Irish-qualified Diack still dreams of international stage

A call from Declan Kidney would have put the icing on the cake for Ulster’s Irish-qualified Robbie Diack who saw a brilliant start to the season ruined by a knee injury.

But while the South African-born back-row showed no emotion when he wasn’t included in Ireland’s 39-man squad, he did say it would be a dream come true if ever it materialised.

“It has always been a dream of mine,” enthused Diack.

“I’ve been thinking about it lots, but first things first. I have to cement my place in this Ulster side for a start. Once that happens, then I can possibly look ahead to get into a training camp or some type of squad.

“All I can do is play to the best of my ability with Ulster,” said Diack looking ahead to tomorrow’s major Heineken Cup game against Castres with Ulster seeking their first competitive victory on French soil.

The Johannesburg-born 27-year-old who grew up in Durban, arrived in Belfast in August 2008 after a spell with the Stormers and immediately put his mind to gaining international honours once he become eligible through his three-year residency.

However, he got off to a stuttering start and never really featured in former coach Brian McLaughlin’s plans. Now, though, under new coach Mark Anscombe, Diack’s play has been transformed.

“I worked very hard all summer to improve my game and I got a starting slot against Glasgow at the start of the season, but got injured. I knew it was going to be a hard slog to get my place back. It was a matter of digging in. I don’t mind where I play in the back-row. I had a couple of games at number eight when we were in Italy and really enjoyed it. But I’m happy at number six,” said Diack who believes their pre-season win in Bayonne will stand them in good stead ahead of this weekend’s clash.

“Believe it or not, that will be seen a massive boost for us now. It was our first game under Mark [Anscombe] and with a young squad to go into that pretty hostile environment with a big Bayonne pack against us and win.

“There is no doubt it will be in the back of our minds going into this game on Saturday. We all know how French teams are completely different at home than they are on their travels, and with their home support, it is gong to be a massive task for us.

“Obviously winning a pre-season game in France and winning in the Heineken Cup is completely different. They again have this big, big pack and an pretty electrifying back-line and we are going to have to be at our best to compete.

“On saying that, there has been a huge amount of emphasis put on our breakdown work this season, particularly with Mark coming in as it is his speciality.

“Plus we have a strong scrum and a line-out that is working quite well, particularly with Johann [Muller] helping us while he is sidelined.

“In essence we have upped our physicality all round and that is going to be the all-important factor if we want to win the game.”

With the Ireland management to name a further four names to their training panel, one never knows what awaits Diack.