ABSTRACT
Leicester Tigers is one of the most successful clubs within the English game and Gloucester Rugby is constantly striving to break in to the top four of the Premiership. Traditionally, the community game meets the professional game at these early stages of the pathway, which over a significant period of time has made it difficult to strike a balance between the altruistic motivations of the community game and the needs of the professional game to identify, select, and confirm those few players that will form the basis of the academy system. Accordingly developing a system that can assess relatively quickly the series of factors that will impact on progression is key. The systems, models, and programmes focused on the identification and development of talent continue to evolve in their complexity and comprehensiveness. Talent development is a costly business therefore accurate identification is a major focus for many sporting bodies.
