Sight of red rose enough to fire up Ferris
A clash against the old foes sporting the red rose is always a prospect to get Irish juices flowing and even though a sore ankle kept the Ulster blindside out of training at Carton House on Wednesday, even Ferris’s troublesome knees were feeling fine as the big day at Twickenham approached.
“My knees are great so that doesn’t really concern me,” Ferris admitted. “We’ve a massive game this weekend and it’s been four weeks in a row now so it’s all about getting it right. You’re running on adrenaline every week but, to be honest, apart from a few bumps and bruises, everybody’s in good shape. Mentally, we’re fresh and I think that’s very important and just as important as feeling physically fresh. It is tough. Playing four internationals in a row is tough, but when you’re playing against England away from home, it’s a game you don’t need too much to get up for.”
Ferris’s comments this week about England being bad losers were certainly indicative of that and his eagerness to face them is understandable since he missed out on last year’s famous Grand Slam-busting victory at the Aviva Stadium.
“I was sitting in the pub having a pint watching it and admiring the boys and how good a job they had done,” he said. “It was a great day and hopefully we can repeat that. We’ve a good record against England, we’ve been playing some good stuff, it’s a been a good physical battle but we’re preparing ourselves for it.”
Ferris has been integral to plenty of Ireland’s “good stuff” in this year’s championship. It is not just the intensity and strength in defence and thundering ball carrying that has earned Ferris plaudits. He has made contributions in the line and at times made the last pass in well-worked Irish tries, the most recent of which saw him feed Andrew Trimble for a score just before half-time in the convincing win over Scotland last Saturday.
Aside from being one of 10 tries out of Ireland’s total of 13 to have been scored by Ulstermen, Ferris points to his contribution as being a product of great squad form.
He revealed: “I’m improving but I just feel more confident on the ball. When you’re training with the lads, it just kind of comes naturally.
” I’d like to get my hands on the ball a bit more but it’s just the way the games pan out. We’ve so many good players on the team. I think one to 15, everyone would have been able to put away that pass and Trimby made a good finish. I feel good, I’m feeling confident at the minute. I think I’m improving week-in, week-out. I’m feeling fit and fresh and that’s the main thing.”
If Ferris has been making his mark on this championship then so too has his opposite number on the England team, Tom Croft, who got on the scoresheet last Sunday with a brilliantly taken try in the victory over France in Paris.
Ferris was full of praise for the Leicester Tigers man and is relishing the battle between them at Twickenham this evening.
“Crofty is fantastic. He’s a good athlete, somebody who I got on well with in 2009 with the Lions in South Africa. It’ll be a great contest this weekend between the two of us. I’ve played against him a couple of times this season with Ulster and he’s a player.
“I’d love to have his lineout ability and that’s something I have to work hard on every week in training. Hopefully we cross paths a couple of times this weekend.”
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