From left, Elite Player Development Officer Trevor Hogan, DCU associate professor Siobhán O'Connor, lead sub academy athletic performance coach Dave Fagan DCU assistant professor Enda Whyte and Sub-academy assistant athletic performance coach Padraic Phibbs.

DCU and Leinster Rugby Announce Partnership

21/09/2023

The School of Health and Human Performance at Dublin City University and The Ken Wall Centre of Excellence at Leinster Rugby (DCU) are proud to announce a new partnership.

Dr Siobhán O’Connor, Associate Professor in Athletic Therapy and Training, DCU, said, "DCU's School of Health and Human Performance is thrilled to team up with Leinster Rugby to elevate sports excellence and drive innovation through these research and placement opportunities.

“The School of Health and Human Performance prides itself on ensuring our students receive high-standard applied opportunities throughout their time in DCU and this new collaboration signifies both DCU's and Leinster Rugby's commitment to advancing the sport of rugby through cutting-edge research and providing unparalleled placement opportunities benefiting the club, players and students themselves."

The collaboration between the two institutions will aim to provide further practical learning opportunities for students studying on various academic programmes in DCU.

The programmes involved include;

The BSc in Sport Science and Health,
The BSc Athletic Therapy and Training, and
The MSc in Athletic Therapy and Strength and Conditioning.

There will also be opportunities to collaborate on applied research projects with the interdisciplinary team on Leinster Rugby’s player development pathway based in the Ken Wall Centre of Excellence in Energia Park.

For third year students studying the BSc in Sport Science and Health in DCU, training placement opportunities will be provided for their integrated training (INTRA) programme by Leinster Rugby at the Ken Wall Centre of Excellence, based in Energia Park.

Fourth year BSc Athletic Therapy and Training students will have opportunities for their final year placements, while students studying the MSc in Athletic Therapy and Strength and Conditioning course will also have opportunities for final year placements.

There will be further opportunities for final year undergraduate and postgraduate students from both courses on the Leinster Rugby Athletic Development Mentorship Programme, which has a long-standing relationship with DCU, to engage on a range of applied practical modules led by members of the Senior, Academy, and pathway staff at Leinster Rugby.

Leinster Rugby has a long history of research projects with various institutions and this latest partnership with DCU is a further statement on intent to continue investing in the player pathway and is an extension of the work already underway in the Ken Wall Centre of Excellence and across the communities of the 12 counties of Leinster.

Working together with DCU, applied research questions will be developed with practical insights from the team at the Centre of Excellence and the research expertise of the staff at the School of Health and Human Performance.

The aim of this research collaboration is to develop practical and useful information that can be used to improve practice on Leinster’s player development pathway, and also provide DCU students with further knowledge and skills to excel in their future careers in sports science and medicine.