Rugby Australia is "moving to shore up its best young talent" by introducing new tiers to its Super Rugby Academies, bringing in boys as young as 15 "in a bid to head off poaching from rival codes." Though academies to date have "concentrated entirely on school-leavers," the new talent management model will "split the state-based academy programs into three age groups." Australian Rugby Union High Performance Dir Ben Whitaker said, "We envisage these programs touching 2,000-odd players at different levels" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 9/20).
John Horan said that hiring an expert to oversee GAA structures is a possibility.GETTY IMAGES
GAA President John Horan said that the association is "open to appointing a David Nucifora-like figure to help inter-county players find a better balance in their commitment to an elite Gaelic Games career." Irish Rugby Football Union Performance Dir Nucifora "oversees planning and evaluation, the elite player development pathway, professional coach development and succession planning" (LONDON TIMES, 9/19).
More females are signing up for rugby but the same cannot be said about males, according to figures released by New Zealand Rugby. There has been a "significant drop" of 4.8% for boys aged 13-20, and overall male registrations are down 1.8% from last year. In total, there are 157,218 registered players, which is a 1% increase, with females up 14.6% to 27,838 registered players (STUFF, 9/19).
