Stand Up Magazine - Issue 38 - Ulster Rugby Supporters' Club

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With such an impressive coaching and playing CV, there are some obvious high points to the casual observer, but which ones meant most to the man himself? The response is immediate, “Playing, it probably was with Waikato [Air New Zealand Cup Final] in 2006” he says with obvious pride. “If you’re in a situation where you’re playing week-in, week-out with your mates and end up winning together as a group of friends, there’s something special about that. It’s your local team so it’s a great thing so from a playing point of view that would be one of my highlights. In coaching, winning the T14 in France is pretty high, simply because of what it costs to win. I think sometimes it’s just different experiences, not necessarily titles that are good. Leinster played Munster at Croke Park in a Heineken Cup semi-final and that was just a great experience. Some home games at Clermont, the atmosphere was incredible and those things are great to be a part of.” And were there disappointments? “You learn off the disappointments, so losing the 2015 T14 title against Stade Français was pretty bitter,” he recalls. “We lost two finals in Europe but I think we lost to the better team. Stade Français was tough to take because I’m not sure we played to our capability and I’m not sure they were better than us, they were just a bit more cohesive.” Ulster CEO Shane Logan (like many organisations) has placed a lot of emphasis on short term and long term goals in the past, so it seems almost inconceivable that the coaching staff won’t have at least some targets for the season and beyond. “No” , says Jono, “We started off with one goal as a coaching

team which was to make sure that our pre-season was the best it could be. As coaches we wanted to be clear and ensure the players understand that. End of season goals take care of themselves, I think. I don’t think there’s anyone involved in professional rugby who only wants to participate. I think we all want to win.”

Does Jono think then that the coaching staff shouldn’t be judged if Ulster fail to achieve certain targets? Indeed does failure even cross Jono’s mind? He ponders for a while before hesitatingly replying, “I honestly don’t know. If you walked in and saw the first six weeks of our pre-season, I think you would be pretty proud of what everyone’s done. That’s the first point that we had, we now look to the next six weeks and then we’ll see....” Six weeks ... six months ... maybe more ... time will tell if Jonathan Brian Gibbes is indeed a rugby messiah ... or just another naughty boy!

In the meantime, welcome aboard Jono – we look forward to the ride.

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