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REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL
LOOK around Kingspan Stadium today and you’ll see a lot of very
colourful garb discovered under the tree on Christmas morning.
ROD NAWN
It’s been a season of giving and receiving, and like
some of what’s been worn, it does make you wonder
if there really was festive goodwill involved in some
purchases!
But even those of us who too easily claim to be in
the ‘Bah! Humbug’ brigade are already looking
back at the last few weeks with a warmer glow than
usual. For a few important days scepticism was set
aside, the good nature and good humour we all
experienced allowed us to take a rather brighter view
of mankind.
And a New Year always affords a chance to
recharge, to look ahead with a clearer and more
positive attitude. The ‘highs’ and the ‘lows’
experienced in our sporting allegiances in the
last calendar year can be put in a more gentle
perspective, and a bracing visit to the Kingspan to
see old foes Munster take on Ulster is an invigorating
prospect.
It’s also a time when resolutions are made, and too
often they fall by the wayside all too quickly. For
supporters, though, the determination to ‘keep the
faith’ and to roar on their favourites is normally a
promise kept, a weekly renewal of the vow almost an
addiction.
For Ulster fans, who remain in terms of numbers
the most loyal of all in the Guinness PRO12 and in
European combat, the last 12 months have been
uplifting and, less frequently, disappointing, but few
would doubt that they have been interesting and
sometimes surprising.
Twelve months ago Champions Cup ambitions had
dissipated but the league title was very much ‘on’,
the side a persistent presence in the top four, who
would contest the climactic play-off stages.
In the early months of the year Rory Best was in his
pomp, Chris Henry was making astonishing strides
towards a full recovery from the shock of a sudden,
serious illness, and Iain Henderson was announcing
himself as very much his own man, but there were
quite understandable comparisons being made with
the force of nature that was that most athletic and
indomitable of flankers, Stephen Ferris.
Dan Tuohy was characteristically putting another
injury mishap behind him as he aimed for a return
to the games’ top table, Franco van der Merwe a
constant, reliable ball-winner at lock, and Andrew
Warwick, Callum Black, Rob Herring and Ricky
Lutton were vying along with Wiehahn Herbst, a
superb prop forward signing from South Africa, for
regular front row outings.
Nick Williams was, well, Nick Williams, creating his
special kind of rugby havoc in opposition defences,
while Roger Wilson and Robbie Diack went about
their business with an authority and commitment
which sometimes can be taken too easily for
granted.
The leagues’s most threatening backline sparked
consistently, Darren Cave making an unanswerable
case to Joe Schmidt at centre, while Jared Payne
was confirming why he would be one of the first
names on the Ireland World Cup starting 15. And the
emergence of Stuart McCloskey, a clever, powerful
midfielder with pace to burn, afforded Andrew
Trimble, Craig Gilroy and Tommy Bowe the time,
space and ball to keep the try-count rising.
Trimble’s foot injury would be a blow, to the Ulster
and Ireland sides, and to this most hardworking and
committed of backs, but the depth of Neil Doak’s
squad meant the drive towards a PRO12 semi-
final and what could be a very special Final at the
Kingspan was apparently irresistible.
Ulster gave its supporters a real roller-coaster ride,
but right to the penultimate weekend of the season
the prospect of silverware, so much coveted in the
playing squad, was alive and thrillingly enticing.
Glasgow, and perhaps a poor decision here and
there, meant there was no ideal climax in Belfast,
but – at a time when we reflect and certainly look
forward – it was a campaign which was always
compelling, full of debate, dotted with controversy,
and surely encouraging.
Now midway through the season, a New Year has
been born. With it comes the revival of ambition, and
there is real evidence that the squad – with Les Kiss
in charge of the coaching team now – is fuelled with
justified confidence.
As fans we can be a fickle bunch, but we want what
everyone in the Ulster structure craves: success!
That astonishing Kingspan night when Toulouse
was humiliated seemed to strengthen the faith in the
stands and on the terraces, and though expectations
remain demanding the determination and ability of
these players to deliver cannot be questioned.
And the future is being fashioned in front of our
eyes: Kyle McCall and Alan O’Connor have stepped
into the pack for big games and flourished, Rory
Scholes is pressing hard for a spot on the wing,