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ULSTER
RUGBY
www.
ulste
r rugby.comSTUART McCLOSKEY
“This season for me has been about
learning to cope with the highs and
lows of professional rugby,” says Stuart.
“The season started really well, I played
a lot more matches than I thought I
would, then the injury and a ban halted
my momentum, but I am really looking
forward to getting stuck back into it before
the end of the season.”
Having graduated as ‘Player of the Year’
from the Hughes Insurance Ulster Rugby
Academy last season, McCloskey quickly
made his mark on the senior team with a
string of outstanding performances earlier
this season:
“For me, the transition from the Academy
to professional set up has been a smooth
one, it was great to get a development
contract and now a professional contract
this summer. For me the main differences
between the two set ups are there are a lot
more meetings and a lot more analysis of
other teams now. There is not as much of
a focus on gym work as there was in the
Academy. But a lot more time and effort
is spent preparing tactically and also on
the pitch. I remember at the beginning last
year being in awe of the senior players
but now they are more like friends and I
definitely look up to guys like Rory and
Tommy.”
Having suffered ligament, muscle and
tendon damage to his elbow against
Scarlets in December, Stuart went through
surgery and 12 weeks of rehab with the
physio team:
“To be honest I think my arm is even better
now than it was before the injury. At the
time it was devastating to be side-lined
after playing so much and getting so
much experience. It was tough sitting
watching the guys for three months
but you have to take the rough with the
smooth and I am just thankful to be back
fit and playing again.”
Another blow for Stuart came when he
was handed a red card against Edinburgh
in February:
“It wasn’t ideal, out injured for 12
weeks, back for two, then out for
another four. The ban came as a bit of
a surprise but in rugby now, if anyone
goes past the horizontal, it’s a red card.
These things happen and you have got
to take it in your stride. The incident was
unfortunate, Michael and I were trying to
do opposite things at the same time and
things like that happen when games are
on the line.”
It’s a crucial few weeks for the squad and
Stuart will be competing for a place and
preparing hard for this Leinster game just
like the rest of the guys…
“Our main focus is Leinster, we need to
get a win against them to knock them out
of the PRO12 and push towards the home
playoff. Everyone has been doing a huge
amount of preparation over the past few
weeks. We have investigated different
plays to exploit them, looked at how they
played against Toulon last weekend and
what their strengths and weaknesses have
been over the last few weeks.
“In terms of our own squad, yes there
is competition in the centre, but each of
us offer a different style of rugby. I like to
carry the ball more than others so it gives
the coaches options and if they want to
play a certain style of rugby then different
players bring something more suitable
to the mix. I think having greater options
makes us more competitive and obviously
it helps to have that extra bit of cover when
players get injured.”
“In terms of looking ahead – my goal for
the rest of the season is to be named in
the squad and to play my part in winning
the next few games in our attempt to
reach the final. I hope to keep playing
well and push for starting positons. In
the summer, I hope to get picked for
the Emerging Ireland Squad for the IRB
Nations Cup.”
STUART McCLOSKEY
PLAYING HIS PART
It has been a season of ups and downs for breakthrough
centre, Stuart McCloskey. He has just signed a professional
contract at the age of 22 and has high hopes of playing his
part in the final few weeks of the 2014/15 season.