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

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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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