Building with McEntee

IT’S WEDNESDAY afternoon, three days before Leinster attempt to double up on Heineken Cup titles. Joe Schmidt has released his senior players into Dublin’s hands for a few hours but base camp remains a hive of activity.

The next generation are still on the job. Beefy young men walk with purpose around the Riverview complex in Clonskeagh, others are huddled together in small groups nursing coffees while one exits an office with papers in hand, like a kid from a headmaster’s study.

The office belongs to Colin McEntee, Academy manager, A team and U20 coach, but the duties undertaken in the pursuit of future success stories spill far beyond such inadequate confines.