The Roscrea Rugby Academy started on Sunday 1st July and has started with a bang (in the best possible way) with fantastic weather and an all action programme in a great rugby setting. Read more about the first 36 hours below….
OUR 2018 RUGBY ACADEMIES – CHANGING THE GAME FOR YOUNG PLAYERS!
- France – Tignes Rugby Academy, Sat 7 to Sat 28 July 2018 (ONLY WEEK 3 PLACES LEFT)
- UK – NEW Finborough Rugby Academy, Sun 5 to Fri 10 August 2018
- Ireland – NEW Kilkenny Rugby Academy, Sun 12 to Fri 17 August 2018 (LIMITED PLACES LEFT)
After a year of detailed planning and sales, the combined PSA Academies and RugbyCamps.ie team were delighted to welcome 85 ambitious young players to Cistercian College Roscrea for our inaugural Roscrea Rugby Academy.
The top class team delivering the programme reflect the quality and high performance nature of the camp, including;
Johan Taylor (RugbyCamps & PSA Academies Head of Rugby Programme) – hugely experienced international (Sri Lanka head coach, twice Asian Cup champions) and domestic club coach, currently forwards coach for Naas RFC.
Johne Murphy (RugbyCamps & PSA Academies Head Coach) – ex-Munster, Leicester Tigers & Ireland A player who is a top up-and-coming coach at schools (St Marys School Assistant Coach), club (Naas RFC head coach and player) and international (Irish Clubs representative side Assistant Coach) coach.
Ben Swindlehurst – current Young Munster RFC 1st team player and attack coach to Glenstal Rugby, 2018 Munster Schools Senior Cup winners
Tyrone Elliot & Alan Tynan – Senior coaches with Cistercian College SCT squad
Joe Walsh – Head Coach of the Coolmine U18s & assistant coach of the Kings Hospital SCT squad
Ben Daly – Strength & Conditioning Coach
Jonny Holland, Titan Wellness – Sports Nutrition
Cathal Sheridan, Titan Wellness – Mental Wellbeing and Sports Psychology
Dr Brendan Murphy, Tipperary GAA Senior Team Doctor – Injury Rehab & Concussion
Sean O’Brien & Ciaran Gaffney – Pro players with Connacht Rugby & Zebre respectively. CCR past men
For the residential players, the Roscrea Rugby Academy experience started on Sunday evening when check in was delivered by Camp Manager Joe Shaw and his team of Cathal Duff & Tom Byrne, plus Operations Manager Cory Brown. Following check in, set up in the shared accommodation and a goodbye with parents, the players had a quick welcome intro meeting with Johan & Joe to run through the ground rules and expectations for the week. After that, it was time to have a first try of the camp food, with a delicious meal of chicken breast on wholegrain bap with healthy wedges and dessert of sponge and custard. After clean up (a key CARDS principle for the week), the players were brought on a quick site tour, before splitting up to do team based challenges with camp partners Exertico and CARDS games with the camp management team. After that, it was time for a little free time before bed (which for a first night of camp went pretty smoothly).
Day one of the academy proper saw over 30 non-residential players join the fray, checking in on site before the start of the days programme. The expanded group then met up for a quick welcome meeting before splitting by age for separate modular activities (younger group for the rucking & skill test plus gym work and the older group for passing, attack & defence drills plus gym work) through to a well deserved lunch at 1.30pm with Leek Soup and chargrilled Pork Chops, mash and veg to fuel tired bodies.
After lunch hour, it was back to action on the pitches for some game centered activity, allowing the players to show their open play skills, under the imposing historic setting of the school and monastery. In the sunny conditions, hydration and rest are key, so it was no doubt a great relief to all the players to get some time inside to get a fascintaing insight from ex-Munster player Jonny Holland of Titan Wellness on the importance of Nutrition in development, performance and recovery. The most rewarding aspect of this session was seeing how many of the players, especially those in the Intermediate and Advanced group, who asked smart questions and stayed back to speak to Jonny one on one. Great signs of the maturity and focus of the players in attendance.
After the Nutrition talk, it was dinner time, with a meal of Chicken Curry, basmati rice and the sides, with plenty of water and milk to refuel the weary bones.
The evening activities for day included an extended CARDS indoor challenge where the staff got to challenge the creativity and teamwork of the residential group, plus a Kangaroo Court to add a bit of fun and self imposed organisation and discipline to proceedings. The players had a chance to shop at the sports nutrition camp shop and to grab a bit of chill out time before hitting the dorms and grabbing some much needed sleep. Day 2 promised more great weather, more rugby technique and testing plus more CARDS activities to positively challenge the group in their individual and collective development.
Keep tabs on all the action from the 2018 Roscrea Rugby Academy via our gallery here.
