No friendly fire as Nagle enjoys rivalry

RIVALRY takes many forms in sport, and nowhere more so than in the Munster Academy.

A tight-knit bunch of tomorrow’s stars who spend much of their week together forming bonds, yet all the while also battling against one another for contracts when decision day comes.

Ian Nagle knows all about such tribulations. The 6’6” Cork Constitution second row’s duels with close friend Dave Foley are the source of a fair few jokes from the other players.

Despite the regular bouts of texting wind-ups between the two, the affable 21-year-old Buttevant native takes it all in his stride.

“It’s a good kind of rivalry, nothing venomous,” he laughs. “I’d be good friends with Dave and we’d be in direct competition, but we’d help each other out too. If there’s friendly rivalry we’ll hopefully both improve and both make it (in the professional game), rather than taking cheap shots at each other, which wouldn’t help either of us.”

Nagle reckons an unwavering work ethic and an ability to give and take slagging are unwritten prerequisites in the Munster setup.

“There’s no holding hands when you step up to train and play with the seniors, but there’s a strong team ethos,” he explains.

“They’ll make you work hard for the reward, but they’ll help you get there at the same time. The one thing that’s respected by everyone is that the harder you work, the more respect you get.”

And what about those infamous sharp tongues? “You’ll take it to a certain extent, but you need to know your place at the same time. If you don’t you’ll be put there pretty quickly, which is exactly how it should be.”!

A product of Glenstal Abbey, Nagle is one of a handful of players to emerge from a background outside Munster’s heavyweight schools, along with another academy man, Midleton College alum David O’Callaghan. A determination to punch above his weight therefore comes with the territory.

“For Glenstal guys, it was always more about how far you could get at Munster trials, rather than anyone actually making it. There were guys before me who should have made it but didn’t.

“But Paul Barr was the Munster coach at the time, he brought me through the trials and I’m forever grateful for that. It would have been easy to drop the ‘B school’ person. Now you see a fair few more Glenstal players involved with Munster at underage level, and there’s guys like David from Midleton, so they are branching out to the other schools.”

From there Nagle spent two years with UCC, prior to moving onto a higher level of competition with Cork Con this term, but the college rugby experience comes recommended.

“It’s the perfect transition from school to club. You always hear that your schooldays are the happiest of your life, and I suppose in some respects that’s true. But if there’s anything that comes close to how tight you are as a group in school, it’d be UCC.

“Everyone is the same age and going though the same experiences, it’s a really tight-knit group. I’m delighted that I went there for the two years and I’d recommend it to anyone.”

These days, it’s all about development. A regular in Munster’s British and Irish Cup team, Nagle also has two friendly games – including a try on his debut – and a Magners League clash under his belt.

He makes no bones about the areas he needs to improve on – developing physically is high on the agenda, as well as becoming a lineout guru.

“The line-out has to be a big part of any second row’s game. I’ve so much more to improve on in terms of video analysis and technical ability. Working with Brian Hickey at Con has really opened my eyes – he’s so passionate about it, and his level of knowledge when it comes to lineouts is just incredible.

“It helps me see how much more I’ve to learn. There’s no finish line when it comes to lineout analysis.”

And after that? The Munster Academy hasn’t enjoyed the same profile as its Leinster counterpart due to the longevity of the side’s stars, but Nagle sees opportunities down the line.

“Paul (O’Connell), Donncha (O’Callaghan) and Mick (O’Driscoll) are all around the same age, so there’ll be a turnover of players there as they are likely to be leaving around the same time, whenever that will be.

“I hope Munster will try to blood new players then.”