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League of Ireland Horse Racing TV Listings GAA Fixtures The Video Review Sport meets news, current affairs, society & pop culture Rugby Weekly Extra Dive into all the news and analysis 3 times a week The Football Family Weekly insights from the week’s big talking points Advertisement More Stories Blues head of performance analysis, Adam Foy.The Blues/YouTube Irish Abroad Irish analyst Foy rising through the ranks in New Zealand The Dublin man is part of the Blues set-up that won Super Rugby in 2024. 6.46am, 25 Oct 2025 Share options LITTLE DID ADAM Foy know where things would lead when he got in touch with Munster analyst George Murray back in 2018, asking if there might be any openings for a newcomer to the field. 29-year-old Foy is now head of performance analysis for the Blues in New Zealand. He helped Vern Cotter’s men to their 2024 Super Rugby title and has been working with top Kiwi players like Beauden Barrett, Rieko Ioane, and Dalton Papali’i since joining the Blues nearly three years ago. Dublin man Foy also just finished a stint as attack coach for North Harbour in the National Provincial Championship, a tier below Super Rugby, and he’s currently getting ready to join the All Blacks XV as an analyst for their autumn tour in Europe. The Irishman was part of the All Blacks XV set-up last November too, working under Clayton McMillan on a trip that involved a visit to Thomond Park to play Munster. “It was cool because obviously that’s where I started out on the journey,” said Foy earlier this week in a café in Clontarf, not far from his family home in Sutton. “George would have given me my start in Munster and Paul O’Brien [also an analyst with Munster] is there too, so I was catching up with guys.” Foy came through Belvedere College and was a scrum-half. A self-professed rugby nerd, he had an analytical slant on the game from early on. He used to spend hours studying footage of Ruan Pienaar and Conor Murray to improve his own game. He did a degree in Economics at Trinity after school, but was coaching back at Belvedere throughout those years, working with the senior and junior teams in the school. His grá for rugby was strong and when Foy read some articles about what analysts were doing for professional teams, he was intrigued. He took a punt in reaching out to a few operators in the Irish game and Murray, Munster’s lead performance analyst and technical coach, ended up offering him an internship. Munster's George Murray gave Foy his break in pro rugby.Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO Foy cut a holiday in Thailand short and got home to start with Munster in 2018 as they launched into Johann van Graan’s first full season in charge. The learning curve was steep. Foy had to quickly upskill in Sportscode, the software many leading teams use for their analysis. He was handed a camera on his first day and told to record training. There were hours of chopping up games into digestible clips for coaches. “Felix [Jones] and Fla [Jerry Flannery] were there, JP Ferreira was there as well and I’d be just listening, trying to take it all in, sitting in on meetings,” said Foy of how he rapidly learned about the realities of the game at that level. “As time went on, you ask more questions and build those relationships.” Advertisement There was a nice moment recently when South Africa were visiting Auckland and Foy was able to meet with Boks coaches Flannery, Jones, and Paddy Sullivan – another former Munster analyst – as well as ex-players Doug Howlett and Rua Tipoki. Just a few months after starting with Munster, an opportunity opened up with Ireland and all of a sudden, Foy found himself working in Joe Schmidt’s set-up under the IRFU’s head of analytics, Vinny Hammond. At the start of that November campaign, Ireland played Italy in Chicago but Schmidt only travelled to the US midweek after remaining at home with a crop of senior players to prepare for subsequent autumn games. Foy stayed in Ireland, so he was straight in the deep end with Schmidt. “It was just like the best rugby college you could ever go to between all the different coaches, all the different analysts, the players,” said Foy. “I remember being in Carton House thinking, ‘I was sitting my final exams five months ago, how am I sitting here?’” Foy clearly made a good impression and worked with Ireland through to the 2019 World Cup, his duties involving creating in-depth profiles of every Russian and Samoan player Schmidt’s men would be facing, as well as referees who’d be in charge of their games. Foy works with the Blues in New Zealand.The Blues / YouTube The Blues / YouTube / YouTube He subsequently switched sports and worked with the Dublin football team at the same time as completing a Masters degree in social data analytics. Foy can reflect now that his background in studying data is useful for working in rugby. “Apart from the odd coach or two, most don’t want massive spreadsheets,” said Foy as he explained that it’s vital to be able to distil big databases into easily digestible information for coaches and players. Like most teams, the Blues have their own specific key performance indicators [KPIs] that they know are crucial to helping them win games. When the pandemic was finally over, Foy and his partner, Karen, felt the lure of seeing a bit more of the world. He also knew that to keep progressing in his career, there might be a better chance abroad. “With five professional teams [in Ireland], it’s definitely a smaller pond and there’s probably less responsibility early on and you have to wait a bit longer, but at the same time, it’s great to get out there and get a different kind of appetite for what the game looks like in different countries,” said Foy. Recommendations from Schmidt and former Ireland scrum coach Greg Feek helped Foy to land his current role with the Blues and it has been eye-opening to see how the Kiwis do things. While plenty is similar to Irish rugby, he said the sheer athletic ability of the players in Super Rugby immediately stood out when he joined the Blues. Vern Cotter took over from Leon MacDonald as Blues boss in 2024 and led them to the Super Rugby title in his first year in charge, with a hammering of the Crusaders in the final topping off a thrilling season. “I always loved getting up on Friday and Saturday mornings to watch Super Rugby when I was growing up,” said Foy. “The first year was probably when the Reds won [in 2011] with Will Genia, Quade Cooper, and Digby Ioane.” Blues boss Vern Cotter.Photosport / Andrew Cornaga/INPHO Photosport / Andrew Cornaga/INPHO / Andrew Cornaga/INPHO Foy followed the competition closely from those days, all the more so when he began working as an analyst. And that’s another important part of his career, a deep knowledge of trends across the global game. For people who haven’t played at the top level of rugby but come to work in it, knowing the game inside out is key. It ensures extra credibility. Cotter, who was previously in charge of Clermont, Scotland, and Fiji, has been great for the Blues, who reached the Super Rugby semi-finals this year. Foy praises the clarity of vision Cotter brings, as well as the French-tinged style of play he introduced. Foy has always been keen to keep his coaching skills sharp and he loves being on the grass. His role with the Blues involves coaching opposition plays to prepare the starting side for what’s ahead each weekend. He works closely with defence coach Craig McGrath, who actually coached Foy when he was in fifth and sixth year at Belvedere College. Rugby is a small world. Foy has coached underage sides during his time with the Blues and stepping up with North Harbour this year in the NPC was a welcome challenge. “Obviously, I had been tracking the competition over the last couple of years,” he said. “It’s great from a development point of view for some of those young guys. If you don’t make the All Blacks, you’re going to play in the NPC.” It was a tough campaign for North Harbour but Foy learned lots and he’s now heading into camp with the All Blacks XV after a brief visit home. He enjoyed working with McMillan last year, as well as athletic performance coach Brad Mayo and team manager Martyn Vercoe, who also joined Munster ahead of this season. “He definitely has a presence,” said Foy of McMillan, “probably similar to Andy Farrell in a way.” Jamie Joseph, another experienced Kiwi coach, has taken over as All Blacks XV boss this year and they will play against the Barbarians, England A, and Uruguay in November. And then Foy will be back to the Blues to start building up for another crack at Super Rugby. Foy has come a long way since Murray and Munster took a punt on him, and he has plenty of road still in front him. Murray Kinsella Viewcomments Send Tip or Correction Embed this post To embed this post, copy the code below on your site Email “Irish analyst Foy rising through the ranks in New Zealand”. Recipient's Email Feedback on “Irish analyst Foy rising through the ranks in New Zealand”. Your Feedback Your Email (optional) Report a Comment Please select the reason for reporting this comment. Please give full details of the problem with the comment... This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic. Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy before taking part. Leave a Comment Submit a report Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines. Damaging the good reputation of someone, slander, or libel. 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