Ulster Rugby vs Bordeaux Begles

TREADWELL STARTING TO FLOURISH

While Ulster has struggled for results over the past month, Kieran Treadwell has grown in stature during that time, making four consective starts for the Province.

The 21-year-old moved to Belfast from English Premiership side Harlequins during the summer and has now racked up 10 appearances for Les Kiss’ men. Treadwell, a powerful second row, says that he’s settled in Belfast pretty quickly and that is having a positive effect for his rugby.

figure out what we have to do. We worked really hard and you can’t take that away from the boys. “We put in a huge effort during the game - statistically, all our metres ran were up - it was very fast paced. Exeter are a good side, Sandy Park is a tough place to go and on the day they simply performed better than us. “You are only as good as your last performance and unfortunately that didn’t go the way we planned.” With Ulster’s European assault effectively ended for another season, Treadwell insists today’s tussle with Bordeaux is about pride in the jersey and repaying the loyalty of the fans. “We’ve got to just go out there, play rugby, enjoy it and prove ourselves in front of our home crowd. Prep has gone well this week, we’ve put in a few big training days and some analysis meetings. Hopefully we can put in a big one come Saturday.” Beyond today, Treadwell and the rest of the squad are focussed on delivering results in the Guinness PRO12, and he claims they are targeting the next block of fixtures as must-win games. “We have a good run coming up, especially some key home games, which will help us a lot, but we all know that we need to improve and hold our nerve on the road. Our goal now is silverware in the PRO12 and everyone will do everything in their power to get us there,” he declared.

KIERAN TREADWELL “Moving here was an easy transition for me, I have lots of good people around me. I knew Brett (Herron) before I came here, so I had some familiarity. The coaches are fantastic here and so are the fans, everyone has made me feel really welcome.

“I feel like the supporters here are unbelievable, they are so passionate and they make me feel passionate about playing for Ulster as well.” Treadwell, who was called into Joe Schmidt’s Ireland training squad over the festive period, admits that he still has plenty to work on in terms of his game development. “I’m still a young guy, so I just have to keep working hard to make the squad and contribute as much as I can to the team. Les has given me opportunities and it’s up to me to make the most of them.” Reflecting on the loss to Exeter on Sunday, which all but ended Ulster’s hopes of progression to the Champions Cup knock-out stages, Treadwell expressed his disappintment: “Sunday was a bitter pill to swallow. I think we just need to go back to the drawing board and try to

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