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ROBBIE’S GAMBLE PAID OFF!
ROBBIE DIACK
Robbie Diack was just 22-years-old when he joined
Ulster, then based at Newforge, determined to forge
a new chapter in a career which had already been
marked with considerable success.
Born in Johannesburg, Diack had a natural
enthusiasm for the game, and his mobility and
physicality earned him an early call-up to the
demands of the Super 14 and Currie Cup, South
Africa’s primary competitions.
As a member of the successful Stormers side he
quickly carved out a reputation as a back-rower
with quite a few sporting strings to his bow. He
was quick around the park, he tackled hard, he
carried the ball with assurance and purpose, and in
addition he was an authoritative ball-winner in the
lineout.
So what took the young man with an apparently
blossoming rugby career away from the land of
his birth to the faraway reaches of Europe, and in
particular to Ireland and to Ulster?
“It was a huge gamble to be honest, and one I am
really glad I took as I look back at eight seasons
which have flown by.
“I was unfortunate in the way South Africa rugby
was in 2008. There was a real depth of talent, the
players ahead of me and then the introduction
of the quota system meant that I could see my
opportunities at the very highest levels were going
to be limited. I was enjoying rugby in South Africa,
I played in three Currie Cups, in two Super 14
campaigns, and I had to look beyond home if I was
to achieve the goals I’d set for myself,” he explains.
“I was so fortunate to get a three-year contract at
Ulster and I thought I’d see that through and then
move on, but now that I’ve stayed for eight years
shows, I think, just how much I love this club and
this city and Province,” he says with overt affection
for his adopted home.
And Diack has planted real roots in Ulster, he and
his wife Kirsty have fallen for life in Ulster, and
the couple was delighted in June last year by the
arrival of their son Fletcher, upon whom the giant
breakaway clearly dotes!
“It’s been an incredible journey, the steps we have
taken since I arrived in 2008 have been astonishing.
“On the playing side our expectations are so much
greater, we always wanted silverware but in the
early days perhaps we were satisfied with mid-table
finishes. I know that now we have facilities that are
the best in Europe, a stadium which everyone who
sees it is ‘blown away’ by, and a coaching set-up
and ambition that is transformed from way back
then.
“For me personally there have been highs, a
Heineken Cup Final, a RaboDirect Final, and of
course getting my two Irish international ‘caps’
against Argentina and Georgia was a huge
highlight, and I’ll never take that for granted.
“But one of the big differences has been the way
we are such a consistent force, home and away, to
win in places like Toulouse, Leicester and Bath is in
such contrast to my early time with Ulster,” says the
likeable, talkative Diack.
“Of course I want to be involved in winning trophies,
and I honestly think we’re on the right road to do
that consistently, and that’s why I am so looking
forward to the next couple of months.
“We have six PRO12 games left and we’re in a
congested race for one of the top four semi-final
spots, and that is undoubtedly the target which we
have set for ourselves as staff and players, and it’s
the least the fans deserve.
“People judge seasons and careers on silverware,
but I think as much as we want to win these
tournaments we are striving all the time to get better
and better, and we’re doing that. We have a set-up
which is made for success, I want to be part of that.
That’s my priority, and though I still hope I have an
international future with Ireland it really is only by
being part of a successful Ulster team that I can
think of that.”
Diack accepts too that in all departments of the
Ulster side there is fierce competition, and he wants
to put his hand up for a regular starting spot. “We
have a group of back-row players who are top-
drawer, and it’s a challenge to keep and raise my
standards. It’s healthy competition, but obviously I
want to be a starter and that’s a personal aim.
“Once Iain Henderson and Dan Tuohy are back,
and we’re looking forward to them being with
us, that competition becomes even greater, but
the challenge to each of us is to aim to be in the
It’s hard to believe that it’s almost eight years since a tall, lean South
African arrived in Belfast, embarking on a new rugby challenge.