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Your first start was against Leinster and now this
weekend you face them celebrating your 50th.
What memories do you have from back then?
RL:
It seems like a lifetime ago but I remember being
pretty nervous. I got the call from Mark (Anscombe)
that John Afoa had to go back to New Zealand for
the birth of his daughter, so I got thrown in at the
deep end against Cian Healy, who was at the top
of his game back then. He was gunning for a Lions
spot and Ulster at the time were going OK, but we
needed the win to keep us in contention, much like
where we are now.
The whole game was a blur, it was so quick and so
physical but I was happy with how I got on and we
were delighted to get the win. Let’s hope history can
repeat itself this time around!
What has been your favourite appearance to
date?
RL:
My first game against Leinster was a massive
highlight and also the win against Toulouse just
before Christmas here at home. I was only on for 20
minutes but the atmosphere and the crowd were
outstanding. The team put in a great performance
and we milled them 38-0, it was a great feeling and a
great night all round.
What has been your biggest challenge along the
way?
RL:
I would say the toe injury that I picked up at the
end of the season before last. I was out for three or
four months and following on from that I struggled
to get back into the squad and it was a pretty dark
period for me. I couldn’t get any rugby time and
it seemed like there was no light at the end of the
tunnel. But, there were a couple of injuries within the
squad and I was given the chance to get back into
the mix again.
Just a few years ago you picked up ‘Club Player
of the Year’ and now you are a regular on the
professional team, what has that journey been
like?
RL:
It has been really unexpected to be honest.
Coming back from New Zealand, I had pretty much
given up on the notion of playing professional rugby,
I was just keen to play for fun with a club. But then I
got a call up from Gary Longwell to come along for
trials, I thought it was a shot to nothing so to go from
there to where I am now has been unexpected but a
real privilege and I am delighted to be in this position,
achieving 50 caps for my Province.
How have things changed since you started?
RL:
Club wise things have changed dramatically,
Mark has moved on and Les has recently come
in which has changed the dynamic of the whole
club. We have a lot more meetings and analysis
has really taken off. We have moved from Newforge
to Kingspan Stadium, which has driven the
professionalism of the whole squad upwards – along
with the quality of the gym, facilities, the level of
analysis. Everything is on a completely different
scale to even two or three years ago.
Personally, I think I have become a lot mentally
tougher. Looking back on it, I probably thought that I
was, but when I look deeper, I was a bit fragile and I
have worked hard to overcome that – to improve my
confidence and mental toughness. Physically I have
developed more stamina, being able to play three,
four, five games on the bounce. Rather than playing
one game for 20 minutes and being wrecked for a
week! That has come with increased discipline off
the pitch as well as diet, rest and making sacrifices.
It’s a great personal achievement, which I am
sure you are looking forward to?
RL:
I can’t wait. Aside from the individual
achievement, it’s a massive game for the team
and hopefully I can contribute to that and history
can repeat itself and we can get another great win
over Leinster, which can set us up for the end of
the season. The squad is feeling confident. The
international guys returning certainly gave us a boost
and things are picking up and we re improving every
week, so if we can keep the upward trend going, we
have a good shot at the play offs.
It’s great that the game is a sell out, it’s always a
brilliant atmosphere when Kingspan is full and the
crowd are noisy. For us players it is a great feeling
running out when the stadium is rocking and for
opposition is has to be disturbing knowing you are
up against the 16th man.
RICKY LUTTON
RICKY LUTTON:
CELEBRATING 50 CAPS