Blossoming talent here for the long haul

INTERVIEW: IAN HUMPHREYS: GERRY THORNLEYprofiles the talented outhalf who looks capable of following in the illustrious footsteps of his brother David, a star for Ulster and for Ireland

AFTER ULSTER’S round three defeat in the Magners League to Edinburgh, Stephen Ferris – as is his wont – didn’t beat about the bush. In TV, radio or print interviews, Ferris highlighted the “seven points missed at goal”, adding: “one in four kicks is not good enough”. He didn’t name Ian Humphreys, but he didn’t have to.

“That’s Stevie for you, mate, he’s brilliant,” says Humphreys.

“That’s what everybody likes about the guy. And to be fair, he says it to your face as well, it’s not like he’s back-stabbing me. I had no issues with it. We had a good bit of craic afterwards and I told him I was going to get him back the next time I was interviewed.”

Humprheys himself was surprised his place-kicking radar had gone awry at the start of the season. In training following the Edinburgh game he was practising his goal-kicking under the watchful eye of backs coach Neil Doak.

“I hit one and missed, and I thought ‘I’d got it’. We just realised it was something as stupid as, basically, I was aiming at the wrong place. As simple as that sounds, my alignment with the ball was probably three yards wrong. So we adjusted that and ever since, touch wood, it’s been going all right. I’ve had a couple of misses, but I know why I’m missing them now whereas pre-Edinburgh, if I missed them I didn’t have a clue why.”

Doak watched over Humphreys for about five two-hour place-kicking sessions that week prior to the Connacht game.

“I knew that if I kicked in another game like that against Edinburgh I was gone. So thankfully we’ve sorted out it out, with the help of a bit of criticism from big Stevie,” he chuckles.

Humphreys landed his first four kicks against Connacht, only missing two late touchline conversions – one to a try by himself – for a 15-point haul. He was off and running. In the first three games of the season his place-kicking ratio was just under 36 per cent; in the four games since he’s landed 21 from 26 – almost 81 per cent.

He missed one, from longish range, out of four last week in the hugely anti-climactic Heineken Cup defeat in Edinburgh when Humphreys admits they had travelled with high hopes.

“But we just didn’t turn up, really. We asked a lot of questions in the Sunday morning review, as to why, what happened and what went wrong and stuff. Hopefully we’ll work that out on the pitch.”

Returning from that defeat, Brian McLaughlin probably couldn’t have wished for a better way of hoping back on the bike other than a visit of the Heineken Cup champions to Ravenhill.

“If we can’t get up for this weekend then there’s definitely something wrong with us. It’s what Brian and Jeremy (Davidson) have been saying all week, this is the perfect way to bounce back – Leinster at home in front of a full crowd. We’re all really looking forward to the game, and just basically wish it was now,” says Humphreys

Ulster’s next two games are given added intrigue from Humphreys’ perspective in that he should come up against the form outhalf in the country in Jonathan Sexton this evening – even though Sexton starts on the bench – and the incumbent Ireland outhalf Ronan O’Gara at Thomond Park next week. But being overlooked for the two Tests and Churchill Cup in Canada and America over the summer – when Ian Keatley, Niall O’Connor and s Sexton were all preferred – has taught him not to look too far ahead.

“I was hoping I might be involved in some of the summer tours at some level, but I missed out. So I basically decided to get a good pre-season and then just try and get regularly into the Ulster squad. If I make the Irish set-up it’s a bonus, if I don’t then I’m not going to worry about it too much; I’m just going to enjoy playing my rugby at home. Obviously it’s good playing against the top two 10s in the country, but I’m not really looking into that. At the minute I just hope that Ulster can win and do well this weekend.”

Nonetheless, he must surely be in line for a third A cap next month and at least the Irish management now have options. Most outhalves, and especially so in Ireland if you think of the career graphs of O’Gara and the elder Humphreys, need more game time than any other position. And Humphreys’ is still a talent eminently worth the investment.

A chip off the brother’s block in that he’s articulate and amiable, and has a nice line in dry, self-deprecating wit, there’s a striking physical difference however, ie the new Grizzly Adams look.

He has no good reason for it, other than an English friend of his who had a year’s more growth convinced Humphreys to do the same. “My wife loves it,” he jokes, and when Jenny admonishes him, he concedes: “She absolutely hates it. But we’ve a wee girl Anna, who’s about seven and a half months, and she loves it. She just grabs it and pulls it.” It’ll be staying a wee while more so.

Save for the other difference of being left-footed, he’s also quick and revels in an attacking, running game. He attributes this to his coach at Ballymena Academy, Barry Cowen, and by the sounds of him, Humphreys doesn’t entirely envy 15- or 16-year olds who are placed into provincial structures nowadays.

There’s ten years between the oldest, David, and youngest, Ian, of five siblings, with Karen, Ruth and Marshall in between. Growing up in Ballymena, all played sports to “different levels and degrees” according to the youngest. It’s worked out well for their parents, George and Deirdre, whose two rugby-playing sons have afforded them the opportunity to make full use of their camper van, following their sons around for the best part of 20 years.

The younger Humphreys played for Ireland at U-19, U-21 and A levels, and captained the Irish side at the Rugby World Cup Sevens tournament in Hong Kong in March 2005 after helping to steer Belfast Harlequins to the AIB League final.

His elder brother, he says, provides an experienced voice to listen to, never forcing his opinions on him and gives him technical advice, such as on his line-kicking earlier this season.

Nor did his brother’s near- iconic presence in Ulster and prolonged career in any way stifle his own development.

“As I came through, I don’t think I really helped myself in that any time there was camps or training I never really did overly well. I never stood out. There was always Paddy Wallace and Adam Larkin within the Ulster scene, so there was never really any space for me to get in there.

“That’s why I eventually ended up going to Leicester because they offered me a contract, when Ulster didn’t.”

Leicester did more for the development of Irish players than any other English club since the turn of the Millennium, and Humphreys is a classic case in point. The first two years under the inventive Pat Howard were especially good for Humphreys, who was a star turn in Leicester’s historic Heineken Cup win at Thomond Park when Howard had him on the wing in defence.

“I played quite a lot in the first two years, in the third year under (Marcello) Lofreda I didn’t really much and I didn’t overly enjoy it. I got quite frustrated because it had been a good year the previous season and I was looking to kick on.”

Humphreys had the option of staying on another year at Leicester but, at 25 and with Howard gone, Ulster came in.

“The timing was perfect. I was married a year and my wife is from here as well. As much as we loved England, we both knew that eventually we’d come home and it seemed to be the perfect time.”

However, a few missed tackles in a pre-season friendly against Worcester left Humphreys on the bench for the first seven games. An injury to O’Connor saw Humphreys come on in the 12th minute against Munster, whereupon he ignited the back line and inspired a 22-6 win and a run of just one defeat in seven games which included a stunning 37-11 win at Thomond Park. He seems to like Thomond Park.

“I just enjoy playing where it’s a big crowd and a good atmosphere, and it’s always a good atmosphere down there.”

Their scoring rate went up from eight tries in seven games without Humphreys to 21 in six with him, but he would lose his place again toward the end of the season and Matt Williams wasn’t shy about expressing his issues with Humphreys’ defence.

“I don’t think he was the first coach (to have those issues) but hopefully, he will be the last because it’s something we’ve worked on this summer. Ach aye, I realised I had to. I’m 27 now, if I don’t sort out my defence I knew I wouldn’t be offered any Ulster contract and then I wouldn’t know where to go after that.”

Hard work with the departed defence coach Peter Sharpe and fitness coaches Johnny Davies and Paul Hatton, helped to strengthen him physically and technically, though Humphreys can see now that his defence had mostly become a mental issue with him.

“Because it was brought up so often I’d be going into games thinking: ‘flip, if I miss one tackle I’ll be out of the team’. Whereas it’s still massively important it’s not been made into as big an issue, and perhaps that’s because I’m defending better. Now I’m more thinking: ‘I’m going to make this tackle this time’.It’s a complete different mindset now which seems to be paying dividends.”

Few outhalves around are punting the ball longer or more accurately and of course his attacking game has always been impressive. At Ulster he likens Doak to Howard.

“Knows his rugby, is very, very technical, but makes it enjoyable to learn, and he’s very good at analysing why some moves work better than others.”

He credits McLaughlin with improvement in what the coach calls “the nuts and bolts”, and especially their breakdown work.

“I think maybe it’s hard for foreign coaches to come in to a place like Ulster where it’s so steeped in tradition and the pride of playing for Ulster is such a big thing. Our coaches now know what that means. For us, growing up, playing for Ulster is your big goal and so they’ve brought back the desire and the pride in playing for the Red Hand.”

As for himself, the flip side of being a late-developing 27-year-old outhalf, with relatively little game time under his belt, is that – a bit like his brother – Humphreys’ best years ought still to be ahead of him.

“The other thing is if I had got a shot at a decent level when I was 22 or 23 I probably would have been so bad that I wouldn’t never have been given another chance. So I’m hoping now that if I ever do get a chance at a higher level, or even still at Ulster, I’m taking that opportunity and hopefully I’m here for the long haul.”