Ulster aim to push on

RUGBY: JOHN O'SULLIVANhears head coach Brian McLaughlin and player Chris Henry extol the virtues of a young side

BRIAN McLAUGHLIN sits impassively observing the maelstrom of activity that envelops the room. Given Ulster’s impressive pre-season form it seems an appropriate snapshot, his team’s eloquence on the pitch not requiring too much of a verbal addendum.

Although they lost a match at the end of a week-long training camp in France, they travelled to Neath with a squad that contained three players who were playing schoolboy rugby last season, and won. Last weekend they followed up with a very impressive victory over Harlequins at Ravenhill.

The province appear primed as the RaboDirect Pro12 League gets underway this weekend with the Glasgow Warriors visiting Belfast on Friday night. World Cup commitments deprive the Ulster coach, like many of his counterparts, of several frontline players, but his prescience last season in doling out game time to underage internationals like Paddy Jackson, Luke Marshall and Craig Gilroy will be invaluable.

Ulster were tantalised in reaching the semi-final of the league and the quarter-final of the Heineken Cup, losing to the beaten finalists in both tournaments. It has framed their ambition for this season. McLaughlin explained: “We were very clear on what we wanted to achieve last year. This year the immediate and primary focus will be on the first six or seven Pro12 games.

“We’re looking forward to them, we’re looking forward to the challenge and we are going to have a lot of young guys getting opportunities to show what they can do.

“We are always trying to look at our squad depth and we feel that over the next six or seven matches, these guys will be pushing towards the World Cup (for Ireland) in four or eight years’ time.

“Last year Paddy Jackson, Luke Marshall and Craig Gilroy all showed that they are very capable; Conor Gaston was another guy who got a bit of a run towards the end of the season. This year we are looking for those guys to step up and perform again.

“Nevin Spence is a guy, like Chris (Henry), who is perhaps a little bit unfortunate not to have been in consideration for the World Cup (squad).

“Nevin has had a shoulder operation but along with Ian Humphreys is back in the fold. As we approach the first match in Pro12 we are happy with how we are progressing. Hopefully at the end of six or seven matches we will know where we are going.”

Henry can offer a player’s perspective, a voice from within the cadre of players.

“We are a young, ambitious side. We want to have players putting their hands forward for Ireland and Ireland A. I think that’s probably in the forefront of all our minds. We don’t want to be happy with last year; obviously it was successful to a point but we want to use that as a springboard.

“It’s not always going to go our way throughout the year. At this level, with this squad, it’s about being mature and realising that when things don’t go your way you put that to bed and focus on the way we want to play at Ulster. When we do that we are a difficult side to beat.”

He will lead a team that’s brimming with enthusiasm and ability and that is invigorating. “Young guys of past years would not have been able to get the same opportunities. It’s up to them to grab it with everything they’ve got.”

McLaughlin interjects to develop the point. “It is also the energy that those young guys bring. They don’t have any baggage. They just go on to the pitch and play. We have talked about the way we want to play, the identity we want to have.

“We feel that if we really want to take that next step, not just competing with top teams. We want to be in a position that when our international players come back around November, where we are not just competing (but thriving).”

It’s far from a callow squad in terms of experience but there is an unmistakable hallmark of precocious ability. Darren Cave and Nevin Spence may represent two future international centres, while others like Jackson, Gilroy, Marshall, Michael Allen, Adam Macklin and Paddy McAllister are others with a pedigree to succeed.

ULSTER: P McAllister, C Black, J Cronin, D Fitzpatrick, A Macklin, J Burns, A Kyriacou, N Brady, D Tuohy, L Stevenson, T Barker, N McComb, M McComish, P Wannenburg, C Henry, W Faloon, R Diack, P Marshall, I Porter, I Humphreys, P Jackson, I Whitten, L Marshall, N Spence, D Cave, P Nelson, C Gaston, C Gilroy, A D’Arcy.