Academy Update | February 2026

Hear from Academy & Pathway Manager Gar Prendergast on a fantastic month for a number of the province’s young players.

There has been a very large representation of Munster players in the Ireland u20s squad with eight players again named in the team for Friday’s clash against England. See full details here.

Seán Edogbo and Tom Wood made their senior debuts for Munster in January, Academy graduate Edwin Edogbo earned his Ireland debut on Saturday and Munster A had a good win over Ulster A in the Interprovincial Series last week. Watch the highlights here, the sides meet again on Friday in Belfast with team news coming on Thursday.

8 players in Ireland U20s squad… 

“It’s a great reflection on the players, the clubs and schools they have come from and all the support their families have given them so credit to them.

“I’d also like to give a special mention to our NTS (National Talent Squad) programme led by Brendan O’Connor and all the staff that work with the lads. They have put a lot of good work into them over the last few years so it’s a culmination of all that and it’s really exciting.

“It’s great to have so many players but the most important thing is the quality of these players is very high so there’s definitely a very bright future for Munster Rugby when you see that much quality in an Ireland U20s team.

Munster A win over Ulster…

“There were some really good individual performances but, most importantly, as a team we performed very well.

“Credit to the senior set-up, they gave us the opportunity to work with them as the week progressed and there’s an aligned group there.

“The most important thing now is to back that up with another performance in Belfast on Friday. Ulster will be hurting after the game on Friday and they will be ready for us so we’re expecting a very stern test come Friday.

“There have been many club players come in and contributed. To give an example, Rory Woods is in this week from Garryowen and that’s very much appreciated from the club and Rory has really bought into it. These A fixtures are very important and it complements the really good work and exposure players get in the AIL.”

Seán Edogbo making his Munster debut v Dragons…

“Seán came up through Cobh Pirates and we know the fantastic work they have done as a club with Seán and his older brother Edwin. He was also involved with the Munster Club Select Programme in the Schools Senior Cup, up into the NTS (National Talent Squad) and then into the Academy and now he’s performing at senior level.

“A top young fella is the first thing I’d say, he’s a really nice lad. Applies himself really well, a really good professional and just an incredible athlete and I think we’ve seen some of that over the past few weeks. We saw it with the Ireland U20s as well last year, he just moves so well and he’s very diligent, a very hard-worker and I’m thrilled to see him playing in the senior team at the moment.

Tom Wood making his Munster debut v Glasgow…

“Tom has been doing really well, he played a year young with the Ireland U20s last year and has been playing AIL with Garryowen after coming through at St Munchin’s. It’s all the work that goes in in those different components – the club and the school – culminates in Tom doing really well. He’s a smart young player, very mature young man, balanced, very calm and he loves his rugby. He thoroughly enjoyed the experience in Glasgow and hopefully there’s many more to come.”

Academy players slotting into senior squad…

“That’s the job of the Academy and our integrated, aligned model where Academy players when they are called in are able to slot in effectively.

“It’s happened more than once in the past and has worked well and that’s credit to the work the senior coaches do making sure they are aligned with the Academy coaches and making sure the players are up to speed in terms of what is expected of them both on and off the pitch. It’s important to acknowledge the off-the-pitch stuff as well in terms of the standards and the culture we have.

“These are a really good group of young players we have in the Academy, I can’t speak highly enough of them. Much like the U20s lads, these Academy lads have bright futures in front of them.”

Edwin Edogbo making his Ireland debut…

“The north star for all these lads is the green jersey and it happened during the summer with Alex Kendellen and Tom Ahern making their Ireland debuts as well.

“Seeing players get into a green jersey after coming through the Academy is brilliant. Edwin is from Cobh and probably had a trickier path than his brother Seán in terms of having a few serious injuries and that hampered his progression, but he’s a specimen of a man, an athletic guy and didn’t look out of place on the international scene last Saturday.

“He was in the Academy up until two years ago and he’s just been really unlucky with injuries. The big thing with Edwin is just getting that consistency of performances and stays fit because, if he does, he’s someone who has a very exciting future in front of him.”

Munster clubs flying high in AIL…

“It’s fantastic, I’ve been a big proponent of the AIL since I came into the job because that’s where I came from. I coached there for many years and it amazes me every year how the standard just keeps on rising, it’s a very good platform for our young players to show what they’re about – both from an NTS and Academy perspective, but also to highlight the importance of a late developer.

“Players that mightn’t have come through the traditional pathway but are getting the opportunity to show what they’re about in the All Ireland League, I think that’s very important for the professional game going forward – we have seen loads of examples over recent years.

“Teams like Young Munster and Cork Con are in the top four of 1A. Highfield, Shannon and UL Bohs are going well, and then Garryowen and UCC have recently had some big wins so a lot of the Munster clubs are showing form at the right time.”

Injury news…

“Oisín Minogue missed last week due to a short term injury and will be involved for Munster A on Friday. Luke Murphy will be out for a few weeks with a knee injury, which is a real pity because he had been playing some really good rugby and made his senior debut against Argentina. He’s a player with a very high ceiling, a very powerful athlete and I’ve no doubt he’ll bounce back.

“Jake O’Riordan, unfortunately, picked up an ankle injury against Ulster A and he’s been playing some great stuff.

“Darragh McSweeney has a knee injury, he’s a big, powerful prop who has been looking really good lately and hopefully he’ll make a quick recovery.

“Gordon Wood is a very high calibre player with high ceiling but he’s out with a long-term injury but he’s a very strong guy mentally and he’s moving in the right direction so we’ll hopefully see him back in action in the next few weeks.”

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