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SWITCHING ON THE ELECTRICITY!
Ulster returned from Edinburgh last weekend ruing another away loss,
and also reflecting on the narrow margins between a win and defeat.
ROD NAWN
Head Coach Neil Doak compared the performance
of his side as sometimes too passive, observing
a similarity in Ireland’s World Cup exit in Cardiff by
Argentina.
The lack of clinical finishing was also identified
against the Scottish club which, under Alan
Solomons, boasts four Guinness PRO12 wins in as
many outings but whose attritional style seemed to
disconcert the visitors.
“I think it was clear we were the team that wanted
to, and did, play the rugby, but they were well-
organised, they posed real problems at the
breakdown, and although we gave ourselves every
chance we just didn’t capitalise,” he said, clearly
frustrated by the meagre return of one losing point.
And he might have been justified in wondering
if Edinburgh rode their luck a little in terms of the
interpretation of the offside law, for some of us
with long memories the ghost of Finlay Calder – a
wily former Scottish flanker and captain – had
apparently been resuscitated for the bleak Friday
night at Murrayfield!
But Doak is not one for making excuses; rather
he examines what more he and his players might
have done in such circumstances, so this week
the emphasis will have been on the areas where
he places so much importance: accuracy and
discipline.
The defeat on the road at Scarlets had been littered
with basic mistakes and some dubious decision-
making, and there were shades of that again at
Murrayfield.
With a squad of such quality the issue of not
replicating home performances away from Belfast
is something the management don’t want to
be prolonged. With two outstanding try-bonus
wins at Kingspan Stadium this ‘stop-and-start’
season there is emphatic evidence of what can be
achieved.
“Hopefully now that we have embarked on a
16-match sequence in the PRO12 and in Europe
we can get the continuity we definitely need,” said
Doak. “We’ll work hard, as we do every week, and
there’s no doubt that if this group of players can go
on a bit of a run we’ll have the right mindset for a
winning formula.
“We play Cardiff here at Kingspan Stadium in front
of our own fans and that is always a real ‘plus’ for
the boys, you really can’t over-emphasise how
important the support is.
“I sometimes think that teams and officials might
try to remember more that rugby should be a
spectacle, something the crowd wants to see
regularly, and in our games against the Ospreys
and Treviso we did play some really entertaining
stuff as individuals and as a unit. You can feel the
electricity a packed Kingspan Stadium gives, and
we want to give the supporters the rugby we can
play and they want to see – entertaining, winning
rugby.
“It’s what we all want to see and now that the
season is really underway we know it’s going to
be demanding, but it sharpens the focus to have a
game every week.”
Doak has looked closely at tonight’s opponents
and recognises the quality the Blues have in all
areas of the pitch. Cardiff, like Ulster, contributed
fully to the Word Cup squad and perhaps some of
the more lightly-raced in the international group will
play some role.
Ulster’s Head Coach is taking a ‘softly, softly’
approach to the possibility of his Irish contingent’s
availability for selection, acutely aware that mentally
and physically they have all been in a gruelling
environment at the World Cup.
He intended to talk to all the healthy returned during
the week, take advice and guidance from the Irish
management and as a former top-drawer player
himself, knows that individuals respond in different
ways. Those who have been regularly figuring in
the green shirt in the last five weeks, and been in an
intense camp regime for months, may need some
time to recharge batteries, some may want to put
the ultimate disappointment behind them and play
some part quite quickly.
Sadly Jared Payne and Tommy Bowe were injured
during the Ireland campaign, Ruan Pienaar
continues his RWC odyssey with South Africa
for at least another week, so they won’t be under
immediate consideration, but the depth of the
squad is such that daunting though the challenges
ahead are, there’s total confidence in the players
available for selection.