Ulster Rugby vs Cardiff Blues

JOHN ANDREW The three Andrew brothers share the same traits. They are all competitive, they all love rugby and they have all played for Ballymena RFC. That however, is where the similarities end – certainly when it comes to physiology. Joel, the eldest, is a wing forward, Ricky is a fullback and the youngest brother, John, is a hooker:

Lewis Stevenson, Dan Tuohy, guys like that aren’t scared to tell you what to do either.” While John is firmly concentrating on playing as much rugby as possible for Ulster this season, he still has his eye on his club’s results and he has been pleased with Ballymena’s progress so far this year: “It’s good to see that the club is on the way back up,” John says. “There are a lot of good club

“We are all from different spectrums,” jokes John. “Ricky is tall and thin and I am short and fat! We are all still really competitive and when we get together we still banter each other to see who is the best or who is the strongest. “I played at Ballymena from when I was in the minis, Ricky was the same and Joel also played for Ballymena 1sts a few times. We have a strong family connection with the club.” John’s older brother Ricky

JOHN ANDREW

players there and some really good Ulster players that have been released to play – guys like Alan O’Connor have really added to the squad. It seems to be going well and here’s hoping they can get up to Division 1A – the more teams that we have in 1A the better it is for Ulster and for the young guys coming through the club system.” Now that John is an important member of the squad – what advice would he have for those young players hoping one day to play professional rugby? “Just try and play as much as possible,” he says. “You can learn a lot from your Academy coaches or in training but it’s

played for Ulster on 20 occasions. He made his debut in the 2011/12 season but left Kingspan Stadium in the summer to join English Championship side Nottingham. “He’s doing really well,” John says. “He’s scoring a few tries and enjoying his rugby.” Now, only John is flying the Andrew family flag at Ulster and is competing for game time with Rob Herring and Rory Best – an experience that he believes is really helping his development: “This is only my second season with the seniors and the amount that you learn from

the experienced guys is just incredible. It’s quite nice to be working with the likes of Rory Best and Rob Herring who are both internationals. As well as the players, the coaching that I am getting is also brilliant. You are constantly trying to impress the coaches as they watch sessions. It’s almost as intense as a match! “All the senior players are great. I suppose being a hooker, it’s quite specialised. It would be Rob and to Rory that I look to and ask a lot of questions.

all well and good knowing the plays, but you have to be able to go and do it. Practice as much as you can and when you are in the seniors just watch those around you and those senior players in your position. You can always learn from someone. Ask as many questions as possible, don’t be overawed by the players or those around you.” They could do well and follow the example of the Andrew brothers – especially John.

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