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WOUNDED ULSTER’S HOME COMFORTS
WHEN misfortune strikes in life very often the troubled, the frail, the doubting,
seek solace in the places and people they know.
ROD NAWN
It’s not all that different in the arena of sport where
individuals or teams often look for reassurance or
encouragement in familiar surroundings in front of
trusted supporters.
As it is just the third round of games in the Guinness
PRO12 it is rather fanciful to see Ulster as mortally
stricken, but after the impressive opening win in Belfast
against Ospreys a month ago the defeat a week later
at Scarlets undoubtedly left scars.
Time does help the healing process, but more
effective by far is the ‘repair’ work done back in training
and the lessons learned in analysis – personal and
professional – of performance, attitude and aspiration.
Head Coach Neil Doak will have pressed the ‘Reset’
button for this evening’s game at Kingspan Stadium
against the doughty Italian visitors Treviso, and with
another big crowd urging the men in white on the
players will want to respond with a demonstration of
their real character and ability.
The squad travelled in genuinely confident mood
after the refreshing stylish dismissal of the Ospreys
challenge. Naturally some observers were swift
to point to Ulster’s apparent aversion to playing
away from home, but that is too glib and shallow an
explanation for a display which was decidedly under
par.
The side had a few ‘tweaks’ from the one which
fired its way to a bonus point start to the season,
but it’s doubtful the players or management
imagined the Scarlets would find the visitors quite so
accommodating, and to return to Belfast without even
a consolation losing point meant Doak, Allen Clarke,
Joe Barakat and Niall Malone were bound to challenge
the ‘real’ Ulster to emerge this evening.
Doak would be the last to seek refuge in the indifferent
and unpredictable application of the off-side law in
Wales, but the Scarlets played right on and – too
often – over ‘the edge’ in that regard, and coaches,
players and fans do get frustrated with the perceived
inconsistencies from match officials.
“The trick is, of course, not to get into situations where
we get punished, we know we have to accept the
decisions but also find answers when we might believe
we’re getting a raw deal,” says the Head Coach.
“Every game you learn from, about players and about
how some officials operate, and we move on with that
information. But we gave away too many turnovers I
any case, played well in many aspects, and we all felt
a losing bonus point was the very least we deserved.
“But we didn’t get anything out of it and for the last
couple of weeks we have trained really well, as well as
I can remember, and we’ve got our focus on getting
back on the winning trails against a Treviso side we
know will be really tough to break down. The pack is a
formidable one, and when they can call upon proven
players like Kiwi flanker Dean Budd, the South African
No. 8 Braam Steyn, and the English lock Tom Palmer
they will give any team a test up front.”
This Treviso side, colourfully coached by the former
Italian scrum-half Umberto Casellato, has already
shown its mettle by taking a bonus point in a thrilling
18-13 defeat in Munster, and Edinburgh needed a last-
gasp penalty to take the spoils in another nail-biting
encounter by 27-24.
The Italian core to the team is fuelling the national
side’s World Cup campaign and has been carefully
and expensively supplemented by the addition of
overseas players, and half-backs Chris Smylie and
Sam Christie learned the game in New Zealand and
are rated highly by the Ulster coaches.
“Their Kiwi full-back Jayden Hayward is an excellent
kicker, and we must be aware of his capacity to land
his penalties and keep the scoreboard ticking over,”
says Doak. “So, once again we have been addressing
our discipline, we can’t give away sloppy penalties,
and the other element we must bring to the game this
evening and for the season is more accuracy.
“Whether it’s in the set-piece or in the other phases we
must be precise. Well-drilled, yes, but from that solid
platform comes the opportunity for players to express
themselves.”
As the World Cup reaches the ‘business’ stage, the
PRO12 season too comes to an important point: there
will be six games for the sides before the tournament
in England concludes, and the clubs have prepared
to work with the resources they have and to create
a real launchpad, find genuine momentum for the
demands of league and Champions Cup which await
in November and through the winter months.
So this evening’s game against a club which has
traditionally provided Ulster with a robust challenge is
important. The visitors are nobody’s ‘whipping boys’,
they proved that last month against Munster in its
own backyard, and Alan Solomons can attest to the
defiance his Edinburgh side only just managed to quell
on a testing visit to the Stadio Monigo.
Ulster and Treviso have contributed significantly to
their respective nations for the World Cup, and both
teams have also seen injuries cause some reimagining
of selections, but neither Casellato nor Doak would
look for excuses, they are both too experienced to
expect other than they will use the squad fully and
place confidence in the quality available.