https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/from-all-black-to-red-gxchqxt5l6q?t=ie
Manning, 19, had been earmarked as a future All Black, a place-kicking fly-half who had the pace to play anywhere in the back line. He was just 16 when he made his first appearance for Marlborough in the prestigious Ranfurly Shield competition — Alex Wyllie, formerly coach to New Zealand, Argentina and Clontarf, reckoned he was ready to play against a Canterbury side including All Blacks such as Norm Maxwell, Ben Blair and Sam Broomhall.
The same year, 2002, he made the New Zealand Schools side that beat Australia Schools 9-6 in Wellington, kicking all his team's points. The corresponding game the following season saw New Zealand win 18-16 in Brisbane and this time Manning scored the decisive try.
To spend two years in the New Zealand Schools team means quite a bit of time and money has been invested in you. Naturally enough, the Kiwis wouldn't let him go to Munster without a fight. Robbie Deans, coach to the Canterbury Crusaders and formerly an All Blacks assistant coach, travelled to Manning's home town of Blenheim, took him out for dinner and tried to get him to reconsider his plans. No joy.
Next, he was hauled in front of a panel of three heavy hitters at Marlborough, the second division side to whom he was contracted. Most of the talking was done by Denis Brown, the provincial coach and also the man in charge of the World Cup-winning New Zealand under-21s. They offered him an improved contract but he knocked them back, saying the Munster opportunity was too good to turn down.
Things then turned a little sour. By last July, when Manning was due to leave, there were still a couple of months remaining on his Marlborough contract. They told him he'd have to buy his way out. NZ$2,000 isn't a lot of money, just over €1,000, but it was money the teenager didn't have. Only after they received letters from Manning's mother did Marlborough relent.
Nearly a year later, he is delighted with his decision. If you haven't heard of him before now, it's because he's been playing for UCC in Division Two of the AIB League, which doesn't tend to fall under the media spotlight — until yesterday, that is, when UCC had a playoff against Lansdowne to reach Division One for the first time in their history.
That they reached those heights had quite a bit to do with their young fly-half, who was the second-highest points scorer in the division and directed what was often a high-risk gameplan from No 10. He got his reward three Fridays ago when he was called before Munster's incoming coach, Declan Kidney, and the chief executive, Garrett Fitzgerald, who offered him a development contract for next year.
"I've always said to my mum and dad I'd love to come over here and play some rugby and experience the culture," said Manning during the week. "Then this came up and I thought, 'Why not give it a go?' I'd been looking at all the players who were up and coming in my position — guys like Luke McAllister and Stephen Donald on the under-21s. I'm not saying I would or wouldn't have made it but the player base in New Zealand is just massive and that reduces your chances of making it as a pro rugby player. I just thought I'd take a gamble.
"I reckon my rugby has improved. I've been really impressed by the quality of the coaching at UCC. There's a lot of emphasis on skills. I've also got the chance to train with the Munster Academy, so I feel a lot stronger. It's been awesome. I'm loving it over here."
Munster are clearly pretty happy, too. The outgoing coach, Alan Gaffney, has been taken by Manning's work ethic as well as his ability. Meanwhile, one year of the naturalisation process is out of the way. By July 2007, when that process concludes, Manning will be just 21, while Ronan O'Gara will be 30. Manning is happy to wait, even if it means playing club rugby for another two years.
"He is a talent, there's no doubt," says Gaffney. "He's a very, very skilful player, with great vision, kicks well with both feet. You could see him playing provincial rugby in the next six months. He needs to develop physically but he spends a lot of time in the gym. The boy's got a future."
So how did Munster pull it off? Some in the organisation would have you believe that the player just fell into their lap. His own version of events shows that the province was more pro-active than that. In February of last year, Manning received a phone call from Paul Rolton, liaison officer to the New Zealand Schools side, to see if he'd mind talking to Dave Monnery, agent/manager to Christian Cullen. Munster were looking for players in certain positions — specifically fly-half and outside centre — and maybe he'd like to look at the contract on offer. Meanwhile, in Wellington, 20-year-old centre/full-back Mike Kingsbeer was receiving a similar call. By July, both players were on the plane together.
If Munster were being a bit secretive about their new recruits, that's understandable — it seems an admission of guilt if your own system fails to produce sufficient quality. And the system clearly is failing, as a quick trawl of the provinces' No 10s reveals.
In Leinster, a Kiwi, an Argentinian and an Australian were vying for the fly-half shirt; in Ulster, 33-year-old David Humphreys is hanging on, while Gareth Steenson, the Irish under-21 choice, isn't deemed good enough to be given a development contract for next year; 32-year-old Paul Burke is O'Gara's back-up in Munster, while Australian Paul Warwick was brought in at Connacht to give 36-year-old Eric Elwood the chance to rest his weary bones occasionally.
Things aren't any better at scrum-half either — Isaac Boss, formerly of Wellington and Waikato but Irish-qualified, joins Ulster next season and is already being tipped as Peter Stringer's successor.
The schools cup competitions are at least partly to blame for the lack of quality playmakers coming through. PBC's recent 9-6 humdinger of a win over CBC in the Munster senior final was the perfect example of the win-at-all-costs mentality that prevails, where individual skill development comes a poor second to percentage rugby. In simple terms, the kid with the biggest boot invariably gets handed the No 10 jersey.
The hope is that by regionalising the IRFU's Academy system, more players will get quality coaching. But it will only make a real difference if the skills coaches are allowed to get at the best youngsters while they are still at school, the earlier the better.
In the meantime, Munster had to think laterally and it appears to have paid off. Kingsbeer has been let go but a 50% success rate from their first venture in the foreign under-age market is impressive.
"Jeremy's a very talented kid and a very ambitious guy," says Fitzgerald. "He has a good personality and he's extremely dedicated. We're just nurturing him along. It was a no-risk venture, really. Young fellas love to travel and if we get something out of it, it's a plus.
"This isn't the first time it's happened. Matt Stevens, England's most recently capped prop, comes from South Africa, while the New Zealanders and Australians have been bringing in islanders for years. I don't want people to get the idea that you're identifying people to come over. They're guaranteed nothing. I wouldn't say it was a Munster policy to do these things. It's a policy to grow from within. But if the opportunity arose, we 'd look at it."
Of course they would. Munster's policy on recruiting coaches may be a little short on imagination — if in doubt, they grab whoever's coaching Leinster. When it comes to bringing in players, they've begun to show a bit more invention. It just might catch on.
