A new Centre of Excellence for the development of Women’s Rugby in Connacht will be located at the University of Galway.
The IRFU has announced the appointment of eight new Women’s National Talent Squad (WNTS) Pathway staff to be based at five provincial centres of excellence.
Establishing a sustainable talent identification network has been a key deliverable for the WNTS programme since its inception in early 2022.
Each Centre of Excellence will have the task of attracting local players aged 16 to 23, and helping their development through programmes in skills and strength and conditioning.
The long term goal of each of these centres is to help up and coming players get a clear path to the green jersey.
Working under IRFU Head of Women’s Performance and Pathways, Gillian McDarby, IRFU WNTS and Talent ID Manager, Katie Fitzhenry, and IRFU Head of Athletic Performance, Women’s Pathway and WXV National Team, Ed Slattery, the eight new staff are:
- Leinster: Matt Gill (Talent Coach) and Greg Hollins (Athletic Performance Coach)
- Munster: Niamh Briggs (Talent Coach) and Lorna Barry (Athletic Performance Coach)
- Ulster: Neil Alcorn (Talent Coach) and Paul Heasley (Athletic Performance Coach)
- Connacht: Larissa Muldoon (Talent Coach) and Ann Caffrey (Athletic Performance Coach).
Commenting at the announcement at the IRFU High Performance Centre in Dublin, McDarby said, “We are delighted to confirm the appointment of eight new WNTS staff as we mobilise our vision for the pathways structure within the provincial system.”
“It is a significant step forward as we work with our University partners to create Centre of Excellence hubs, each resourced by an Athletic Performance and Pathway Talent Coach, to not only retain young players locally but to attract new talent to rugby within the University system in Ireland.”
Outside of Connacht, the other Centres of Excellence will be located at Dublin City University and SETU Carlow (Leinster), University of Limerick (Munster) and Queen’s University (Ulster).
IRFU President John Robinson said they are, “delighted to announce these key appointments to our Women’s Pathway as we continue to develop our structures at all levels of the game.”
“Creating exciting partnerships with five Universities around the country is also an important development and we are looking forward to working with them to provide our young players with access to world class facilities and Centre of Excellence hubs.”
