Ulster Rugby vs Treviso

STUART McCLOSKEY CENTRE OF ATTENTION

A powerful handoff, a barnstorming run and four defenders left on the ground. Stuart McCloskey’s try against Ospreys was typical of the 23 year-old for whom strength and pace have become hallmarks.

No-one is guaranteed a starting spot, we are all fighting for places and it’s really competitive. “There are aspects of my game that I need to work on. Things went really well against Osprey but Scarlets wasn’t what we were looking for and everyone was a bit disappointed with how it went. Hopefully we will get back on track against Treviso and get the win.” McCloskey, like all the players, is wary of the threat posed by Treviso.

What wasn’t typical however was that in that match the inside-centre also assumed the kicking duties. He missed his first shot at goal in front of the posts, but having scored that wonder-try in the corner, he got up, dusted himself down and slotted the conversion from the touchline. Such confidence is a key characteristic of McCloskey who is widely tipped as a future Ireland international and who is certain to be a major player for Ulster in this and the coming seasons: “I wasn’t doing much

STUART McCLOSKEY

“They look to throw it a bit wider than you think and they do like playing rugby. Perhaps their only weakness is that they only throw it wide when they are 14 odd points down. I think if they could play a bit more like that then they would perhaps cause a few more problems right from the start. “We expect to win every match at home. We are going out there with confidence. If we were to get four tries, that would be fantastic. If we were to just get the win, we would be happy at this stage”. Having excelled in a white shirt, McCloskey is now targeting a green jersey:

until a few weeks before the Ospreys game and I was trying to get the hang of it again,” he jokes. “It’s easy enough hitting kicks out on the training field with no-one looking, but when there are 14,000 people in the ground and TV cameras trained on you, it gets a bit harder!” He says that adrenalin got the kick from the corner over the posts: “I was on a high from scoring the try. I didn’t really think about it too much. I think that’s half the battle! Just don’t over-think it. In a couple

of weeks I’ll never have to kick for Ulster again!” Kicking penalty goals is just an extra bonus from a player that has played 21 times for this province. Despite being a nailed on starter at the moment, he knows that competition for places remains as fierce as ever: “I have to prove myself every time I go out there,” says Stuart. “I definitely feel more established in the side, especially at this time when all the internationals are away. I have to step up and be a more senior player than when maybe they are here.

“I would love to be going on the international tour to South Africa at the end of the season or to have played an international game. However, my goals are just to get in the Ulster team and to play week-by-week. Wherever it goes from there, I’ll be happy”. If he maintains the form that he has showed at the start of this season it wont be long before we will see him representing Ireland. Whether he is kicking the goals for the international side however, is another matter…

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