Ulster Rugby v Dragons

Last week the Kingspan faithful gathered, as always in hope, but rather less in expectation given the previous unconvincing outing in Treviso. FANS CAN ROAR DOWN DRAGONS’ FIRE

But at the end of an emotional Friday evening there was no mistaking the positive mood and the sense of a faith restored as reigning champions Scarlets were beaten in a thrilling, confident and even swashbuckling finale. With players rising to the challenge of sweeping the doubters aside a famous 27-20 win, achieved with a character which some might have suspected had been permanently bruised, and with the crowd rediscovering its authentic voice this was an evening which somehow aptly crowned an occasion when the memory of the lionheart which was Nevin Spence was so splendidly celebrated. It’s early in the campaign in the new and rather sophisticated Guinness PRO14, but Ulster sits snugly behind Leinster at the top of Conference B, and naturally there is just a sneaking hope that this might be the year when solid reward will find its way to Kingspan. The defeat of Scarlets was a real stepping-stone for the squad Director of Rugby Les Kiss has assembled: it confirmed that the potential of some players was alive and well, not dormant and awaiting an elusive, long-awaited spark. But what contributed so much to last weekend’s drama was the clear intent to take the game to opponents, to take no resort in the absence of some big ‘names’ who are yet to be regularly available and those who are making their way back from injury. What Head Coach Jono Gibbes will have found reassuring, as he assesses the depth and quality of his resources, is that Ulster- bred products such as Kyle McCall, Matty Rea and John Andrew are not just capable reserves: with many others they have the ambition and talent to be genuinely in selection contention for competition in the PRO14 and in Europe. Yes, Marcell Coetzee, Jean Deysel and Charles Piuatu are wondrous players and it would be naïve to think that with their pedigrees and very particular skillsets they, like Craig Gilroy, Darren Cave and more, won’t figure early and prominently each week. But form, injuries and getting those fabled combinations right will dictate – just like the protocols sent down from the international set-up – that the ‘local heroes’ will feature more and more, and on merit.

But this week brings a new and different set of challenges. First, the most recent form and spirit must be maintained and developed because the PRO14 is a marathon with few chances to catch a breath or to take the foot off the improvement accelerator. To do that is not easy as the euphoria which comes from a win where so many virtues were on display has to be channelled into a more practical and consistent vein of hard work, champions, the quality of the side confirmed by a late-season run last year which caught rivals off-guard to an extent. This evening the opposition is again from Wales but the Dragons – for finally and legally that is the club’s name from this season! – pose different questions, have their own reshaped ambitions to fulfil, and we know from past experiences that if Ulster sometimes wants to free-wheel to success that can be undone by the sheer cussedness of the Rodney Parade team. Unquestionably the visitors cannot call on the resources they face tonight, but while they have been notably unsuccessful in league and in Europe since the inaugural Celtic League campaign they have a painful habit of spiking the hopes of better- equipped but less patient opponents. This is a new Dragons set-up in more than just name. Bernard Jackman, the former Ireland hooker, has been installed as Head Coach, his time at Grenoble in the Top 14 judged overall as a success. He took the post with the very public backing of his old Connacht mentor, Warren Gatland, the most powerful influence in the Welsh Rugby Union’s purchase of the club this summer. And Jackman, as hard-as-nails a competitor that there’s been in rugby, arrives at Kingspan with a team fresh from its opening win of the PRO14 season, the defeat of Connacht last weekend featuring the characteristics its coach would have demanded: organisation, cohesion, power up front and a gritty resolve for a full 80 minutes. From such solid foundations the players will be determined to expand their game, and though perhaps lacking in star-laden names there are some eye-catching individuals who will certainly have been given some extra attention by the Ulster discipline and cementing confidence. Second, the Scarlets are current league

ROD NAWN

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