Is this Britain's most comprehensive university rugby programme?
Head of Recruitment at Ealing Trailfinders, Alex Shaw, breaks down what they believe is the UK’s most comprehensive university rugby programme.
English rugby, with its large and physically gifted player pool, has very little difficulty bringing through new waves of future stars.
Whether that is the unerring workrate and determination of a technical thoroughbred like Jonny Wilkinson, the raw physical potential of someone who has won the genetic lottery like Manu Tuilagi, or even the combination of the two in someone such as Maro Itoje, English rugby has little trouble identifying, nurturing and developing them.
(Continue reading below…)
Big Jim and Goodey are joined by Italy international George Biagi, who updates The Rugby Pod on how coronavirus is affecting his country
Where English rugby can frequently let itself down, however, is in the identification of players just below that level. With such an abundant player pool and the financial strength to recruit heavily from abroad, professional rugby in England is not a kind place to the late developers, the diamonds in the rough or those who have transitioned late to the sport.
Pound-for-pound, English rugby doesn’t even come close to being the most efficient or successful nation in world rugby at tapping into its own player pool.
There are lots of reasons around this, but ultimately the combination of having to make a call on whether or not a player is a professional at 18 years of age, a salary cap in the Gallagher Premiership and an ease with which senior players can be lured from southern hemisphere makes England an unforgiving rugby environment for players who aren’t polished technically and physically ready immediately or very quickly after they leave school.
That is something that Ealing Trailfinders are looking to address with their partnership with Brunel University, an academy programme which the Championship club believes is most comprehensive. First up, a declaration: I have been working this season as Ealing’s head of recruitment so the nurturing of young players is something close to my heart.
The idea of giving players an extra three or four years to develop while they get a degree is nothing new. It was the primary route into the game before the professional era and even now there are some excellent programmes operating at institutions such as Loughborough, Leeds Beckett and Durham to name but a few. But what sets Brunel apart from the crowd is that is entirely operated, funded and designed to work with a professional rugby club.
In addition to the university’s already impressive facilities, its partnership with Ealing Trailfinders has seen the club commit to building the university a new 4G rugby pitch, a gym which will be larger and more well-equipped than any boasted by a Premiership club and an indoor performance centre.
These new facilities, combined with the university’s already considerable assets such as the indoor athletics centre, spas, saunas and gyms which have produced many household names in athletics and rugby, Ealing believe scholars at Brunel will have access to the finest sporting facilities.
The programme is also staffed by Ealing with a number of the club’s senior coaches, such as Steve Neville, Andy Holloway and Paddy Gill, taking on key academy coaching roles and they will be joined by incoming academy head coach Glen Townson and academy transition coach James Brooks next season.
? Want to join our Academy @EalingTF_Brunel and study whilst pursuing a rugby career? Email academy@etprm.com to get all of the information! pic.twitter.com/a2ceaXtcNu
— Ealing Trailfinders & Brunel Scholarship Programme (@EalingTF_Brunel) March 26, 2019
Academy manager Ty Sterry and Brunel head of rugby Gareth Rise both oversee the programme and the club also provides full-time strength and conditioning coaches, physios and video analysts, making it arguably the most well-staffed programme in the country. Trailfinders director of rugby Ben Ward even takes some sessions with the academy.
Beyond that, the club also provides players with all their nutritional supplements, comprehensive medical insurance that allows for injuries to be treated immediately and with the highest care, and opportunities for impressive players to join the senior training sessions at Ealing Trailfinders.
Many of this year’s performance group have regularly trained with Ealing, in addition to going out on loan at clubs in National 1 and National 2 in order to further push themselves and develop within the senior game.
Calling all players that want to experience the comprehensive coaching @SD_Neville provides to our scholar forwards needs to check this out. #mostcomprehensive follow us for more info. #joinus #scholarships #weneverstop https://t.co/aw0dBDjhTh
— Ealing Trailfinders & Brunel Scholarship Programme (@EalingTF_Brunel) March 17, 2020
While the programme leans heavily on the model found in US college sports, of participants being scholar athletes and enjoying a professional-level rugby programme while they get their degree and ensure they have options for their post-rugby careers, scholars are expected to keep up with their academic commitments.
Efforts are made to fit their university schedule around their rugby duties, but attendance and satisfactory grades are important and this is something where the Brunel programme differs from some of the similar programmes in the US sports systems.
The programme is designed to provide scholars with an array of exit routes from Brunel, with the university boasting a highly laudable employment rate – at £28k per annum or above – or further study percentage of 95 per cent just six months after graduation.
? ACADEMY HIGHLIGHTS:
See the best of the action from the final league match of the campaign for @EalingTF_Brunel ?https://t.co/PjXrF0hmJu
— Ealing Trailfinders (@ealingtfrugby) March 23, 2020
These range from the purely academic route of scholars taking up professional roles in their chosen academic careers and playing rugby at the amateur level or semi-professional level, to players emerging with full-time professional rugby contracts.
Of course, the desired exit route from Ealing’s perspective is for players to have developed sufficiently over their three- or four-year degree to earn a professional contract at the club.
Our desire ultimately is for the bulk of our senior recruitment each summer to come from our own academy rather than other sources. We also recognise the opportunity for a number of players on the programme to take up professional contracts at high-level clubs around the world upon graduation.
Worth reaching out to Ruben if you’re interested in @EalingTF_Brunel next season. https://t.co/scUXfcWaAj
— Alex Shaw (@alexshawsport) March 20, 2020
At the senior level at Ealing, our ambition is to be a Premiership rugby club as soon as possible and in order to do that and not only establish ourselves at that level in a way which can be sustainable for the long-term, we need a productive academy. That is why we are investing so much in our programme at Brunel.
By giving players a professional environment in which there are tests and challenges asked of them, without the need for a short-term return on investment that you see with players professionally contracted at 18 years of age, we believe we can get more out of the individuals on the programme than they would be able to achieve in any other environment.
This is the first full year of the programme and the results have been clear to see with the Brunel 1st XV having won every game in their league and a number of the freshmen having impressed on loan at clubs such as Henley, Blackheath, London Irish Wild Geese, Sutton and Epsom, and Camerbley.
Those players have taken their first steps this season into the men’s game and potential professional future within it. If you’re interested in joining them next season, you can request more information at academy@etprm.com.
Alex Shaw is Head of Recruitment at Ealing Trailfinders
WATCH: RugbyPass goes behind the scenes at the Leicester Tigers academy
Comments on RugbyPass
A wallaby front-row of Bell, Blake and Tupou…now that would be hefty
1 Go to comments“But with an exceptional pass accuracy rating “ Which apart from Roigard is not a feature of any of the other 9s in NZ. Kind of basic for a Black 9 dont.you. think? Yet we keep seeing FC and TJ being rated ahead of him? Weird if it’s seen as vital to get our backline beating in your face defences.
1 Go to commentsThanks BeeMc! Looks like many teams need extra time to settle from the quadrennial northern migration. I think generally the quality of the Rugby has held up. Fiji has been fantastic and fun to watch
13 Go to commentsLets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
11 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
10 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
11 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
24 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
10 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
35 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
35 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
17 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to comments