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NEIL DOAK
Ulster had a mixed pre-season in terms of results,
following up defeats to Leinster and Exeter Chiefs
with a clinical 29-19 win over Northampton Saints
last weekend.
Reflecting on that great win over their English
visitors, Doak said: “It was a good performance.
In the first half we were excellent; the physicality
was massively improved from the previous week
against Exeter. I felt we were a little ill-disciplined
in the second half and we allowed them to get
into our territory and put us under pressure.
“We had some quality players out there, but had
some missing as well. Even on the Friday morning
we had around 14 internationals training on the
back pitch, who weren’t available for one reason
or another. Last weekend allowed the young guys
to come in and mix with the more experienced
players.
“We scored a variety of tries which involved a mix
of set piece plays, some broken field stuff and
even a kick play. If we can maintain that variety
and creativity going into this game, we will be
hard to handle.
“Overall, it was great to get the first win, which
leads into the Dragons game and the start of the
PRO12 competition. The boys are excited to get
this campaign underway.”
Ulster’s Head Coach admits he was pleased
to see young players like Brett Herron, Robert
Lyttle and Jacob Stockdale make such a big
contribution in front of 13,500 supporters at
Kingspan Stadium:
“You can train and train but it’s only when you
get the guys out on the pitch that you see how
they use their skills and how they cope with the
pressure. I think Rob, Jacob, Brett and others
showed a huge amount of potential.
“It’s great that those younger guys can get that
exposure in a less threatening pre-season friendly
environment and hopefully they will flourish over
the next couple of weeks leading into the PRO12
and over the course of the season.”
Stockdale and Herron will start again tonight,
and Doak was full of praise for how the latter has
adapted to life at Ulster following his move from
Bath.
“It’s a difficult task coming in to occupy a pivotal
position like outhalf as it takes time to settle in
to the way we play. When you look at some of
the Bath terminology, it seems quite similar to
ours in terms of names, so he just had to quickly
transfer that to Ulster. On Friday night he proved
he’d done his homework and had a really good
understanding.
“His kicking out of hand was also really pleasing
- we gained really good territory with our
kicking game and he was central to that. His
performance in the first half put us on the front
foot. Tommy (Bowe), Andrew (Trimble) and Craig
(Gilroy) are really strong at chasing and re-
gathering those high balls and moving forward we
need to utilise Brett’s skills.”
The immediate task for Herron will be to navigate
his way through his competitive debut against
a well-drilled Dragons side tonight. Ulster won
narrowly in both games last season (12-19 away
and 17-15 at home), so Doak is acutely aware of
the threat posed.
“They are a tough side, very physical. If you
under-estimate them or are frivolous with the
ball, they have some dangerous runners who can
cause damage. Particularly someone like Sarel
Pretorius at 9, who is a huge threat around the
fringes. Up front, Nic Cudd was one of the top
turnover guys in the league last season. There are
threats across the board.
“We have got to make sure that we don’t give
them real opportunities. We have got to do our
basics well, carry hard and bring tempo to the
game. We want to start the season with a win
at home and give the crowd something to shout
about.”
Last season’s early inconsistency contrived to
give Ulster another away semi-final in May, and a
defeat at the hands of Leinster. Doak is keen to
ensure that his side hit the ground running and
build momentum in the opening weeks of the
season.
“Last year it was difficult enough with the World
Cup, a few games on, a few games off, players
coming back and forth - it was disjointed. This
season with everyone in situ, it is imperative that
we go into Europe in a strong position and focus
on a top two finish in the PRO12. The home
games are a perfect place to start and this Friday
night we will be aiming to get the points tally off to
a great start,” concluded Doak.
Neil Doak is a confident mood ahead of the start of competitive action in
the Guinness PRO12, but he is wary of the threat posed by Kingsley Jones’
Dragons outfit this evening.
NEIL DOAK