Covid pause has stalled Irish rugby production line, head of player development warns

Peter Smyth was giving an overview of the recently introduced National Training Squad system in Irish rugby which identifies players of outstanding talent from 15 years of age through to 20

The opportunities to give the likes of Craig Casey (pictured) and Ryan Baird their senior provincial debuts as young as 19 and 20 could be a thing of the past in Irish rugby, Peter Smyth warns

The opportunities to give the likes of Craig Casey and Ryan Baird their senior provincial debuts as young as 19 and 20 could be a thing of the past in Irish rugby if the island’s brightest talents continue to be sidelined by the ongoing pandemic and shutdown of sport.

That is the warning of IRFU Head of Elite Player Development Peter Smyth, who outlined the “huge” impact on his mission to deliver young players into the professional game being made by the loss of thousands of games from schools’, clubs’, age-grade, and All Ireland League schedules since rugby was first shuttered due to Covid-19 almost a year ago.