Munster Age-Grade Summer Programme Review

A busy summer period has come to a close as Munster’s age-grade representative squads spent the last number of months training weekly ahead of their respective Interpro games which took place in August and September.

The Munster U19 Boys, U18 Boys Schools, U18 Boys Clubs and U18 Girls all played in an Interprovincial series against the three other provinces.

The Munster U19s finished their campaign strongly with a 40-24 win over Connacht in the Sportsground. This followed a 31-19 win over Ulster in Newforge and a narrow 22-29 loss to Leinster in Fethard Town Park.

The U18 Boys Schools, played four matches, home and away against Leinster and Ulster. The U18 Schools finished their campaign with three wins from four. They opened their campaign with a 26-7 win over Ulster in Newforge before falling to a 29-19 defeat to Leinster in Fethard Town Park. They then got back to winning ways with a 12-7 win over Ulster at home before beating Leinster 24-14 in Donnybrook.

The Munster U18 Boys Schools squad after their win over Leinster. Photo Credit: Munster Rugby

The U18 Boys Clubs squad lost out 37-42 in a hugely exciting game against Leinster in Fethard Town Park before travelling to Newforge to take on Ulster where they beat the northern province 29-21. The finished their campaign with a 27-7 loss to a strong Connacht side in Galway.

Munster U18 Boys Clubs’ Fionn O’Meara with Daragh Farrell of Leinster
©INPHO

Across the Munster U19 Boys, Munster U18 Boys Clubs and Schools and Munster U17 Clubs and Schools squads, there were over 80 pitch sessions and over 80 gym sessions.

The Munster U18 Girls opened their campaign with a 5-13 loss to Connacht in Musgrave Park before a tough day out to Leinster the following weekend in Donnybrook where they suffered a 41-0 loss. However, Munster finished their campaign well with a 20-12 win away to Ulster.

Munster U18 Girls celebrate after scoring a try against Ulster
©INPHO

The Munster U16 Boys, U17 Boys Clubs, U17 Boys Schools and U17 Girls all trained throughout the summer as well and were involved in a number of games.

For the U18 and U17 Girls squads, they each had 17 pitch sessions as part of their training programmes in addition to 17 gym sessions.