National Talent Squads Announced

The National Talent squads are part of the IRFU’s High Performance pathway and consists of underage players who have been identified at this point in their development for progression to international team representation.

The selection process has been based on their interprovincial competition performances and also the national screening camps that took place during October.

Once the players are named in the squad for this season, they are continually assessed on all aspects of their rugby progression from skills to physical development.

IRFU High Performance Manager Allen Clarke said: “The announcement of the National Talent squads reflects significant advancements in our elite player development programs.

“This progress has been greatly assisted by the contribution of schools, clubs and the number of quality volunteers who add significant value through their commitment and support of the Regional Development squads (RDS) program.”

He added: “The players have been selected following their performances in the interprovincial competitions in September and national screenings in October.

“Playing rugby for their schools or clubs, they receive additional specific support from provincial Academy experts, based on individual needs, to prepare them for the respective International fixtures at Ireland Under-18 Clubs, Ireland Under-18 Schools and Ireland Under-19 levels.

“It is important to note that the squads are not ‘ring fenced’ – the performances of all players continue to be evaluated through the game, allowing for late developers and rewarding performances on the field.”

2010/11 NATIONAL TALENT SQUADS:

UNDER-18 SCHOOLS SQUAD –

Ben Alexander (Royal Belfast Academical Institution/Ulster)
Adam Boland (Blackrock College/Leinster)
Edward Byrne (Clongowes Wood College/Leinster)
John Creighton (Campbell College/Ulster)
Steve Crosbie (St. Gerard’s School/Leinster)
Christopher Farrell (Campbell College/Ulster)
Thomas Ferrari (Sligo Grammar School/Connacht)
Jack Fitzpatrick (Gonzaga College/Leinster)
Seamus Glynn (Presentation Brothers Cork/Munster)
Mark Gribben (Methodist College Belfast/Ulster)
Stuart Hooks (Royal School Armagh/Ulster)
Dan Leavy (St. Michael’s College/Leinster)
Sean McCarthy (Rockwell College/Munster)
Conor McEllin (Blackrock College/Leinster)
Luke McGrath (St. Michael’s College/Leinster)
Ryan Murphy (Presentation Brothers Cork/Munster)
Andrew Murphy (St. Michael’s College/Leinster)
Philip O’Dwyer (Cistercian College Roscrea/Connacht)
Cian O’Halloran (Christian Brothers Cork/Munster)
Stuart Olding (Belfast Royal Academy/Ulster)
Jack O’Neill (Castleknock College/Leinster)
Mark Roche (Blackrock College/Leinster)
Luke Satchwell (The King’s Hospital/Leinster)
Rory Scholes (Campbell College/Ulster)
Brian Scott (Presentation Brothers Cork/Munster)
Jerry Sexton (St. Mary’s College/Leinster)
Christopher Taylor (Wallace High School/Ulster)
Gavin Thornbury (Blackrock College/Leinster)

UNDER-18 CLUBS SQUAD –

Liam Bourke (Navan/Leinster)
Kevin Burke (New Ross/Leinster)
Kieran Butler (New Ross/Leinster)
Adam Byrne (Naas/Leinster)
George Cullen (Exiles)
Stephen Dalton (Exiles)
Thomas Daly (Carlow/Leinster)
Jamie Dever (Westport/Connacht)
Ultan Dilane (Tralee/Munster)
Peter Dooley (Birr/Leinster)
Conor Fitzgibbon (Buccaneers/Connacht)
Tom Flynn (Exiles)
Cronan Gleeson (Nenagh/Munster)
Robbie Henshaw (Buccaneers/Connacht)
Nathan Higgins (Exiles)
Conor Joyce (Exiles)
Akhlaque Khan (Navan/Leinster)
Jamie Kind (Sunday’s Well/Munster)
Jack Kingston (Sunday’s Well/Munster)
Jay Malcolm (Malone/Ulster)
Eoghan Masterson (Portlaoise/Leinster)
James McConnor (Dundalk/Leinster)
George McGuigan (Exiles)
Sean O’Brien (Galwegians/Connacht)
David O’Connell (Old Christians/Munster)
Shane O’Leary (Scarriff/Munster)
David Panter (Exiles)
Lee Steenson (Dromore/Ulster)
Eoin Stynes (Carlow/Leinster)
Cillian Walsh (Killarney/Munster)

UNDER-19 SQUAD –

Callum Boland (Buccaneers/Connacht)
Shane Buckley (Garryowen/Munster)
Luke Cahill (Rockwell College/Munster)
Jack Carty (Buccaneers/Connacht)
Jordan Coghlan (Clongowes Wood College/Leinster)
Jack Conan (St. Gerard’s School/Leinster)
Aaron Conneelly (Corinthians/Connacht)
Mark Corballis (St. Michael’s College/Leinster)
Barry Daly (Gonzaga College/Leinster)
Brian Du Toit (The King’s Hospital/Leinster)
Conor Finn (Cistercian College Roscrea/Connacht)
Tadhg Furlong (Clontarf/Leinster)
Charles Gallagher (Campbell College/Ulster)
Conor Gilsenan (Clongowes Wood College/Leinster)
JJ Hanrahan (UL Bohemians/Munster)
Diarmuid Higgins (Gallen Community College/Connacht)
Ryan Jablonski (London Irish/ASSE/Exiles)
Conor Kindregan (Monivea/Connacht)
Shane Layden (Carrick on Shannon/Connacht)
Kieran Marmion (UWIC/Kirkham/Exiles)
Cathal Marsh (Bective Rangers/Leinster)
Kyle McCall (Ballynahinch/Ulster)
Des Merry (Clontarf/Leinster)
Brian Moylett (Landsdowne/Connacht)
Johnny Murphy (Banbridge/Ulster)
Stephen Murphy (Gonzaga College/Leinster)
Peter Nelson (Royal School Dungannon/Ulster)
Sean O’Connell (Exiles)
Alan O’Connor (Institute of Education, Leeson Street/Leinster)
Darren O’Shea (Crosshaven/Cork Constitution/Munster)
Garret O’Suilleabhain (UCC/Leinster)
Peter Reilly (Lansdowne/Castlenock/Leinster)
Niall Scannell (Dolphin/Munster)
Conor Spence (Queen’s University/Ulster)
Charlie Simpson (Newport/Ulster)