Humphreys up for the challenge

Former Ulster Director of Rugby David Humphreys yesterday broke his silence about his move away from Ravenhill to Aviva Premiership side Gloucester.

The 42-year-old former Ulster captain, who made 72 appearances for Ireland, said that the opportunity was a “good fit for me and my family.”

Humphreys’s announced departure at the beginning of June stunned all associated with Ulster after 22 years of service to the province.

“This really was the first opportunity that has come along that I felt was a good fit for me and my family. It is a club that I’m very, very excited to be a part of,” said Humphreys during an interview with the BBC.

“I don’t think it was something where I was looking to leave Ulster. When I look back as a player there were a number of different opportunities in that time to go and play elsewhere. It’s not that I ever regret not leaving, but I knew if I decided to stay in professional sport that, at some point in my future, my family and I would have to move away,” said Humphreys whose only foray outside Ulster was to London Irish back in the mid-nineties.

Humphreys then talked about the tasks ahead of him in the West Country. “I think when you look at the players that have been brought in, the Gloucester squad now is a squad with huge potential and some top quality international players. I think when you add that to the mix of coaches that are coming in and the quality that they’ve had at different levels, I hope it will be a good mix.”

Humphreys, above, has worked diligently since his arrival at Kingsholm and has brought in Australian Laurie Fisher to work under him as head coach while John Muggleton (defence), Nick Walshe (backs/attack) and Trevor Woodman (scrum) have been added to the back-room staff.

New players to come in, some before Humphreys’s appointment, include Ulster’s John Afoa. Also joining up are England’s Tom Palmer and Argentina’s Mariano Galarza, hooker Richard Hibbard of Wales and the Lions, plus Tonga’s Aleki Lutui, and Welsh fly-half James Hook.

Humphreys sees things now as a massive challenge to get Gloucester back into the top-rank following the sacking of Nigel Davies at the end of the last season.

“The biggest challenge for us all is expectation – not just the expectation amongst the players, who are very ambitious and want to be successful, not just amongst the coaching team, but also among the supporters and the club. History has shown it is very, very difficult to put together a team that can immediately win. History has shown it takes time to build a team.”