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JONO GIBBES
What can the team and management take from
the recent outcomes of the friendlies and the
pre-season programme in general?
We felt that one of the real positives to come out of
the pre-season games was the exposure it gave to
a large number of players. For certain players, the
pre-season games were a chance to blow off the
cobwebs after a break between the seasons and for
others it was a reward for their hard work and efforts
so far. Perhaps more importantly, it exposed a lot
more players to the way we want to play and the way
we want to approach games which will be beneficial
in the long run.
Unfortunately, the amount of effort and investment
from the team was not reflected in the overall
scoreboard. But it was good experience for us, as a
new coaching team, to understand how players react
under pressure and how our skills and understanding
are affected under the pressure of a live game, as
no training environment can ever fully recreate that.
From that point of view, we have learned a lot about
the players and continue to focus on the strong
positives that emerged for us as a coaching team.
So tonight, it’s down to business as a new
coaching team and a new squad with your first
competitive outing – how do you feel about it?
It’s exciting and has come around a lot quicker than I
thought it would. I know the guys are raring to go and
keen to show the difference between a pre-season
game and a competition game. The preparation
has been really good and we’re excited. Nine weeks
of preparation builds towards this first game of the
season and it’s right here - the first game in the
competition, at home in Kingspan Stadium. I know it
won’t be perfect but we are confident that we have
prepared as best we can.
From a coaching perspective, just how different
or difficult is it facing a new team in the first
game up?
There are certainly a lot of unknowns. We weren’t
completely sure of the touring party until it was
announced on Monday so that put a little bit of
pressure on trying to build enough information to give
our players the right kind of detail so that they could
adequately prepare. We’ve looked at the variations
between how the team work from Super Rugby, to
the Currie Cup and tried to identify the impact they
will have on the PRO14. From the way they have been
playing in the Currie Cup it is pretty obvious that
there will be a lot of questions asked of our defence
on Friday night which certainly sharpens the mind.
For the Ulster supporters - what can we expect
to see from the Cheetahs on Friday?
One of their strong points is their cohesion. They’ve
played a lot of games together recently, so we’re
going to see a cohesive team; one that has played
a lot and offers pretty solid combinations. Their
approach to the game is holistic, they really play as a
team. From 1 to 15 they are all comfortable handling
the ball, they are all comfortable running support
lines and off load lines and attack. South African
teams, traditionally, have strong set piece play and a
good drive and the Cheetahs certainly use variations
of that. They bring all their team into play not just 1 to
8 with a 9 that kicks it; they can play from all parts of
the field and have real speed in what they do, even
the loosehead prop, Ox Nche, is extremely quick for
a loosehead prop.
We now know that Rory Best is going to captain
Ulster for the season. Can you tell us what was
the thought process behind that decision and
what does Rory bring as a leader to the team?
Each team has a different way of approaching what
they think is important for the captaincy role. For
this group, we kept coming back to a guy who is the
captain of his country, who has performed at the
highest level internationally, who was as a Lion in the
summer for the second time. Someone who is a real
warrior.
Rory is a guy who brings people with him and we
feel that he embodies the values of what is special
about the Province of Ulster. He is a doer; he gets on
and finds a way to get things done and continues to
play at the highest level. The fact that he has played
over 100 games for Ireland is a testament to the kind
of character he is. All these factors were part of the
decision-making process.
His availability will be managed in line with his
international commitments to ensure that he has the
best possible support to further develop, so that he
can continue to play at the highest level, influence
Ulster Rugby and assist future Ulster leaders.
Jono Gibbes, Ulster Rugby Head Coach, shares his thoughts on
tonight’s challenge with the Cheetahs
JONO GIBBES