THE RUGBY ACADEMY

RUGBY IS NOT ENJOYING THE HAPPIEST VOYAGE AT PRESENT, WALLOWING IN A
SEA OF DISCONTENT AND SAILING VERY CLOSE TO THE ROCKS FROM TIME TO TIME. BUT LIKE A BEACON OF HOPE, THE RUGBY ACADEMIES CONTINUE TO FUNCTION SMOOTHLY AND SUCCESSFULLY.

Story: Charles Martin Photographs: BOP Rugby

THIS IS A SUCCESS STORY in our national sport at a time when anything positive is good news.
The minor provinces under the G9 banner (and we’re not talking here of an economic grouping - or maybe we are!) have been in a revolutionary mood with their own national administration; the Sanzar countries have been scrapping among themselves about the structure of the Super 14 competition; and the punters continue to vote with their feet. So it is encouraging to report something good about the state of rugby in New Zealand… The Bay of Plenty Rugby Union has been operating a successful Rugby Academy since 2004. It has proved highly effective in identifying and retaining young talented rugby players and developing and schooling them so they are equipped to make that transition from raw amateur to good professional players. It is an identification, Frenchpolishing and feed-in process. The inaugural director of the Academy was well-known local rugby personality Joe Schmidt, who went on to join the Blues coaching team and later headed to France.
For the last four years the BOP Academy has been managed by the Union’s Player Development Manager, Dean Jennings.

 

“WE TRY TO GET THE RIGHT BALANCE SO THAT THOSE WHO COMPLETE THE ACADEMY PROGRAMME HAVE A CLEAR AWARENESS OF WHAT IS RIGHT AND WRONG AS WELL AS WELL HONED SKILLS IN THE PLAYING OF RUGBY”

He is very much a ‘Bay man’, having been born and schooled in the Bay of Plenty, and played over 40 games for the Steamers as a full-back or first-five before moving on to play rugby for a couple of years in Japan.

 

MISCONCEPTION

 

“There is a common misconception about rugby academies” he said. “Many people seem to think players are involved fulltime and are paid, like some sort of elite professional club. Nothing could be further from the truth. Usually we have up to a dozen talented young players involved in a three-year programme. This involvement is part-time taking up about 10-15 hours a week outside their normal work, and unpaid while they get on with their normal lives and jobs”.
He said that a typical week in the life of an Academy player involved:

 

• An early rise Monday to Friday for an early 5.30am gym session
• Two night sessions covering technical and positional skills, conditioning and speed training
• Sports Psychology
• Nutrition sessions and cooking classes
• Organisational, time management and communication skills

Discipline, behaviour and attitude are all part and parcel of the education programme but Dean believes that, while clear parameters are important for young people, it is also important to encourage enjoyment and fun. “We try to get the right balance so that those who complete the Academy programme have a clear awareness of what is right and wrong as well as well honed skills in the playing of rugby”, he said. “However it is interesting that these days talent alone will not make the grade in the big time. Life skills and an acceptable attitude towards others are equally important and necessary for success in the modern professional game”.

OBJECTIVES

Dean said that each intake was based on available talent and that the object of the Academy was to identify and assess this talent from schools and clubs and develop and refine the relevant skills as a feed-in process for the Steamers, a variety of national teams including under 17’s, under 20’s, Sevens sides, and Super 14 sides.
“Some of the players who have come through the system include Tanerau Latimer, now a Super 14 player, Solomon King, Lance McDonald, Jason Hona (who all made the New Zealand Sevens) and Luke Braid who was the world junior Player of the Year.
Not a bad track record” he smiles, with considerable satisfaction. In fact in 2006 Bay of Plenty had three players in the New Zealand Colts, the first players to make that level since Caleb Ralph, Adrian Cashmore and Scott Robertson a
decade earlier. Something’s working well! He was quick to note too that the Bay of Plenty Union instituted a Pre Academy two years ago, supported by the Wasps Rugby Football Club, to identify and start educating younger players from the age of 13 and better prepare them for the three-year Rugby Academy programme with its entry age of about 18 years. There are 25 young players between 13 and 18 years of age in this programme.

“We’ve found that, by the time some of these talented young guys get to the right age for the Academy they have either stopped playing the game, or developed bad habits in the passing, tackling and ‘vision’ departments as well as off the field. This Pre-Academy programme ensures good local talent doesn’t slip through the net” There are 14 such rugby academies in the country, all part-funded with grants from New Zealand Rugby. But the Bay of Plenty Academy has achieved an outstanding record of success in its five years of operation - a record that deserves local support in the
form of sponsorship. “We believe the Academy is a great opportunity for a sponsor to align their business to. The philosophy of our Academy is similar to what most businesses strive to achieve. Even in these tough economic times there is still important work to be done to help our young people achieve and succeed” he said.

 

“...THIS PREACADEMY PROGRAMME ENSURES GOOD LOCAL TALENT DOESN’T SLIP THROUGH THE NET”

ENHANCING RUGBY

Dean Jennings is hugely enthusiastic about the job. He enjoys the ‘hands on’ nature of it, and seeing players develop from good school talent to thoroughly professional and highly skilled provincial and national players.
“There’s something different every day, and of course each member of our Academy has different strengths and weaknesses to be addressed. But being part of the feed-in process to enhance and improve our rugby at the highest level has to be satisfying and important and I am happy to be part of that process each day”.
His days are well filled. Saturday is a big day - talent scouting and talent identification first at a school game, then a colts’ match, and finally attendance at a senior game to check on Academy players’ progress and performances. Dean also has family as a priority with a ten-year-old daughter and a son aged eight years old.
Back to the Academy and he proudly rattles off the figures - 16 players in the last two years in the extended New Zealand Under-17 squad from the Pre-Academy, with two making the New Zealand Under 17 team for two consecutive years (only two of three provinces in the country to achieve this), together with those mentioned earlier from the Academy programme itself.
There is no doubt the concept has proved an outstanding success and is one particular element at least that augurs well for the future of rugby in the Bay of Plenty and New Zealand.

Some good news at last!