A small piece of history takes place at Headingley on sunday when David Doherty is set to make his debut appearance for Leeds Tykes in their Zurich Premiership game against Northampton Saints. At just 17, he is the youngest player to have ever donned the Tykes shirt for the senior side in the professional era. Indeed coming off the bench will make him the youngest to play in the Premiership, breaking Leicester Tigers' Ollie Smith's four year record. Doherty is a product of the RFU's academy system and is one of only 16 players in England on the Junior National Academy under Brian Ashton.
Not to be outdone another JNA player, eighteen year old centre Matthew Tait, will also make his debut on the same day for Newcastle Falcons' Premiership game against London Irish. Falcons Director of Rugby Rob Andrew announced Tait's signing and selection at centre today.
For the RFU's Performance Director Chris Spice, Doherty and Tait's selection to the Premiership at this early stage in their careers indicates the difference the academies are making.
"When Directors of Rugby decide to bring on 17 and 18 year old academy players for Premiership games it's a very encouraging sign that all the work being done in the regional and national academies is having its effect. Identifying and fast tracking this sort of talent is what it's all about."
Needless to say the Tykes wing David Doherty is pretty excited about his selection.
"I've been dying to have a chance with the first team. It's every academy player's dream. The club has put a lot of faith in me and shown it's belief in me. I just cant wait. "
A quick glance at his pedigree and you realise it was only a matter of time before Doherty burst into the senior side in Leeds. Selected on merit and not through injury by Tykes Director of Rugby Phil Davies, Doherty has jumped ahead of the likes of Diego Albanese who has earned 55 caps for Argentina and played in the last two Rugby World Cups.
"He'll start on the bench but I'm pretty sure I'll give him some game time on the wing. It's great experience for him and I'm looking to bring him fully into the first team as soon as he's 18. So sunday will give him a taste of what's to come. I'm extremely pleased for David and this is proof of all the hard work done by our academy manager Stuart Lancaster in recent years, in what has been a very active academy system. David's selection is testament to that."
The young wing joined the Tykes academy last year aged 16 when he left Mount St Mary's School in Leeds, a non rugby playing school. As well as the Junior National Academy he has played in the England Under 16s, was this season's England Under 18 Clubs captain (one of 9 Tykes players to make the 25 man squad), and soon after turning 17 has already come off the bench in the England Under 19s game against Ireland in March.
"The academy system at Leeds has made a massive difference to my game. I've got to thank such a lot of people. The sessions with Brian Ashton have been tremendous, developing my game and really helping me deliver under pressure."
Matthew Tait has been part of the Junior National Academy from its inception last year and has played for Barnard Castle School's first XV for three years. Currently studying for his A-levels, his coach Martin Pepper believes he has a promising future with Falcons.
"It's a good decision by Rob Andrew to give him this break into the senior side as he's an exceptionally good and capable player. This will give him a taste of it and is a great opportunity to see what's all involved at this level."
Tait played an integral part for England in the IRB Under 19 World Championships in South Africa this month and as Pepper points out, his Falcons selection is the next logical step.
"This finishes off what has been a fantastic year for Matthew following on from the England 19s. He's very excited about it all and looking forward to sunday."
Tait's JNA team mate Doherty at Leeds is one of four academy players that are dual code, something that sets Leeds Rugby apart from the other 13 RFU Regional Academies. Both Leeds Tykes academy for union and Leeds Rhinos academy for league train side by side, sharing some players and defence coaching sessions. Director of Rugby Phil Davies, who joined Tykes in 1996, feels the benefits are obvious for all to see.
"Having dual code talented players like David is very exciting for the club. We've benefitted so much by the set up.We're trying to attract generations of Yorkshire talent like David to come and play at Leeds and the academy system is clearly starting to bear fruit. I'm trying to get the whole of Yorkshire behind us and we're getting there."
The Leeds Tykes game against Northampton, their penultimate Premiership match this season, is a "must win" for the club if they are to qualify for the Zurich wildcard play offs next month. So the pressure is on Doherty to deliver on the wing when he comes off the bench.
"We're hoping for nine points out of the next two games. That's what we've trained for. I'm looking forward to it as I know it's my big chance. Hopefully it's all I'll need."
