Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
NZ NZ

Stellar U20 crop signals the resurgence of the Munster pathway

By Alex Shaw
Munster Acadmey product Jonathan Wren of Ireland U20 celebrates his try with team mate Sean French (Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images)

After years of Leinster dominance in terms of representation, the Ireland U20 side took on a much redder hue than normal over the last seven weeks.

ADVERTISEMENT

If the Munster pathway had been a little quiet of late, there was no better way to announce its resurgence than by contributing the core of the side that went on to secure a Grand Slam in the U20 Six Nations.

Of Munster’s 10-man contingent in the squad, four were ever-present in the Irish XV, with loosehead Josh Wycherley, number eight John Hodnett, wing Jonathan Wren and full-back Jake Flannery all proving crucial to Ireland’s success. Scrum-half Craig Casey could well have matched that, too, if it were not for injury ruling him out of the games with Scotland and Wales, whilst centre Sean French and fly-half Ben Healy were also frequently involved.

Hooker Billy Scannell and tighthead Luke Masters both cracked the 23 on one occasion each, with lock Paddy Kelly rounding out the 10-man group.

It’s not a weak year for the other provinces, either, with Leinster offering up four very notable promising talents in Harry Byrne, David Hawkshaw, Scott Penny and Tom Clarkson, Connacht hooker Dylan Tierney-Martin impressing throughout and Ulster back rower Azur Allison yet to get his shot, with injury ruling him out of the Six Nations.

Ireland U20s arrive in Colwyn Bay before their match Wales

It’s undeniable that Munster have leant heavily on imported players under Rassie Erasmus and now Johann van Graan, but that has been as much to do with the pathway in the province not producing at a rate to keep Munster at the top of the Guinness PRO14, as it has been blocking the pathway for emerging players. It’s been a vicious circle of having to balance recruitment in order to stay competitive with the best sides in Europe, but then having limited opportunities for a number of the homegrown players to stake their claims.

ADVERTISEMENT

Dan Goggin and Darren Sweetnam, both rising to prominence over the last few years, but it certainly hasn’t matched up favourably with Leinster’s prolific production line of late, albeit boasting a player pool at the school level that struggles to match up with the one enjoyed by the Dublin-based side.

This class, however, has taken promising strides over the last seven weeks and done as much as they can to show that van Graan can put the chequebook down and trust in some of his emerging players being capable of stepping up and challenging for spots in the senior squad.

Hodnett lacks a little of the bulk that CJ Stander offers, but otherwise there are a number of similarities between the two back rowers. They both stand at just over six foot, which is short for the position, they win as ball-carriers in heavy traffic through their footwork and leg drives and they clearly both relish the physical element of the game.

He’s a player that could be called a ‘tweener’ at the senior level, without the height traditionally required to excel in the loose forwards outside of openside, but in Stander he has the perfect role model to learn from and develop alongside if he wants to be a consistent performer at the highest level.

ADVERTISEMENT
CJ Stander training with the British and Irish Lions

In scrum-half Casey, there is another excellent opportunity to learn from an established player, with Conor Murray having set the standards at the position in the northern hemisphere over the last few years. Casey is sharp around the fringes and can pass accurately off both hands, and Murray’s tutelage should help him hone his box-kicking, as well as the depth and range of his passing, particularly in scenarios on or close to the try line.

Casey is a smaller nine and that could be a concern moving forward, but his speed and reading of the game certainly set him apart and give him plenty of reason to be confident about his prospects. If you need an example of a similar type of scrum-half succeeding in recent years, look no further than Harry Randall at Bristol Bears, who even received a namecheck from England head coach Eddie Jones recently.

Wycherley follows in the footsteps of his older brother Fineen, who has been making the breakthrough this season as a second row or blindside option for van Graan, and his younger brother lacks none of the physicality required to succeed in the tight five. The loosehead was one of Ireland’s go-to carriers during the Six Nations and whilst patience will be a virtue for the forward given the demands of his position at the senior level, he has all the hallmarks of being a strong provincial prop moving forward.

A fly-half at club level, Flannery took to the 15 position with aplomb for Ireland and it might be there that he has the greatest potential for Munster. Fly-halves playing full-back at U20 level is rife among New Zealand, England and South Africa, and Ireland certainly enjoyed similar benefits with Flannery. He controlled field position with a strong kicking game, but also sparked plenty of productive counter-attacks and was a constant threat to unleash support runners after his own breaks.

His future could still be at 10, but Munster already have Bill Johnston at the position, as well as Healy, who stepped in admirably for Byrne during the Six Nations. Johnston showed a lot of promise at U20 level, but there would have been concern at the two shoulder injuries he sustained in fairly innocuous tackles on age-grade carriers. If he has put his injury troubles behind him, his reading of the game and intuitive attacking play should have him in the box seat for opportunities at fly-half, with Flannery capable of developing into a very adept full-back, thus maximising the talent at the province’s disposal.

That is the key for Munster, maximising what they have at their disposal. They will never boast the same riches as Leinster do, purely down to the population and school system in and around Dublin. It’s a case of taking what you have and improving it. Use those chips on the shoulders of your emerging players to drive them in their formative years and attempt at least to seek parity, pound-for-pound, with local rivals Leinster.

French, Wren, Masters and Scannell, the younger brother of Rory and Niall, should all get further chances to add to their stock this summer in Argentina at the World Rugby U20 Championship, where Ireland go head-to-head with England, Australia and Italy in pool play. As for Kelly, the second row has another year of eligibility in 2020, so any opportunities that do come his way this year will be seen as a bonus.

If Munster can transition five or six of these players into being significant senior contributors in the next couple of seasons and begin to tap into their extensive potential, they will have gone a long way towards showing that, once again, it’s not just the pathway in Dublin that needs to be watched closely in Ireland.

Watch: Joe Schmidt expects Ireland to be back on top form at the Rugby World Cup

Video Spacer
ADVERTISEMENT

Join free

Aotearoa Rugby Podcast | Episode 6

Sam Warburton | The Big Jim Show | Full Episode

Japan Rugby League One | Sungoliath v Eagles | Full Match Replay

Japan Rugby League One | Spears v Wild Knights | Full Match Replay

Boks Office | Episode 10 | Six Nations Final Round Review

Aotearoa Rugby Podcast | How can New Zealand rugby beat this Ireland team

Beyond 80 | Episode 5

Rugby Europe Men's Championship Final | Georgia v Portugal | Full Match Replay

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

J
Jon 6 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

35 Go to comments
j
john 9 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

36 Go to comments
A
Adrian 11 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

36 Go to comments
FEATURE
FEATURE Andy Christie: 'Diversity breeds strength in a group rather than weakness' Andy Christie: 'Diversity breeds strength in a group rather than weakness'
Search