Ulster Rugby vs Edinburgh

DAVE SHANAHAN STEPPING UP An exciting few weeks for you, getting to fill the boots of Ruan Pienaar? Yeah, well I don’t think I could ever fill his boots, but it was great getting my first European start, I tried to take it in my stride and not think about it too much. The result didn’t go the way we wanted, but it was a great learning experience for me, so overall I’m happy. What prepared you for that game? Did you get any advice off the more experienced players? It was good, the guys were really helpful, but I think the best thing they did for me was not try to get in my face and talk to me too much, which would have made me nervous. They let me do my own thing, I’m obviously there for a reason so they let me take my role in the team and that was the best thing for me. Obviously playing with Jacko (Paddy Jackson) outside is really easy as he’s a world class outhalf, so he was a really good help to me. What would you say you have learnt in the past couple of months based on those massive opportunities? I feel that as long as I’ve been with the senior team, I’ve always had the skills and ability to pass and kick, and I believe my running game has always been there, but it’s just about getting more match experience and knowing that when I have to step into a big game that I can perform and do it better on a big stage. For my first three caps, when I went out I was so anxious and nervous, I was worried that I wasn’t showing exactly what I could do. What I’ve been trying to do now is relax more and take more of a back seat and play like I know I can and have faith in my skills. What are your ambitions for the rest of the season? A personal goal for me is to get as much game time as possible, whether that is starting or off the bench. As a team, the goal is to go on, put in some really strong performances and compete in the PRO12. For now, I’m just happy to help the team as much as possible. What is the mood like in the camp at the minute?

The main thing is not to panic too much, we’ve had four losses on the bounce now and a few losses before that as well, I think we need to make sure we don’t get too bogged down by it, we know we’re a good team, we have great players and I think we take confidence from that. The past couple of weeks off will help refresh the mind and body and when we face Edinburgh we’ll be able to put our best foot forward and hopefully go on a good run for the rest of the season.

DAVE SHANAHAN

We fell short at Murrayfield, so it’s a big opportunity to prove ourselves this weekend? Yes, we definitely owe them one after last time, I don’t think it was a great performance by us over there, but now all the boys are looking forward to it and looking forward to getting out and playing. The international guys are away now; does that give young guys like yourself the opportunity to step up? Yeah of course, we were talking about that the other day, obviously with all the Irish boys away at camp, it’s times like this where you feel you are a bigger part of the group. When big personalities like Jacko and Rory are there you feel like they are the bigger more important guys of the group, but now, when they're gone you feel more responsibility and feel you can help out a bit more, you feel less of a squad member and more a part of the team.

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