Court reaps benefits of unlikely transition
Last Saturday he celebrated his 30th birthday by making his 10th appearance for Ireland — coming off the bench against South Africa — and he will further highlight a remarkable sporting transformation by starting tomorrow’s clash with Samoa at the Aviva Stadium.
Amazingly, Court’s switch to rugby in 2004 was sparked by nothing more than a desire to lose weight, but within months he had played for Manawatu in New Zealand and moved back to Queensland to play for the Reds before deciding to grasp an offer from Ulster.
Qualified to play for Ireland through a grandfather who hailed from Limerick, Court continued to buck convention when he represented Ireland A at the Churchill Cup before he had even worn the Ulster jersey.
But all that drama is in the past; most of what has happened to Court since has been the result of patient, measured efforts to improve his performance levels. By his own admission, he still has a bit to learn, but his versatility and ability to play both sides of the scrum has begun to bear fruit.
Against South Africa he replaced the injured Tony Buckley; this week he packs down on the other side of the scrum. He wants to prove he can do both jobs at the highest level. Forced, out of necessity, to adapt in high-profile games for Ulster this season, he used this flexibility as an opportunity to grab the attention of national coach Declan Kidney.
Court recognises how important it is for props to aggressively hold their own in the scrums, but he is not naive enough to think his game ends at set-piece time. “Today’s props are multi-task people and I’ve been working hard on all aspects of my game, watching guys and picking up tips.
“For instance, guys like Cian (Healy) and Tony (Buckley) have a great deal to offer around the pitch. Tony, in particular, can be devastating at ruck time and with ball in hand.
“Sure, set-pieces must be right but I try to do as much as I can around the pitch, I try to carry the ball well, to make sure tackles are effective and try to be as disruptive and painful as possible to the opposition.”
LIKE everyone, Court always dreamed of playing at the highest level, but admits his only priority when he arrived on these shores was learning his trade and then nailing down a starting spot for Ulster.
“When I first came to Ireland I wouldn’t have rated myself very highly. I’d only been playing rugby for 16 months and it was a learning process for sure. It’s fine doing lots of work in the gym but I had to focus on a lot of other things and accept that it would take time. I feel I have been getting better each year.”
Court is certain his involvement with Ireland this autumn will help continue his progress and he’s already talking positively about getting back on the winning trail.
Despite views to the contrary abroad, he believes Ireland can challenge anyone in the scrum and he’s convinced there is now a supply of players ready to challenge for places in the front row.
“On the so-called problem tight side, things are improving. You’ve got John (Hayes), Tony (Buckley), Mike (Ross) and myself, while Jamie Hagan is playing very well with Connacht. There are also a few young guys coming through.”
With the World Cup less than 12 months away, Court sees selection on the Irish squad as a realistic goal and while he knows there is a significant amount of work to be done in the coming months, he views his current status as something of a dream come true. “So far, it couldn’t have gone any better no matter how hard I tried and I have no regrets about not taking the game up earlier.”
“I gave up a fairly high-paying managerial job in Australia and I turned down the opportunity of a contract with the Reds to come to Ulster, so it was always a bit of a gamble. There were times when I wasn’t playing much that I wondered. I needed to get myself to a point where I was at my best and let things happen.”
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