Ulster Rugby vs Ospreys

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6 ULSTERRUGBY
FRANCO VAN DER MERWE
SETTLING IN
FRANCO VAN DER MERWE
The 31-year old lock and his wife have
been making the most of their time in the
northern hemisphere by taking a trip to
New York during the autumn international
break…
“We went to New York for a week and tried
to get a bit of sun,” says Franco. “A few
players had made the trip also so we met
up with them, we did a lot of sightseeing,
not too much shopping, just all the touristy
things and taking in the sights of the city.”
Following a week off, Ulster are straight
back into PRO12 action against league
leaders Ospreys this evening…
“It has been a good week,” explains
Franco. “All the guys are fresh after
the break, all the niggles are gone and
everyone is back training well. Preparation
and the intensity of training has lifted, so
despite not having the internationals we
have a good strong side who are ready to
get out there. We have been focusing on
getting the basics right but also running
through the details, we have been working
on building the tempo, the attitude and the
physicality of our game this week heading
into Ospreys. They are a tough side who
are sitting top of the league so we need to
put in a good performance this weekend.
“Having guys away on international duty
is a double edged sword for us – it’s great
that it creates the opportunity for the
younger or new guys in the squad to play
and get experience in the PRO12 or even
in Europe in a few weeks’ time. But on the
other hand we are missing a core group of
players with a lot of experience so it’s even
more important that we are focused and
training hard after having a week off.”
“Ospreys are a physical side up front, they
try to keep play simple but they really work
hard for each other. You can see that they
are a team who are well coached and the
forwards are really powerful especially
in the first phases; they bring a lot of
go-forward ball for their backs. So for us
to counteract that, it will be a team effort,
everyone performing well and doing their
job, getting the basics right but showing
that we can also execute the details.”
With his calm nature and leadership
qualities, it is safe to say that Franco is
settling well into life on the pitch at Ulster,
but how is he getting on off the pitch?
“We are really enjoying Belfast, the
weather has been kind to us and the
people are really friendly. The facilities here
are world class which makes it so much
easier to come to work every day, I enjoy
every single day, and the players make
it so much easier for my wife and I. The
family circle of other wives and girlfriends
make it easy for us to fit in, we are a few
months in now and I would say we have
settled well, we are really enjoying our time
here.
“The highlight so far for me has been the
crowd, the Ulster fans are really passionate
about this team. Against Dragons there
was so much rain but still all of these
people came out to support us. It is
amazing to see them all every week and
the way that they sing when you run out
onto the field, for me that is something
new, I did not expect that – It’s amazing!
Also the way the crowd goes so quiet
when we kick to post, this is totally new
to me. So Ulster definitely have some
traditions in terms of the fans and the
history of this ground, and I really like that,
it is something to be proud of and when
you run out and you think that you are tired
- you are driven to give that bit extra for the
fans.”
South African international, Franco van der Merwe arrived
at Kingspan Stadium with no preconceptions as to what
life in Belfast would be like, but with his name consistently
etched on the team sheet and two tries under his belt
already, it certainly looks like he is settling in well…