WRU assess the benefits of the Academy system

The aims of this Welsh Rugby Industry Project were to establish four regional Men’s Academies and the one Women’s National Academy. The Academies enable the WRU, in partnership with the professional Regions, to develop Wales’s future regional and international players through individualised and innovative coaching, conditioning and specialist advice off the field.

The system has already proved hugely effective from a rugby perspective with the vast majority of Wales’s current U20 squad already breaking into the regional sides; the likes of Bradley Davies and Tom James (Blues), Lou Reed (Scarlets) and Ashley Smith (Dragons) the most obvious examples.

This work has been recognised, with the WRU now accredited to provide the young players with an NVQ in Sporting Excellence. However, the Academy structure also caters for the players’ careers off-the-field. Rugby players suffer injuries, drops in form and an inevitable outcome; the end of a relatively short sporting career.

The Welsh Rugby Industry Project ensures that players follow educational opportunities and helps them to pursue another profession or vocation outside of their rugby aspirations. Two years after launching the project, the WRU will be assessing the value of the Academy system at a press conference next Tuesday (February 27th, Millennium Stadium), the conference will incorporate case studies of Academy players who are currently pursuing varied activities outside rugby, including higher education in medicine and criminology and vocations such as farming, butchery and bricklaying.