Stand Up Magazine - Issue 39 - Ulster Rugby Supporters' Club

Issue 39 of Stand Up Magazine - The Official Ulster Rugby Supporters' Club newsletter.

STAND UP THE ULSTER RUGBY SUPPORTERS CLUB NEWSLETTER February ‘18

F r e e t o U R S C M E M B E R S

5 Months in Ulster

Forever an Ulster Man

Photo courtesy of The News Letter

www.ursc.co

Inside Issue 39: Bryn Cunningham, Christian Lealiifano, Meet the players, Big Ballot results, Stand Up Editorship plus much more...

44 – 46 Waring Street Belfast BT1 2ED Tel: 028 9023 4271 E: info@gardinerbrothers.co.uk www.gardinerbrothers.co.uk

Following their inaugural rugby match in the Guinness Pro14 League, five Toyota Cheetah players were SPOTTED at the Hilton Hotel, Templepatrick (Of course they were spotted – they’re CHEETAHS!). CHEETAH PLAYERS CITED... SIGHTED AFTER ULSTER CLASH!

They were also very nearly cited for lifting bride Paula Abdi beyond the horizontal at her wedding reception, but thankfully for them and groom Andy Welch , they lowered her safely to the floor and no injuries were incurred.

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Probably just as well, as it looks like none of them had a decent suit to wear in front of a disciplinary panel.

Paula and Andy spotted the players at the Templepatrick Hilton Hotel on the day of their match at Kingspan Stadium and invited them to the evening reception after their own “match” the following day.

Chairman’s Welcome

They say professional sport is a results driven business. Sadly Ulster’s results and consistently below par performances meant Les Kiss’s position had become increasingly beleaguered and thus his departure inevitable.

Also Standing up for the Ulster man and wife, was father of the bride

and URSC member William Davidson (wearing the tie)

The Cheetahs fully enjoyed their time in Ulster and commented very favourably on both receptions they had received... at the hotel and at the stadium.

At the beginning of the season URSC called on everyone to “Make Ulster Great Again” ... the responsibility to lead this quest now lies with Jonno Gibbes. We wish him well and, as fans, look forward to playing our part.

Paula & Andy completed their own “match”

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Jonathan Bill (Chairman)

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STAND UP THE ULSTER RUGBY SUPPORTERS CLUB NEWSLETTER

F r e e t o U R S C M E M B E R S

I think you will all agree that Ken has done a wonderful job over this time in producing a really well put together URSC magazine 3 or 4 times a season. After an astonishing 12 years as Editor of Stand Up, Ken Arthur is standing down at the end of this season!

Whilst for Ken it has, for the most part, been a labour of love – it can certainly be hard work, but it is interesting, there are plenty of opportunities to meet and interview Ulster Rugby players and staff and get a better understanding of what goes on behind the scenes at the Kingspan, and of course the latest edition of Stand Up provides a tangible output for those efforts. We now wish to make arrangements to find Ken’s successor. Accordingly the URSC Committee would like to know if there is anyone known to the membership who would be interested in taking on this role anytime between now and the start of next season. Journalistic skills would be helpful, but not essential. Enthusiasm, a love of rugby … and hard work are required. Design skills are not required as we have an excellent graphic designer who has worked with Ken almost from the start and who will continue to make the magazine look as good as it does. Between now and the end of this season, Ken will happily work with the new Editor initially to show them the ropes. If you are interested in taking on this role, or know anyone who might be, please email standup@ ursc.co.uk putting “EDITOR” in the subject line, or speak to any of the Committee.

STAND UP THE ULSTER RUGBY SUPPORTERS CLUB NEWSLETTER May ‘16

STANDUP F r e e t o U R S C M E M B E R S

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Design skills are not required as we have an excellent graphic designer who has worked with Ken almost from the start and who will continue to make the magazine look as good as it does. 10thanniversaryeditionSTANDUP 10thanniversaryeditionSTANDUP 10thanniversaryeditionSTANDUP 10thanniversaryeditionSTANDUP 10thanniversaryeditionSTANDUP 10th anniversaryeditionSTANDUP 10thanniversaryeditionSTANDUP 10thanniversaryeditionSTANDUP 10thanniversaryeditionSTANDUP 10thanniversaryeditionSTANDUP 10thanniversar editionSTANDUP 10thanniversaryeditionSTANDUP 10thanniversaryeditionSTANDUP 10thanniversaryeditionSTANDUP 10thanniversaryeditionSTANDUP 10thanniversaryedition STANDUP 10thanniversaryeditionSTANDUP 10thanniversaryeditionSTANDUP 10thanniversaryeditionSTANDUP 10thanniversaryeditionSTANDUP 10thanniversaryeditionSTANDUP 10thanniversaryeditionSTANDUP 10thanniversaryeditionSTANDUP 10thanniversaryeditionSTANDUP 10thanniversaryeditionSTANDUP 10thanniversaryeditionSTANDUP 10th anniversaryeditionSTANDUP 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ULSTERRUGBYSUPPORTERSCLUBNEWSLETTER May ‘12 Free to URSC MEMBERS STANDUP inAssociationwithTheNewsLetter Photo: xxx Inside Issue23: BrianMcLaughlin, DavidHumphreys, Players’opinions, Images from Dublin,Richard Mulligan...Plus muchmore... Twickenham Here We Come STAND UP THE ULSTERRUGBYSUPPORTERSCLUBNEWSLETTER September ‘15 Inside Issue32: RugbyWorldCup, StuartOlding, TheBigBallot, JoeBarakat, Competition, AGM Plus muchmore... Withalleyes looking to theRWC www.ursc.co Photo: Brian Little F r e e t o U R S C M E M B E R S ...We talk to ayoungman who could be forgiven for thinking, “thatshould hav beenme” Inside Issue34: Player(s)of the Month(s),Bryn Cunningham, Iai Henderson,M et the Players,Wheredo you live?Plus much more...

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Jonathan Bill Chair URSC

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The obvious first question, what are your responsibilities now as Ulster Rugby Operations Director, and are they just those of Director of Rugby in another guise? We are working through those at the moment, but in essence we have gone back to the older “David Humphreys structure” where I’m overseeing the professional game but still very much looking after all the off-field business and allowing Jono [Gibbes] to look after everything on-field. For Jono, that is the right thing for now, to allow him to concentrate on getting performances right on the pitch. In terms of anything underneath that, we will be reviewing that over the coming months to align structures with the new strategy we are starting to put in place, and which hopefully will be fully active by the start of next season. We will be looking at every aspect of Rugby in Ulster and in particular the professional game to see what needs changed or tweaked. Will you be looking at the committee structure within Ulster or are those sacrosanct? That is sacrosanct and certainly not in my remit! I report to the Professional Game Board, which in turn reports into the Management Committee. I don’t envisage or am aware of any changes moving forward Who actually made the call on Les? Was it the same person(s) who appointed him? They were taken by a range of people at committee level and in conjunction with IRFU, and obviously involving Les himself. What I do know is that it was totally a mutual decision that it was time to part ways. There was a lot of what Les termed “noise” in the media and from fans prior to Les’s announced departure – did that have significant impact on the decision making by Ulster management? It would be wrong to say that we ignore the “noise”, but it’s never going to be the main driver of these decisions. We want our Following weeks of trying to get an interview with somebody ... anybody ... in a senior managerial position at Ulster Rugby, we did what we should have done in the first place. With Les Kiss’s departure from the role of Director of Rugby, we asked Ulster’s new Rugby Operations Director, Bryn Cunningham to talk about his new responsibilities and the future for Ulster Rugby in the immediate and near future. Bryn never hesitated. Bryn Cunningham - Ulster Rugby Operations Director

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Photo by John Dickson, DicksonDigital.com

supporters, our sponsors and major stakeholders to be supportive and proud of what we are producing, and if that’s not happening we need to know what we’re not doing, or not giving people. A large proportion of that is results driven, but I would say that it’s more performance driven than results. My belief is, and I don’t want this to sound negative in any way but, sometimes you feel better coming off the pitch having narrowly lost a game having put your bodies on the line and played unbelievably well, but you’ve just been beaten by a better side, than beating a side you fully expect to, but having played poorly. I think there’s something there where we need to address consistency - that’s been lacking more than anything. Why can we produce something at the top end against La Rochelle, but let ourselves down badly against one of our rivals in the Pro-14? That is now started and will be ongoing, primarily by myself, Jono and the Professional Game Board which includes the CEO and others. For the rest of this season, we don’t plan on bringing anyone in – it’s about creating stability and having confidence in Jono committing fully to getting the very best out of the squad for the rest of the season. We will look for some support from IRFU, in the likes of Andy Farrell coming up to help, but obviously during the 6 Nations, that’s going to be difficult, we appreciate that and don’t want to compromise Ireland’s preparation, but at the same time, any support we can get from the IRFU now or immediately after the 6 Nations would be very welcome. Internally we have to support ourselves in certain areas, such as defence and we have Jared Payne still injured but who has a great rugby brain and is able to help out. He’s not an experienced coach by any stretch, but his rugby knowledge and his one-to-one work with players is valued. Jared is still trying to work his way back to playing, and that’s what everyone wants – he’s a quality player, and if he gets back playing, great, but if not, it gives him an opportunity to explore options for later. How quickly will the review of coaching staff be carried out, how will that be done, and who will do it?

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If it is decided that a new DoR or coach is required, who will be involved in recruiting that and deciding who is fit for purpose? The only position we are currently looking to add for next season to the current management team would be a defensive role. In terms of that, I’ll be responsible for going out into the market and seeing who is available. In terms of final decision, that will be a joint decision. There will be a huge amount of due diligence going into anyone we look to bring in, and ensuring that they are the right person to fit into the culture we are trying to promote. A big part of that will be Jono – he’s the Head Coach and is the one that will be working directly with them on a day to day basis and it’s absolutely crucial that he is happy with any appointment. Ultimately if we bring anyone in, it will be a joint decision between myself, Jono and the rest of the coaching staff and will require the PGB to be fully behind it. What’s the likelihood we will carry out a worldwide search end up finding the best candidate already on our doorstep (e.g. Lisburn)? That’s an interesting one. We are at the point where we have to start rebuilding right from the very bottom. We have to. That is the reality. We need to be sure we have strong foundations in place. That means getting the right type of people in here, with the right characteristics. That applies both to players and management. That means when we go out on a search, we don’t hire someone purely on their credentials. It has to be someone we know is going to fit. If that turns out to be someone local, then it’s somebody local. If it’s someone in Australia or New Zealand, then so be it. We don’t put boundaries on it. The next part once we have identified our no 1 target is to get them, but if they’re the best, you can bet your bottom dollar that we won’t be the only club looking to hire him. There’ll be at least half a dozen other clubs talking to him. The next bit is to try to sell the club, sell the province to him and show him the vision we have going forward which, given where we are, is not straightforward but at least presents a great opportunity for anyone coming in. Does the number of “Firings” (for want of a better term - we know that some coaches left after not having their contracts renewed) – make Ulster hard to sell to potential targets? If they think we are a “firing club”, why should they come to Ulster? To be brutally honest, I don’t think so. We tend to look at Rugby as a bit of a microcosm and think internally that we’ve gone through a number of coaches whether at the end of their contract or not. Whenever you look at a number of other clubs, they’ve done exactly the same. We tend to focus on ourselves, but having analysed others, I don’t think we have a horrific history of moving on coaches. It is a transient life and coaches understand that the average life-cycle for a coach is at one club around three years anyway. Some stay longer, some don’t. It’s the ones at the high end that are in the spotlight when they move on. I don’t think coaches will now look at us and think, “If things don’t go well for a few months, I’ll be hung out to dry.” We need certainty and stability more than anything at this point. The way I will be selling things to any potential coach is that we’re starting from scratch here and it would be a great opportunity for any coach to stamp their authority on a fairly young group, and hopefully any potential target would be excited by that. Several weeks before his departure, Les stated that “We have got a new person to replace Christian and we will announce that in due course. It’s an overseas player and all that has been cleared, so no problems.” – That turned out to be Stephen Donald, but no announcement came until Ulster were knocked out of the Champions Cup, and was to the effect that Donald is injured and won’t be coming after all. Was there more to this than a simple injury? Was the contract conditional on Ulster reaching the Q/F of Europe? NO. It was 100% that he was coming. I had finalised that deal three weeks before the end of the Japanese league and we had discussed over the phone when would be the best time to make an announcement. Funnily enough, we were both in agreement, “let’s just leave it until you get through the season”. We agreed for the same reason – he didn’t want to risk putting it out there and risk it falling through in case he got an injury, and we kinda

laughed about it because I said we’ve had a lot of bad luck with injuries, particularly with our foreign guys, so we were both more than happy to leave it, fingers crossed until he had got through his three games. We kept up communication through those three games and he got through his second last game, then I thought he had got through his last one okay, but they’re not televised over here so I didn’t see it, but it was stomach drop feeling when he texted me to say, “you won’t believe this, but with 20 minutes to go I twisted my knee and I don’t know how bad it is but it’s very swollen”. Ultimately, the way we looked at it, because of the horrendous luck we’ve had with injuries outside of our control, the last thing in the world we were going to do was bring in somebody who wasn’t able to take to the field for a minimum of 4-5 weeks. It made no sense to do so, and Stephen and I were very much in agreement that we couldn’t proceed. It was unfortunate in one way, but it also coincided with Jonny McPhillips having a couple of cameo appearances resulting in one of the very few rays of light in a couple of very poor performances. That veered us away from looking for a replacement for Stephen Donald. Jonny has been patient, he’s bided his time, he’s done very well, so we just need to have confidence and faith that he will be the guy moving forward over the next few weeks.

Photo by John Dickson, DicksonDigital.com

Assuming Johnny does make the grade, we have been fortunate in previous years not to have injuries at 10. Are all our eggs going to be on Jonny next season? We surely need to have back-up cover at 10, whether he’s the main man or the cover to someone else? Are you looking at any marquee signings, particularly at 10 for next season? Let’s just say it is 100% a position we are looking at, but there are too many variables at the moment which make that kind of decision difficult at this moment, but it’s a priority, shall we say to make sure we are in the right position in that area going into next season. What are the considerations and potential problems that you face when signing new players, maintaining squad strength in depth and satisfying the fans? Using, for example Schalk van der Merwe, and one of Ulster’s best players this season, but now departing Callum Black? At the time we looked to strengthen the loosehead prop position, the only way we could do something was by signing a “special project” so that was our restriction at that stage. He was signed before the changes in time period for qualification were announced in December, so he will be Irish qualified in three years. My task, as always, was to go to market, looking for loosehead props, realistically no older than 25 or 26 so that in three years time they would be a viable option for Ireland, because props obviously mature later than other positions. We put together a list of the best players fitting the criteria and then went through it with the coaches to see who might be the best fit for Ulster. At that point the coaches agreed that Schalk looked the best fit; the

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guys thought he had done a brilliant job for the Lions in South Africa when they dominated the scrum against most Super Rugby teams and he was playing a pivotal part in that. Unfortunately after that, he moved to France and his time there wasn’t good due to administrative reasons – they have quotas on playing foreign nationals when in as injury cover, so he didn’t play as much or as consistently as he would have liked. He then came here and worked hard to adapt to how we scrum and the different referee interpretations between the leagues, and these are quite different to his time with the Lions. After having a shoulder issue at the beginning of his time here, just when he was getting back to full fitness and starting to get ingrained into our set up he picked up a high ankle injury, so it’s been one thing after another, and it’s soul destroying for everybody, but most of all for him. Callum has done really, really well, and has been really solid in the scrum this season. It’s all down to timings though – he’s looking at his future, but by the time these decisions come out to the general public it is several weeks, if not months after the deal is actually done. When that deal was done, things were in a very different place and criteria such as selection, coaching staff, and future opportunities ... amongst other factors can have an impact on what a player wants to do. I suppose at that point, coming towards the end of his contract here, that he maybe thought he could extend and go longer at Worcester, and that’s the way players will always look at these. He’s made the decision on that one and we wish him really well with his future as he’s contributed hugely to Ulster. it’s a professional decision and what we now have to do is make sure we are able to cover that with the right people coming through, and that those people get the right chances to develop and excel. How concerned is Ulster Rugby that attendances are down approximately 1000 per match this season? Can we afford to keep losing fans through the turnstiles? Ulster Rugby has taken notice of that, and we certainly don’t want that to continue. These things are absolutely crucial to the success of Ulster Rugby. Moving forward, we have to have something in place that encapsulates all parts of the game and that includes pro rugby, clubs, schools, domestic, volunteers, supporters, sponsors – absolutely everything and how we all link together, and the importance of one doing well the knock-on effect that has for everywhere else. The professional team are the heartbeat of that and when that thrives and goes well, everything else gets a lift. Conversely, for the Pro game to thrive, other parts have to be going well too, right down to our minis in our local clubs. What we’ve missed in the last number of years in the Senior ranks has been indigenous hard-edged forwards coming through, but now we’re starting to see some of those players in our Academy, the likes of Matty Dalton, Adam McBurney and Aaron Hall to name a few. Hopefully people will begin to see that there is a bit of a change there in terms of the number of forwards in the academy and also the quality of some of those forwards. The type of character they are and what they are producing in the U20s is encouraging. We’ve gotta thrive in the professional team to encourage people to come and for me, that comes back to performance. I want people to come to Kingspan and go away thinking, “that was brilliant, they gave it everything” and I know that people will accept mistakes so long as we’re seen to be trying hard and showing a level of energy. People can sometimes get that confused though and think that’s just playing for the jersey, but that’s too simplistic. If you say that somebody needs to be Ulster born and bred, that’s a harsh indictment on the likes of Alan O’Connor, Louis Ludik, Rob Herring or Christian Lealiifano who are guys that play their heart out for Ulster every time they put the jersey on. Of course we want a high percentage of our players, Ulster born and bred, of course we do, it’s crucial to the identity of Ulster Rugby, but that doesn’t mean that’s the only way people can buy into something. There are people from outside with the right characteristics, the right competitiveness who can buy into Ulster and fit into our culture. So if we can get that right and get the competitiveness right, I think we’ll see the interest and excitement from supporters and the general public start to build again.

After a number of false dawns, how confident are you about Ulster’s future in the short term and for next season at least? I think as a playing group and as a management group, we have drawn a line. It’s almost like a watershed moment. We have made it pretty clear what the expectation is and nobody is under any illusion as to what they need to produce. We now need to see that through and manifest itself on a daily basis. We believe as a management coaching group that there are enough good people in here to deliver on that. We have a huge end of season now and an opportunity. We’re sitting above Edinburgh – first and foremost we’ve got to see that they don’t get anywhere near us, and we’ve got to try to find a way of catching and maybe even surpassing Scarlets or Leinster. We know that’s a tall order, of course it is, but we’ve just got to focus on ourselves. There have been some shining lights coming through who are showing the traits we want to see in our players, and we have some guys moving on next season, or retiring (like Tommy), so there is a changing of the guard going into next season. We’ve got some new faces coming in with Marty Moore and Jordi Murphy. Jordi in particular has been in outstanding form for Leinster. Add in a fit Marcell – many players have had two ACL repairs and get fully fit, plus he’s still in the peak of his career age wise. All of a sudden we look like a different animal in the pack. It is critical that the Academy continues to provide players that have the right attitude and playing ability to

fully integrate into the Senior squad. But more importantly than that, when you take a wider view, is that the clubs and the schools along with the coaches and the volunteers, who are more responsible than the Academy or Senior team for producing the talent and shaping the individual in the first place

when these kids start out on their journey, continue to play their major role in Ulster Rugby moving forward. We must be all linked together and have a common vision.

Thanks Bryn, and as a supporters’ club, we will be doing our best to link in, and be a part of that common vision.

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URSC Merchandise

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Crystal Clear Glass Range

Tankard (available in pint or half-pint) Pint Tankard £9.99 Half-Pint Tankard £7.99 Hi-Ball £7.99 (Suitable for soft-drinks or maybe a G&T?) 10ozTumbler £7.99 (Suitable for soft drinks or as a whiskey glass)

Glasses may also be personalised for a small extra charge, or other stock may be engraved with URSC logo or a logo of your choice. Please contact David Kelso at Crystal Clear for advice, details and prices.

Tel: 028 9032 9655 Email: david@crystal-engravers.com Website: www.crystal-engravers.com

Crystal Clear Glass Engravers are long-standing supporters of URSC and have been sponsoring our “Player of the Month” awards since their inception in 2006. URSC would like to thank David Kelso, proprietor of Crystal Clear for his generosity and continued support.

COMPETITION TIME WITH IN SPORT

Andrew is the last ever winner of our In Sport competitions and collected his prize from Alan Dawson at the shop in Frances Street, Newtownards.

Newtownards

And the winner was: In our last In Sport competition in Stand Up, Andrew Beck correctly identified the Munster as Irish province that Jean Deysel played for last season and won himself a new Ulster polo shirt. It is with sadness that we have been informed that In Sport is closing in the very near future and its proprietor, Alex Pickett, is returning to his native England. Until further notice, this also means that URSC merchandise of club logo embroidered teeshirts, polos and hoodies will no longer be available.

This draws to a close what has been a very warm and close partnership over these past nine seasons - nine seasons during which In Sport not only put up competition prizes in almost every issue of Stand Up since the summer of 2009, but offered generous discounts to all URSC members, and other benefits besides over those years. URSC would like to express its sincere thanks and appreciation to Alex and the staff at In Sport for all their support over the last nine years, and we wish Alex the very best of good fortune as he returns to England.

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The first on Monday the 2nd October 2017 was billed as an Autumn International night, but in reality was just an excuse to witness J.C., Christian and the Lions – i.e. John Cooney, Christian Lealiifano and B&I Lions Jared Payne and Iain Henderson . URSC has hosted two “Meet the Players” events this season. Our second event, ostensibly a “Six Nations Preview” , on Monday 5th February 2018 featured Marcell Coetzee, Charles Piutau, Wiehahn Herbst and the soon to be retiring Tommy Bowe. Tommy was anything but retiring as he kept the 125 members who had come along, entertained with his self deprecating wit and the other three joined in and played their part in a jovial and entertaining night! Our thanks to all the players involved in both events for sharing so honestly their thoughts and experiences, and for drawing and presenting the ballot prizes, a selection of which are shown on these pages. Our thanks also go to Ulster Rugby’s Senior Communications Manager Richard Finlay who, at the request of URSC, compéred the Q&A session. Richard kept the questions rolling by inviting questions from the audience and interspersing with wide ranging pertinent ones of his own. In addition to our Meet the Academy night, Meet the Players

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Jack Kyle Bursary Award and “Meet the Ulster Rugby Academy” On a Monday evening back in November 2017, the URSC presented the annual Jack Kyle Bursary of £2,500 to the Ulster Rugby Academy.

The presentation was done in front of nearly one hundred URSC members who had gathered at Kingspan Stadium to hear Kieran Campbell , Head of the Abbey Insurance Ulster Academy, and Willie Anderson , Elite Player Development Officer, talk about the structures and operations of the Academy programme. Academy players Adam McBurney and Jonny Stewart also spoke about their rugby experiences that led to the provincial system, life in the Academy, and their future goals. Director of Rugby Les Kiss was also in attendance and he gave an interesting insight into how the coaching staff in both the Academy and senior team work together, and how Academy players are integrated into the first team. In the second part of the evening, senior players Andrew Trimble and Tommy Bowe took part in a panel discussion on the current Autumn international series. In previous years the Jack Kyle Ulster Rugby Academy Bursary has been awarded to an individual player within the Academy. However, the URSC and the Academy

management felt that it would be better served being donated to the services delivery programme, and in particular for the provision of performance psychology. Presenting the cheque, URSC Chairman Jonathan Bill commented: “While we have been able to help out individuals in the past as they began their rugby career, we are delighted that this bursary will support all the players in the Academy with increased performance psychology services. From hearing Kieran and Willie this evening, we are confident that the structures and processes within our Academy are among the best around, so we are more than happy to play our part in supporting them.” Head of the Abbey Insurance Ulster Rugby Academy, Kieran Campbell added: “We are very grateful to the URSC for their continued support. We are committed to providing the best services and opportunities to our young players and the award of this bursary will allow us to further enhance the performance psychology aspect of our

programme, which is now such a critical part of what we do.”

Tommy Bowe also welcomed the award, highlighting the importance of performance psychology: “In my younger days, particularly if I was struggling with confidence, I found working with a performance psychologist hugely beneficial, to push yourself on and get the best out of yourself. It really is such an important part of a young player’s development, so I’m delighted to hear that the bursary is being allocated there.” At the end of the evening, as is usual at our events, Naz, Willie and the Academy players were happy to linger and sign autographs, pose for selfies, and most important, draw and present the ballot prizes. Many members went away with an excellent memento of the evening; one young man however, went away with rather more than one – see if you can identify him from the photos ... and if you know him, ask him for next week’s lottery numbers!

The committee came to the conclusion that the Ballot would be put to much better use if used for the benefit of the whole Academy, after a presentation by Kieran Campbell to the committee earlier in the season.

URSC Chairman Jonathan Bill presents the Jack Kyle Bursary award of £2,500 to Ulster Rugby Academy coaches and players Willie Anderson, Adam McBurney, Jonny Stewart and Kieran Campbell.

Panellists from the evening’s Q&A session on Academy structures & operations; Andrew Trimble, Tommy Bowe, Adam McBurney, Jonny Stewart, Willie Anderson and Kieran Campbell.

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URSC FLOODED WITH HUNDREDS OF “CHRISTIAN” EMAILS

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In the week before he departed to his home in the antipodes, URSC asked for a few minutes with Christian Lealiifano to express our thanks to him, not only for answering Ulster’s call in our hour of need, but for doing it with panache, bravery and so much willing.

Photo courtesy of The News Letter

If any rugby player coming into Ulster ever needed a guide on how to embrace “The Ulster Way” , they could do a lot worse than to look to Christian’s example. Of course, how he played, and how he behaved perhaps should not have come as any great shock, as it only showed the same attitude, bravery and sense of spirit he had previously displayed in his fight against leukaemia. It was only right therefore, that before Christian went back to Australia, that Jonathan Bill presented him with a URSC tankard, and other URSC memorabilia as a small token of our thanks and appreciation, and hopefully as a happy memento of his time in this small corner of the world. Before he departed, we also took the opportunity to ask him one or two things about his time here. This is what he said: On how (or indeed, if) he enjoyed his time at Ulster? I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here. The support I’ve received and playing regular rugby has been really enjoyable. This place is going to be a special place in my memories for a long time to come. On times in the last 18 months when he thought he would never play rugby again? Absolutely. That’s why I’m really, really thankful and appreciative of the opportunity to be here. To have been welcomed here and be taken in by the Ulster people is something I’m humbled

by and truly grateful for. I don’t take each day for granted, and having gone through what I have, your perspective changes. There was a time I thought I’d never play rugby again, - there was a time my thoughts were all about health, and just trying to be a dad to my son. But yeah, I’m glad to have played rugby again.

Thanking Jonathan for the keepsakes, Christian said he looked forward to enjoying a nice cold one from his tankard, and would have special memories of here every time he used it.

My (Christian) faith has been a massive help throughout my illness and none of what I have done would have been possible without the Lord. Knowing the faith of some of the people at Ulster, that’s why I thought it was a perfect fit. I’ll probably look back now and think, “wow”. To have come to a place where the people hold their religion so high and faith is so strong, looking back, I think it was something that was just meant to be. It’s said that God works in mysterious ways, and as mysterious as this was, it’s something I’m truly thankful for. On how the Pro14 League and Champions Cup stack up against southern hemisphere rugby. It’s been different. Both competitions have been quality rugby. The quality of rugby that’s being played here in terms of the physicality and skill levels has opened up my eyes. I’ve enjoyed the experience and the challenge. To compare pro 14 and Champions Cup to other rugby I’ve played

doesn’t do any of them justice. The rugby here has been fantastic and I think the Ulster boys are heading in the right direction. There are some quality individuals here that can do a great job. The welcome from opponents on the pitch? It’s been very humbling. Again, playing against players from all over the world up here, it’s been really humbling to speak to them after games and to hear them say how happy they are to see me playing rugby again, or to see me back out on the field, and to have the opportunity to compete against each other again, it sort of blows me away a bit, and it’s very very humbling to have people recognising what I’ve been through, and for them to take the time to say a few words to me. I’m really appreciative of all of that.

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On his “welcome” from Sam Arnold (Munster)? We play a physical sport mate, and he was competing hard, competing for his side, and he just caught me a little bit high. I spoke to him after the game and he’s a super nice young man, he was really remorseful and I knew there was no malice in his intent. He just plays hard and physical but he was disappointed and sad about what had happened. I understand how he was feeling, but you know, we play this game for enjoyment, and win, lose or draw, you try to take something from each game. With Sam, I feel that he’s someone I’ve

now connected with, not through the circumstances we would have wanted, but I just see someone who enjoys his footy, loves the game and competes for his team. That’s what you want to see in any young player, and to see him so down was upsetting for me, but I’m glad he reached out to me after the match, and we got to chat. On his stint at Ulster warming up for the Brumbies back home: It’s been more than a warm-up and hopefully brought me back up to speed. It’s going to be difficult leaving, having had this experience which has been fantastic for my rugby and for my

confidence, and I’ll be heading back with a heavy heart, but hopefully it will help me keep improving and help the Brumbies reach their goals On a return to Ulster if it was possible in future? If everything’s right, and things fell into place for a move, Ulster is the place I would look at first. Obviously the friends I’ve made here and the supporters here are really special to me now, and whether the opportunity arises or not, Ulster is somewhere I will be keeping a close eye on.

And finally, coming to our headline, in the week before his final match in Coventry, URSC organised a week of competitions for URSC members to win one of 5 super prizes, all autographed by the man himself. There was one prize each day, Monday to Friday, and all we asked was for members to email standup@ursc.co.uk each day, putting Christian 1, 2, 3, 4,or 5 (according to the day), in the Subject line, to be entered into a FREE draw to win that day’s prize. We were inundated with over 1500 emails from members over the week, (and some from non-members too, tsk,tsk) which just goes to show the level of popularity Christian within the Ulster Rugby Community.

AND THE WINNERS WERE:

ON Tuesday, an Australia t-shirt signed by Christian. Won by: Wendy Smith. Wendy received her prize from Lynn at the Meet the Players event in February.

On Wednesday, a Stan Dupp cartoon signed by Christian. WON BY: Ian Cowell.

On Monday, an Australian cap signed by Christian. Won by: Sandy McCord.

On Friday, a Brumbies shirt signed by Christian. WON BY: Niall McSperrin. Poor Nial had to settle for receiving Friday’s prize of a Brumbies shirt at the Kings match from somebody called Marcell Coetzee.

On Thursday, an Australian pre match warm up shirt signed by Christian. WON BY: Simon Kidd.

Christian we wish you all the very best in your life and career as you return to Australia, but most of all we thank you for your contribution to Ulster Rugby in your months here, and wish you a long and healthy life.

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