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LUKE MARSHALL
THAT LUKE OF RELIEF!
He just turned 25 yesterday, he’s an Ireland international, and regarded
as one of the finest centres in the PRO12.
And when it was announced on Wednesday that
he’d signed on for another two years at Ulster,
Luke Marshall wore a smile which showed he was
confident he’d made the best decision about his
future.
It was an open secret that he’d been attracting
attention from some rather distinguished clubs
in England and abroad, but despite admitting to
having considered every option he’d always felt that
his development as a player and his best chances
of winning trophies was to remain at Kingspan
Stadium.
“Yes, in some ways it was a tough decision, I hadn’t
had a great season last year for various reasons,
and I was in a very competitive position, with
Darren Cave, Stuart Olding, Jared Payne and now
Stuart McCloskey - all internationals.
“I have always been confident in my own ability,
but I was also realistic. I wanted regular senior
rugby and that was being offered to me elsewhere,
but when it came down to it what we have here at
Ulster in terms of facilities, the coaching set-up and
the depth of the squad and its ambition was where
I wanted to be,” says Marshall, who is back to his
free-running, try-scoring best.
What is impressive about Marshall’s demeanour is
that having signed a new contract he was at ease
with his motives for staying on, they were about
rugby, not the material gains he might have made.
“There were lots of thoughts going through my
mind, but when I thought of what I had learned
– and was still to learn – from a player like Jared,
who’s just such a smart, intelligent footballer, I
wasn’t willing to walk away from that.
“And with Ruan Pienaar in your backline you
have a truly world-class operator from whom it’s
impossible not to discover new ways of seeing the
game and how to adapt.
“And Cavey has been such a help to me over the
years too, he’s such a good player and has such an
astute rugby brain. We all know what a talent Stuart
Olding is, and how good it is to have him back,
and Stuart McCloskey has deserved all the praise
he’s received since he took his chance in the green
jersey too!”
Winger Rory Scholes’ decision this week to move to
Edinburgh next year was one Marshall understood
only too well. “I have such respect for Rory and
what he’s doing. He’s been outstanding for us, but
at 22 he feels he needs regular starts and he’ll get
that in Scotland and I think he hopes that perhaps
he can return here in a few years, an even better
and more experienced player.
Luke Marshall also brackets Louis Ludik, Tommy
Bowe, Craig Gilroy and Andrew Trimble in that
group who can bring the very best out of others,
and he’s certainly ‘up’ for the challenge of holding
on to his midfield place with Ulster, but delighted to
that there was more good news on the injury front.
“Nobody here ever makes excuses about
injuries affecting the team, but Ulster has had an
astonishingly long list of absentees this year. Stuart
Olding’s return at the turn of the year was really
great for him after a very difficult two years, but
it was just such a boost for the squad to see him
back out there, as sharp and as incisive as ever.
“Now we’ve just heard that Tommy Bowe and
Iain Henderson could well be back for the later
stages of the PRO12, and world-class players like
that coming in at such a vital time obviously gives
everyone a ‘lift’, not least the supporters who are
so important in what we want to achieve,” says
Marshall, clearly seeing more than just a shaft of
light as the side approaches the last six matches of
the ‘regular’ league campaign.
Luke Marshall has long been singled out for the
top of the game, and six international ‘caps’ attest
to his quality and his blazing return to form this
season saw him included in Joe Schmidt’s Six
Nations squad, and travel as ‘24th man’ to Paris
and Twickenham.
“For me personally that has been great, to be back
in the international set-up. But when you are there,
if you believe in yourself, it’s not about being 24th
man, it’s about being in the match-day 23, or in the
starting fifteen.
“But I’m being very honest here, I want to make
Ulster the priority just now, make sure I hold down
one of those centre berths and perhaps help the
team get something tangible from the season.
“A top four place is the obvious target, and we
know we have to improve – and that we can – and
set a target of winning all our remaining games.
We’ve been poor defensively, in the last two games