Players and Staff Focus on Personal Development

As working from home became the new norm for so many over the last few months, Munster Rugby used the time to provide further development opportunities for staff and players who wouldn’t usually have the availability to attend workshops or weekly personal development sessions.

Remote working, online gatherings and synced calendars provided the perfect opportunity on this front.

The province has been providing a leadership programme to staff since early 2019, as part of a national initiative called LIFT Ireland (Lifting Ireland’s Future Together).

Over eight weeks, sessions are held to discuss values that are aligned to leadership. The initiative helps individuals with their approach to leadership in terms of character, own individual behaviour within Munster Rugby, and within the wider community.

While more staff completed the programme, the Greencore Munster Rugby Academy players also engaged with the programme for the first time, completing it just in time before this week’s return to training.

In addition to the leadership programme several players from the senior squad took part in an Interview Skills workshop hosted by The Communication Clinic’s Head of Training, Barry McLoughlin.

During the group session Barry shared his expertise by offering best practice guidance, providing relevant supporting examples, and then hosted one-on-one interviews after which each player was provided with constructive feedback.

Members of the senior squad taking part in an interview skills workshop hosted by Barry McLoughlin of the Communication Clinic.

The training and development opportunities were not only limited to the above with Lead Performance Analyst George Murray referring to some of the earlier initiatives that took place for the coaching team and backroom staff here.