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SAM ARNOLD:
TAKING SENIOR TRAINING IN HIS STRIDE
Arnold, who hails from Surrey, joined the Hughes Insurance Ulster Rugby
Academy last year and quickly made his mark. He became a key member
of the Ulster U20 team who won the Interprovincial Championship before
being selected for Ireland U20s and receiving a call up to the senior Ulster
squad for games against Dragons and Glasgow.
SAM ARNOLD
At the end of the 2014/15 season Arnold signed
a development contract which thrust him into
his first pre-season with the senior squad…
“I came into a totally new environment this summer
with the senior players and I have just been trying
to learn as much as possible from them. There
are no matches so it is the perfect time to ask
questions and use this time to learn. You can ask
senior players questions and they can tell you
what they would normally do in a match situation.
Usually I would go to Ian Humphreys or Louis
Ludik, they are always willing to
give me a hand and offer advice to
improve the way I play.
“That is probably the major
difference between this pre-season
and last year, having support from
those senior players and also the
speed and intensity of training. From
the U20s there is a big step up in
physicality and the speed of your decision making.
In U20s you feel like you have a good amount of
time to make a decision about a play but here you
have Nick Williams or Robbie Diack hunting you
down so you have to be a lot more immediate.”
Having only been at Ulster for a year, Sam has
earned the attention of the coaching staff, who
have faith that he can step up to the mark…
“It’s really exciting for me. It’s my first season of
professional rugby and it wasn’t easy when I first
came in. But I am treated just like everyone else,
the coaches aren’t afraid to tell you what you are
doing wrong but at the same time they congratulate
you when you are doing well. I think you need
someone to tell you what you need to work on to
keep pushing you to do better, that’s something
that I have been really thankful to the coaches for.
Joe, Clarkey and Doaky have all been pushing me
in pre-season training, which can only benefit me.”
Friday night will be the first time he pulls on a senior
jersey at home and he is expecting a memorable
experience…
“I have never ran out at Kingspan Stadium so
to get the chance would be unbelievable. I have
been to plenty of the games, the first Ulster game
I watched was against Edinburgh three years
ago when Stuart Olding was playing 12 and Pete
Nelson was at 15. It just shows you that players are
continuously coming through a quality Academy
set up. I have played twice now for the seniors,
against Dragons and Glasgow, last season. I
remember during the Glasgow game we were
camped on our 22 and I could just hear the Ulster
fans roaring over the top of the
Glasgow fans and after that
game I was thinking to myself,
I wonder what Kingspan is
like if that was an away game.
I have heard the fans really
blow the roof off this place so I
am looking forward to getting
some game time.”
With players away at the World Cup, it is a great
opportunity for Arnold to gain a position in the
starting XV…
“There are a lot of players away, but Ulster are
blessed with some pretty good centres at the
minute. I am obviously going to take every chance I
get but I think it is a matter of being patient as well.
Jared (Payne) and Cavey may be away but then
there is Luke Marshall and Stuart McCloskey so I
am going to have to play well in this game against
Leinster, get more game time, get my foot in the
door and wait to see what plays out. I am not naïve
to the depth that is in this squad, if I have to be
patient, I will be, but I am going to try to take my
opportunities when they come.
“Pre-season has been a great experience, I’m
loving it. The only time I haven’t enjoyed it is when
I am close to throwing up in conditioning games.
Other than that, I’m loving every minute of being
part of the senior set up.”