Highland Rugby Club head coach Dave Carson pleased with integration of young talents into first team
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Dave Carson says Highland Rugby Club have to get the balance right between bringing the next generation through into the first team and not throwing them in at the deep end.
Numbers have been growing at Canal Park over the last few years, bringing with them a very healthy competition for places, and a significant upturn in interest in the sport.
With Highland one step away from the Premiership, getting all of those players minutes on the pitch – especially for youngsters trying to make their way in the game – could be a challenge.
Already this year though, Alfie Kinsella has been a regular part of the first team squad, and shortly before the winter break Ollie Smith earned the man of the match award on his debut.
Carson, then, is taking an “if you’re good enough, you’re old enough” approach, although he is conscious of over-exposing fledgling talents in the early days.
“As coaches we have to look after them and not just chuck them in against older, gnarly backs from the borders,” he reasoned.
“We have to look after them and not have too many starting as well, because it’s really hard going physically and it wears them out more quickly than the older guys.
“You’ve just got to strike a balance, but we’re always keen to get these young guys involved if they’re good enough, regardless of their age.
“If they’re allowed to play, we’ll get them in if we’re good enough. It’s just a balance of who we’re playing, and what the team is around them because you want experienced guys helping them along.
“They can learn from these guys, and positionally they can follow the older guys around the park which really helps them.
“We’ve had a lot of guys who started at 17 or 18 in the first team, and they’re still there now in their mid-to-late 20s. It shows that our junior coaches are doing a great job, which is fantastic for the whole club.”
