Ulster Rugby vs Bordeaux Begles

GET TO KNOW: CHRIS McNICHOLL TEAM PHYSIO

HOW DID YOU GET INTO PHYSIOTHERAPY?

camp, which was about a half hour flight from Rio and that is where all the GB athletes would come to prepare for their events. We had a full training centre for swimming, athletics, rugby etc - everything was set up from scratch. The British Olympic Association spent millions developing this training base, where the athletes would train and only drop into Rio for their event two or three days before, avoiding all the hype and allowing them to remain focussed, which I have no doubt contributed to their success. I would be having my breakfast with Adam Peaty and then two days later watch him smash a world record, it was an incredible atmosphere to be in. Highlights from Rio was definitely working with the men’s rugby 7s team, who won a silver and also the women’s 7s team - who were incredible athletes. Other highlights were spending time with all the GB sprinters, working with the modern pentathlon squad and Belfast’s Patrick Huston an archer - those guys were great. WHAT WAS YOUR MOTIVATION TO JOIN ULSTER? Having spent the last 9 years with SINI, the sports I had been working with had quite a small number of athletes and thankfully not many injuries occurred. So I actually just wanted to get my hands on more injuries. My expertise and my role here is the management of injuries and the rehab of injuries so to be working within a full contact sport with a large squad like Ulster was a motivation. Another motivation was that I had worked with a number of the players before in the Sports Institute and I had always really admired them and I got a sense that I wanted to come here and challenge myself and be a part of the team environment. DESCRIBE YOUR ROLE WITHIN THE MEDICAL TEAM? My main role at Ulster Rugby is the rehabilitation of players after injury up until they can join the Strength and Conditioning staff (S&C) on the pitch. I also assist Gareth Robinson with the treatment of injured players and provide matchday and pitchside cover for the games. I have been really impressed with the collaboration between the Medical, Science and S&C teams

I have two older sisters who are physios so the profession runs in the family. I have always had an interest in Science, and Biology, and have always enjoyed sport, however I was fairly average at it. I think I have ended up in sports physio because I am fulfilling my sporting ambitions through supporting the athletes and teams I work with rather than competing myself! I was always into Medicine and love sport- so sports physio was a natural pathway for me. I completed my undergraduate degree here at the University of Ulster in 1996 and then subsequently completed a Masters in Sports Physiotherapy at Cardiff University. After graduating I spent a year working in Birmingham before I came home to work in the NHS for five years - initially in the Royal and then Down/Lisburn Trust. At that point I would say I had almost had two careers - the 9-5 working in Hospital Outpatients and then working evenings and weekends as a Sports Physio. After this I set up and ran a Private practice with my wife in Magherafelt where we serviced a lot of local Club Soccer, GAA and Rugby teams. My move into working in Elite Sport came when I took a post in 2007 at the Sports Institute Northern Ireland - where I worked fulltime up until joining Ulster Rugby this Summer. TELL US ABOUT YOUR OLYMPIC INVOLVEMENT? During my time with SINI at Jordanstown I led the Physiotherapy delivery in several different programmes but Athletics, Boxing, Judo and Cycling would have been the main sports that I looked after. Over the years I spent a lot of time working with Paddy Barnes, Michael Conlon through their Olympic campaigns and also spent a lot of time with Martin Irvine who became World track cycling champion. Those guys have all come so far in their careers, turning professional etc. so it was nice to see them develop and finish their Olympic campaigns before moving on. Most recently, I was selected for Team GB as one of the physios in the medical team. I spent a month in Rio, which was an incredible experience but it was hard work. My role was at the holding

CHRIS McNICHOLL

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