Ulster Rugby vs Treviso

One hundred appearances for Ulster, 25 tries for his province, six Ireland caps… all achieved at just 23 years of age. RECORD BREAKING 100 FOR CRAIG GILROY

rugby. He says that he has learned as much from the bad times as he has from the good: “Last season was the first time that I had experienced injury. Up until then it was all flowing. It’s all a massive learning curve. Each game is a new experience. I am very different now to when I played my first game. I don’t get really nervous. I get good nerves but I don’t get uptight. You just have to remember to relax and to stay calm out on the field. Those are the games that I have played best in when I have been fully focused and I have backed myself. That is what I have learned.” Like all milestones, winning his 100th cap gives the Ulster and Ireland player a chance to reflect on what he has achieved so far and gives him the opportunity to set his goals for the future: “I never thought that I would make 100 appearances for Ulster. If someone had said that to me when I was back in school, I would have thought that they were crazy! I am still only 23 – a lot of guys have made their 100th in their late 20s but they rack up quickly. “I want to be the best player that I can be. I want to continue to play for Ulster and I want to play for Ireland. I am aiming to keep learning and to keeping working hard and I want to score tries because that is what I enjoy doing most. “I still hopefully have 10 or 11 years left - I still can’t believe that I am already on my 100th cap.” A fantastic achievement and hopefully we will see Craig Gilroy in an Ulster shirt for many more years to come.

It has been a remarkable career so far for Craig Gilroy who tonight becomes the youngest player in the history of Ulster Rugby to make it to a century of Ulster caps. No-one who watched his debut in November in 2010 however, will be surprised that he has hit such heights, so young. That day, he scored two brilliant tries and it is an occasion that still stands out for the Ulster and Ireland winger: “I still remember it really well,” Craig says. “It was played in Cardiff City’s football ground. It was pretty crazy, I scored two tries and it all happened really quickly. Looking back I can’t believe that I am making my 100th appearance as that game seems like it was only yesterday.” Having made his Ulster debut, he has gone on to score important tries in some of Ulster’s biggest games: He says: “Munster in the 2012 Heineken Cup quarter final was class. Going down there (to Thomond Park) as underdogs, to get on the score-sheet and to win the way we did will always stand out. I got the bonus point try against Aironi a few seasons ago (in December 2011). Stephen Ferris picked me up after I scored. It has been great to play with players like Stevie and it’s hard to believe that he has retired. It was good to touch down in our game against Leicester three weeks ago. One try that was really pleasing was one I scored against Glasgow earlier in the season. I came off the bench – when you come off the bench you always want to make an impact and I was able to do that in that game.” Now in his fifth year, Gilroy has experienced many of the highs and lows of professional

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