update communications via email and/or social media.

For individuals, we will advise customers on the best flight options for their respective requirements but the actual booking of flights needs to be done by the customer directly with their preferred flight provider.  For groups, depending on the type of group trip being booked, we will ensure that you get the best possible quote, either as part of an all-inclusive package with partners or directly with the respective flight provider. The final booking will be made with them and will be subject to their booking terms and conditions. Please also ensure that you have Travel and Health Insurance cover too.

Various Academy information including a packing list will be sent to all individual player’s parents/legal guardians a minimum of 30 days before the programme start date via our WhatsApp.

We need to record player sizes to ensure we have the correct amount of sized branded clothing for the PSA Rugby Academy player packs included in the package (if applicable). Please contact PSA Academies today via Live Chat on this page or via WhatsApp here if you have any queries on this.

Yes, it is very important for our programme, both in terms of quality and overall enjoyment by all, that our players observe our Academy Programme Rules.  Every player and their parents/guardians automatically opt in to these Rules as part of their booking and we will refer to these rules whenever we are addressing instances of ill-discipline or unacceptable behaviour. Please see our Academy Rules and latest booking Ts&Cs elsewhere in our FAQs section.

Every PSA Rugby Academy programme operates a strict mobile phone policy, with residential players having limited access to their mobile phones in the morning and early evening each day.  Players are not permitted to have their phones overnight, with our programme staff keeping their phones in a fully secured location when collected up. For non-residential players, we operate a ‘No Mobiles’ policy unless customers notify us of any exceptional reason for a player to require access to their phone. Our programme delivery team will be in regular daily contact with parents via the Academy-specific WhatApp Broadcast Group and parents will be able to contact their players 24/7 via this communication channel or by calling our lead Academy programme team leaders via contact numbers provided pre-programme start.

All players are personally responsible for the safekeeping of their own possessions while attending a PSA Rugby Academy, with programme staff operating a deposit & withdrawal facility for players to access their cash in Academy programme venues. We strongly advise customers not to allow players to bring expensive personal possessions to PSA Rugby Academy programmes unless these are absolutely necessary (and if so, please ask players to check these possessions in securely with our Academy programme delivery staff when on-site). As per our Academy programme rules, we do not tolerate the theft, damage or other abuse of player, staff or venue possessions by any player and we will act strictly in the event of any such behaviour.

Rugby Academy Ireland Limited, who operate the PSA Academies brand, carries full Public Liability Insurance and complies with all applicable legislation pertaining to the operation of the PSA Academies programmes.

All PSA Academies programmes are covered by full PLI cover provided by the Rugby Academy Ireland Limited insurance provider.  As per our latest Booking Ts&Cs here, we strongly advise that all customers travelling to a PSA Rugby Academy have their own health and travel insurance cover in place.

All our operations staff are fully trained and vetted for safeguarding purposes. Our lead rugby programme coaching staff hold a minimum IRB Level 3 qualification and/or the equivalent qualifications in other specialist areas.

Rugby Academy Ireland Limited, who operate the PSA Academies business, hold data specific to your use of the PSA Academies website, including your details if subscribing for future marketing, and your booking information. Your data is held securely, via reputable hosting and database solutions.  For further detailed information, please see the PSA Academies Cookies & Privacy Policy here.

For more information or to ask an additional query, see our latest Booking Ts&Cs here and/or please contact our Support Team by completing the CONTACT US form on site, by launching the web chat function (available 09:00hrs to 17:00hrs, Monday to Friday) or by contacting us via;

Email: info@psaacademies.com

Telephone:    1800 938 772 (IRE)

WhatsApp Business (Global) : click here