Munster Rugby Coach Development Update

The Munster Rugby Development Department commence their coach education programme this weekend with a Senior Coach Course at Thomond Park.

The course kicks-off the formal coaching course programme, which runs for eight consecutive weekends.

The two-day course which is currently fully booked with a waiting list in operation, will see coaches from U16/JCT to adult levels attending. 

The course, formerly known as the Stage 3 Course, is part of the refreshed coaching curriculum designed by the IRFU.

The course is designed to enhance coaching knowledge and understanding of the game specifically aligning the principles of play to creating an effective and challenging environment for players developing key components of the game and unit skills. 

The IRFU Stage 4 Course is now identified as the Performance Coach Course and Munster had 14 attendees at the recent course held in the new High-Performance Centre in Abbotstown.

The previously known IRFU Stage 1 Course (U7-U12s) is now identified as the Coaching Children Course and the Stage 2 is now identified as the Coaching Youth Course (U13-U16).

Also, this season will see the introduction of GAINLINE, the new IRFU online learning management system.

This pilot implementation will offer coaches the opportunity to self-direct their learning through an online platform, eventually supporting their re-accreditation and CPD programmes.

Initially, coaches will be able to engage with their awards and upload/download content relevant to the course – e.g. pre and post-course requirements.

Munster Coach and Player Development Manager, Keith Murphy, commented: ‘GAINLINE is an exciting new addition this season to help us align coaching awards and support coaches with continuous learning through a more flexible and blended experience.

“We are looking forward to piloting the system next week on our Senior Course and getting feedback on its functionality.

“Coaches can engage with the system to download course content, their coaching certificates and other resources as well as upload course requirements to facilitate their awards”.

Already this season the Coach Development Department hosted a coaching seminar in the High-Performance Centre in UL with coaches of advanced teams (including AIL, SCT, Junior 1 qualifying league) in attendence.

Presenters on the night included the Munster Senior coaching staff; Johann van Graan, Stephen Larkham, JP Ferreira and IRFU National Referee Manager David Wilkinson.

The presentations focused on key principles surrounding attack and defence followed by an interactive discussion on the new global laws.

“It was great to get the opportunity to host this seminar and offer the coaches some key insight to both the coaching process and key principles applied at professional level.

“The seminar proved very interactive and we hope the coaches benefited from the information being shared surrounding the game and the new global laws being applied this season,” said Murphy.