Nick Timoney keen to put on a show back on home turf

Dublin-born Nick Timoney is relishing the chance to show some of his former colleagues and team-mates in D4 that there is indeed a future in BT6.

The 23-year-old Ulster flanker, who moved north from the Leinster Academy a few seasons ago, is among a hoard of fresh-faced players who will tackle the PRO14 champions on their own turf this evening.

Timoney, a pacey Ireland Sevens forward a few seasons ago, may now be seen as one of the ‘veterans’ in the starting line-up as head coach Dan McFarland keeps his powder dry for the big Champions Cup challenge next week against Racing 92.

A two-time Blackrock College Schools Cup winner, Timoney shone last season as Ulster hung on to claim their European Cup slot. This season, with Ireland’s Jordi Murphy switching allegiance, and Springbok Marcell Coetzee back to full fitness after two knee reconstructions, Timoney has not had the same game time in the back-row. Whenever he does start, he puts in his usual 80-minute performance such is the quality and endurance of his engine.

He sees this evening’s battle as a chance to show what he is made of against familiar faces.

“Personally I would know a lot of them quite well, played against them, all of them pretty much. That is probably easier to prepare when they have a number of options because you know them and have seen them play for club and Ireland. If they change a back-row, it is not an unknown, you still know their back-ups as well. I am quite comfortable with the preparation for it, something quite familiar,” said Timoney, who knows only too well what an Irish rivalry means.

“They are the closest team to us, our biggest rivals, double champions, there would be something seriously wrong if we did not have an edge playing against them.

“They seem to take their rivalry with Munster more seriously, because we did not have a great season last year and they see them as a better team than us. They are entitled to think what they want, but we are going down there to win, so it will have as much of an edge as we make it.”

Playing for Blackrock, Timoney obviously grew up with rugby in his blood, and followed Leinster, but now he wants to come away from the challenge with Leinster’s proud home record undermined. “I went to a good few games and played some Schools Cup games there (at the RDS). Obviously a couple of their players I would have gone to school with, and a good couple would have played against my whole childhood. It’s exciting to challenge myself against them.

“I think a lot of teams have proud home records in the PRO14, you see that from semi-finals and play-offs, their home-win records are obviously better than the away-win records. They see it as something different to playing away games. Personally I do not think it is the worst place in the world to go to, it would be good to win there, but I am excited and it would be great to win at the RDS.”

It’s a place where Ulster have not won since 2013, but with their hungry young team, that record could change.