Where is Best for Young Rugby Pilgrims?
Where is Best for Young Rugby Pilgrims?
When I was younger and played at being a rugby player I signed a contract with Edinburgh Rugby, then the Gunners. After two years, a few regime changes and a lot of weights sessions I was let go. At the crossroads I chose to go back to university, but I had been approached about an academy position in France, first.
Do I regret not going to France? Well I regret it as much as one would, choosing security over adventure, but it is an individual issue to try and find adventure in the securest of situations. I will admit that part of me wonders 'What if?', but that is the fantastical part of the brain that led one to pursue a career in tackle bags in the first place.
I said no to an academy place, but others have vicariously taken up my stead, since.
In Scotland there are grand hopes for young centre Mark Bennett. The Ayrshire coached back proved himself a physical and instinctive force in the Scottish club game's highest level at the age of 17. After a better-late-than-never attempt to keep him in Scotland the SRU threw an offer at him in his 18 year, handing him some game time with Glasgow Warriors at the last minute. He seemed a natural, if a little green, but he had already made his mind up to go to Clermont Auverne's academy.
The assumption is that if he excels in this year's U20 world cup “from within a Scottish side perennially un-tipped “then he could burst into Clermont's plans. A tough ask considering he plays all along a backline that already hosts the likes of Lee Byrne, Wesley Fofana and Sitiveni Sivivatu (who I am assured by a contact is already threatening action over his place at the club as they sign more players, with the alleged utterance of something like 'I'm here to play every week, not fight for a place'. He is reportedly unhappy with competition, something he had all the time back home).
Bennett will be on the scene eventually. He has the skill, if he has the temperament. The issue is, though, are young players better off at home, or elsewhere?
The pilgrimage for young aspiring players with no offers aside no desire to do everything else is to go Down Under. Every year the SRU send a few players as part of their McPhail Scholarship to New Zealand to learn. However many believe that this is an indictment of the youth system here.
Maybe it is true. Players like Bennett and Stuart Hogg are few and far between, but they have had chances and excelled. The English elite sides have vast academies, even if you pay for the privilege of being in some of them, and the French likewise. They can accommodate the numbers and they have the funds.
However there is one area that always seems to be forgotten. Pilgrimages spider over the European continent and even crawl way down south. There is the bluster of the big leagues heavily advertised over and over again. If I had a son capable of playing at a high level, but still with lots to learn, where would I send him? If I'm honest I doubt I would be able to afford the cost of a Kiwi plunge or a Gallic undertaking.
Why not send him to Wales? They are continuing to produce young talent, they are a force, internationally, and they are not short of opportunities should one be good enough. Look at the Dragons.
Before I sent him to get lost in the wilderness I would seek out the structure and history of the Welsh style. I think it would be better for his rugby if my boy emulated the boyos.
