Noel McNamara will watch Caelan Doris' Test debut this weekend against Scotland with a particular sense of satisfaction.
The Ireland Under-20 head coach will be focused on Friday night when his team look to defend the grand slam achieved last season, but Doris’ rapid rise is a testament to the work being done at underage level.
While competing for silverware drives the team forward, McNamara says he is comfortable with what he calls the "dual mandate" of the role.
"We have an ambition to win games, but that is not the primary source of motivation or purpose," the Clare native told 2fm’s Game On.
"Our purpose is around developing these players and some of that is learning through mistakes.
"I take as much pride in seeing Tom O’Toole, Caelan Doris and Ronan Kelleher named in a Six Nations squad as we do in getting success on the pitch. It’s very much a dual mandate."
The selection of Doris at number 8 for Andy Farrell’s first game in charge is a nod to the Mayo native’s impressive outings for Leinster this term, but McNamara says he has been a stand-out performer for a number of years.
"His experience in the Junior World Championship was really challenging two years ago. He was absolutely magnificent all the ways through the five games.
"The way he led the group, you could see that he was a Test star in the making."
Last June McNamara was appointed as Leinster’s new Academy Manager to dovetail with his international commitments and admits that the heavy sprinkling of Leinster players in Farrell’s senior squad will provide opportunities for his Academy players.
"We are lucky in a sense that a lot of the Academy players will train with the seniors while they are away because a significant portion of the squad are away with Ireland.
"I know they will be well looked after and it is a great opportunity to benchmark next year’s group against what are the best players in the world."
Back to matters in green and McNamara is looking forward to kicking off the U-20 camapign against the Scots.
The cyclical nature of U-20s means he doesn’t believe there is added pressure to replicate last year’s heroics, though the presence of seven members of the 2019 crop this time around can only be a positive.
"Of course it is beneficial. They know what it is about. They have been there, done that. The experience counts for so much again. The reality for them is they have to earn their place in the team."
Follow Ireland v Scotland (kick-off 4.45pm) on Saturday via our live blog on RTE.ie/Sport and the News Now app or listen live on RTÉ Radio 1's Saturday Sport. Highlights on Against the Head, Monday at 8pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player.
