Sport

Playing the game – the modern athlete needs a broad education

Coaches don’t just want rugby or soccer players anymore, they want players who bring skills from other sports and the coaches are out to learn them too

Mark Butler, director of rugby at Cistercian College, Roscrea with some of the rugby playing students at the college. Picture: Damien Eagers

It’s the peak of the All Ireland championships in Gaelic football and hurling with GAA fans enraptured by what is before them.

So too are many rugby coaches, not just as casual observers but to see what elements of these games they can use to make their players better.

Sports have typically operated in competition with each other but many coaches now see the benefits of introducing elements from other codes into their training and ...