Humphreys Ulster’s danger-man, says Cheika
The Belfast out-half retired from international rugby last year after earning 72 caps (a record for an Irish 10) and scoring 560 points, most of which came courtesy of his trusty right boot.
A qualified solicitor and a recipient in the Queen’s New Year’s honours list (making his full title Dr David Humphreys MBE), the former London Irish player has, like a particularly fine wine, kept maturing with age.
So impressive has he been this season that there was talk of Eddie O’Sullivan asking him to travel to France next October, although Paddy Wallace’s impressive turn against the Pacific Islanders last week might see those whispers subside.
Either way, Cheika obviously feels that Humphreys’ Indian summer has been every bit as dramatic as Ronan O’Gara’s current hot streak. The only pity is that fans tonight at Ravenhill will be deprived of a mouthwatering duel with the injured Felipe Contepomi.
“I would tend to say that their most improved player is Humphreys,” said Cheika. “I know he’s thirty-something at this stage but he’s on fire. He’s playing with a certain freedom and he’s got some players with him that he can service the ball to. He’s giving them a more expansive game than he has in the past.
“That’s something we’ll have to look out for. He played a ball back inside to Trimble against Cardiff and you would think he played it the other way but Trimble scored under the posts. It’s almost like a running renaissance he’s going through.”
That resurgence has been matched by the entire province in recent years, of course. As well as being reigning Magners League champions, Ulster are still in the frame to qualify from another painfully difficult Heineken Cup pool for the first time since their title success in 1999.
Their progress has been reflected at international level too with the northern province now almost an equal partner in terms of numbers included in Eddie O’Sullivan’s squad.
Cheika has a number of injury concerns delaying the naming of their starting 15. Leinster will be captained by Brian O’Driscoll, who partners Gordon D’Arcy at centre. Chris Whitaker will partner either Christian Warner or Andrew Dunne at half-back.
In the pack, one-time Ulster man Ronan McCormack will scrum down alongside Brian Blaney and Fosi Pala’amo. Trevor Hogan lines up alongside Malcolm O’Kelly in the second row, while one from Stephen Keogh, Cameron Jowitt or Owen Finegan will line up alongside Keith Gleeson and Jamie Heaslip in the back row.
Cheika enjoyed a victory on his first and so far only visit to Ravenhill last season but he is far from complacent as he contemplates this latest trip up the M1 that will see his side either overtake the current table toppers or fall seven or eight points behind.
“I remember last year on St Stephen’s Day it was really tough. Those guys are really in their prime at the moment. They’re flourishing. They’ve got the title from last year and you can see by how many of them are coming into the national team that they are on form and playing well.”
Their success is a tribute to the hard and initially painful reconstruction work of Mark McCall. When he took over from Alan Solomons as coach, he had to bite the bullet by telling players, some of whom he had soldiered with himself, it was time to move on.
The squad he inherited was also top heavy with foreigners and McCall pointed most of them towards what is now the George Best International Airport and replaced them with a bunch of coltish local boys.
Crucially though, he also scanned far-off horizons and recruited wisely from abroad. The additions have seen their game plan develop into one that is continually throwing up different posers for opposing players and coaches.
“(Justin) Harrison has come in to change the pack,” Cheika explained. “The advent of (Isaac) Boss as well — he’s a guy who will challenge you around the fringes of the ruck all the time. So there’s different challenges for us there now.”
It is four weeks since Ulster last had a run-out and three since Leinster’s defeat of the Glasgow Warriors in Donnybrook, and both coaches have talked about the difficulty of reintegrating a group this week, half of which has been effectively on pause while the other has been going full throttle.
D. Hickie, S. Horgan, L. Fitzgerald, R. Kearney; B. O’Driscoll, G. D’Arcy, C. Warner/A. Dunne, C. Whitaker; R McCormack, B. Blaney, F. Pala’amo, T. Hogan, M. O’Kelly, S. Keogh/C. Jowitt/O. Finegan; K. Gleeson, J. Heaslip.
To be confirmed
Olan Trevor (IRFU).
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