Underage structures: John O'Sullivan reports on ways the IRFU is tackling Ireland's deficiency in skills

The illustrations have been graphic, unpalatable and for the majority of Irish rugby supporters something of a nasty shock. Ireland's deficiency in skills, or more appositely the application of same under pressure, has defined their performances in November Test series, the final instalment of which concludes at Lansdowne Road today.

New Zealand played a brand of rugby with which Ireland is not familiar but it was the Australian match that caused the most disquiet. While the home side had improved from a defensive standpoint they still retained a brittleness in possession that undermined their own ambition: plenty of perspiration but precious little inspiration.

The discussion on the parlous state of national resources has crept outside direct comment on the Ireland squad and instead sought answers in the structures that underpin Irish rugby. Skills may be honed but not developed in the Test arena. It's hardly a surprise that the search should alight on the schools and underage rugby in clubs.

This embryonic stage of development is vital in terms of the finished product. It is where good habits can be inculcated and an ideal time to focus on skills. The IRFU hasn't got it right in the past despite success in the international underage arena, primarily their 1998 Under-19 World Cup triumph.

However, the union has absorbed the lessons and following an internal audit of the domestic and international underage structures has produced a pathway for the future. The report outlined the need for change or more accurately the requirement for Irish rugby to realign itself with its international rivals.

In modern international professional rugby the age of players making their international debut is coming down rapidly and this places a huge emphasis on underage structures producing the finished product in terms of a player rather than raw material.

The IRFU's Director of Rugby Eddie Wigglesworth outlines the union's philosophy. "If you really want to draw a line under somebody, it's a case of come tour with me. Playing a one-off A game is fine in the context of a match but it doesn't give you the type of deep understanding of a player that you get in a tour situation.

"The provincial ethos and daily regime allows you to make that decision in the context of the province but when you want to take it to the next level you have to go to the next level and that is where the Churchill Cup comes in." Ireland will send a development side to America next summer where they'll face amongst others the New Zealand Maoris in a six-handed tournament. It's seen as an appropriate proving ground for young talent.

Wigglesworth continues: "The Under-21s is a benchmarking for us to say whether a player can measure up in the context of a provincial professional (contract). The reality now is that when we play South Africa, New Zealand and Australia at that age group, we are playing against guys who are next year's Super 12 players; it tell us a great deal about our players.

"In the international benchmarking exercise the Under-19s represents the first step onto what we term the high performance ladder. That is why it is very important for us, bearing in mind we are hosting the tournament in Belfast in 2007, that in fact we get our structures right in that regard.

"There are a host of other reasons for doing it as well. The report was predicated on the need to change internal structures to meet international requirements."

Trenchant views from all perspectives received an airing before a collective wisdom was subsumed into a blueprint for change. The standard of the Four Nations Youths competition in which Ireland has participated in recent years has left them in something of a vapour trail.

Ireland's record is horrendous but in mitigation it was because this Irish Youths team was essentially playing the top English, Scottish and Welsh sides while at the same time the Ireland Schools side was lording it over much weaker opposition and racking up several Triple Crowns.

It offered a largely cock-eyed perspective from an Irish standpoint and one that shouldn't have been allowed to persist as long as it did. The schools guarded what they perceived to be their patch, almost recklessly fostering this anomaly of standards. The IRFU has belatedly grasped this issue.

The primary concern was to move the age dateline from September (it mirrored academic rather than rugby issues) to January 1st. This brought the Irish structures in line with age-grade rugby throughout the international game.

It would be churlish not to recognise the input of the schools as 85 per cent of the professionals come through the elite schools system. The only drawback is that about 20 to 25 schools are providing this huge tranche of players. The union need that feeder system to widen appreciably.

It should also be acknowledged that it is not the schools' responsibility to produce professional rugby players; facilitate the development maybe. The schools can rightly point out that their primary function is to educate academically and to ensure pupils have access to a sport, allowing them the wherewithal to take part and encouraging them to be the best they can.

There was also an acceptance within the IRFU that Ireland had been compromising the chances of the national side in a succession of Under-19 World Cups. Then sent them out handicapped by Irish rugby's own hand, compromised by selection criteria, where schools had primacy over players.

The new structures should end that malpractice.

The Youths system remains in place and they have now been pitched into a tournament with what hopefully will be players of similar capability.

Wigglesworth explained: "There are two international competitions that would allow us to stream and benchmark players in the Under-18 category. One was the Four Nations, the other the FIRA Under-18.

"We have decided to embrace both, having not previously played in FIRA Under-18.

"Because Wales, England Scotland had decided that they were going to put their best team into the Four Nations tournament, that's where we decided that we would put our Under-18 Schools side.

"They will also play France on an annual basis. We put the Youths Under-18 team (they had previously played in the Four Nations) into the FIRA tournament, which is more appropriate because England, Wales and Scotland had defined that as a tournament for their second teams, although we do not define it that way."

To underpin those international commitments the IRFU continued to run the Under-18 Youths Interpros (January dateline) and this year introduced for the first time the Under-18 Schools Interpros with a January dateline. The next issue was a lack of achievement at Under-19 World Cups.

Wigglesworth admitted: "At Under-19 there has been continuous conflict; schools had priority of selection. Out of this internal report, we introduced Under-19 schools Interpros. It gave us another layer of streaming that helped to ensure we weren't going to miss anyone in the fifth and sixth year cycles."

It is at that level that Ireland will host the visiting Australians next month, playing a Test match with the Aussies also taking on Ireland A and Munster.

There are a host of other issues that the union is addressing, notably de-powering the contact aspect of Under 6, 7 and 8 rugby, introducing coach education courses for all those involved in teaching kids and the introduction of a 10-a-side game in schools and age grade club rugby with an emphasis on developing skills.

They are looking into resurrecting a proposal permitting kicking only inside the respective 22s to once again put on an emphasis on the skills aspect of the game. They have taken significant steps forward in addressing the anomalies of the underage game in this country. Putting the correct structures in place is a decent start and possibly half the battle.