Tranquility after turbulence as Ulster set for take-off

By Jim Stokes

Rumours of the death of Ulster Rugby have been greatly exaggerated. Or so it seems.

The expected Armageddon following one of the lowest ebbs in the province’s recent history never quite materialised.

So just how have Ulster managed to climb out of last season’s abyss?

To be unbeaten in the Guinness PRO14 ahead of this evening’s shoot-out with fierce interprovincial rivals Munster says a lot about the work of those involved in the game at the Kingspan Stadium. And to get the wagons out of their circle and rolling again.

Sure, it’s only four games into the new season, and three of those shredded nerves as Ulster played get-out-of-jail cards in stoppage time against Scarlets, Edinburgh and Cheetahs. That’s one more than you get in a Monopoly set!

But against what odds? Throw in the retirements of players of the calibre of Tommy Bowe, Andrew Trimble, Robbie Diack, Paul Marshall and Jared Payne, plus consider Callum Black had moved on, that’s 1032 caps of experience out the door.

Chief executive Shane Logan left on his own volition and a vacancy still exists at the top of the food chain at the Kingspan. When you also consider that new head coach Dan McFarland was delayed in arriving from Scotland, that didn’t make things any easier. He officially took over the reins on August 20.

Besides all that, there was the feeling that Ulster Rugby, and the game in the province in general, would take years to recover from the battering that followed the turbulent eight-week Belfast Rape trial in which all four defendants were unanimously found not guilty. Even after the verdict, the disarray and controversy rumbled on.

It was a season of regret, frustration and lack of focus, coming to grief both off and on the field. The high-profile nature of the trial was naturally manna from Heaven for the mainstream media with every Tom, Dick and Harriet having their say. Some of the criticisms were very fair game, others very wide of the mark.

The fan base, such a strong suit of Ulster Rugby, was divided. But not that divided as the take-up of season tickets stands at 8,600, just 1,100 down from last season.

The hospitality sector remains a good earner, advertising and marketing revenues are in rude health also. With no terrestrial television coverage now available in Northern Ireland, merchandising sales may not be as strong, but hold their own .

Ulster Rugby has re-examined itself and been very pro-active and everyone has worked tirelessly to get the show up and running again. There are new protocols and development programmes in place and the necessary measures to deal with every facet that emerged from the trial.

At the time, the players felt the scrutiny. Results took a hit. Like this season, Ulster started well and were unbeaten after four games, but then the rot set in. Head Coach Les Kiss went early in the New Year and Jono Gibbes stepped in on a temporary basis. Things were getting hotter off the field, and some decisions from the top down didn’t help.

There is, and always will be, a close affinity between the players, local and foreign, but undoubtedly the whole process weighed heavily on their minds. Undoubtedly, that famous bloodied Lámh Dhearg Uladh was sullied, but, there again, the fight associated with the legendary Red Hand never wavered.

I believe Ulster’s rebuilding started before the end of last season, not just over the long, hot summer. From the players, coaches, backroom and administrative staff to the tea-makers, everyone pitched in, particularly the senior professionals.

Departing stand-in Head Coach Gibbes deserves some credit, even though he was also to leave at the end of the season, initially for home in New Zealand, but for some reason was enticed to La Rochelle!

Those steely eyes demanded something from the players. They defeated Edinburgh 32-20 on a bleak Friday evening at Murrayfield at the start of last April, then ‘hammered’ Ospreys 8-0, before seeing off Glasgow 36-15.

The following week, Ulster headed down to Thomond Park, and held on for a 24-24 draw. So on to the final game of the season against Allen Clarke’s Ospreys again, at Ravenhill, with the winner booking a place in Europe. It wasn’t a contest as Ulster skated home 35-17.

Ulster have now been unbeaten for eight competitive games since last April, and with a plethora of Academy players like Angus Curtis, Tom O’Toole, Eric O’Sullivan, Stephen Moore, Angus Kernohan and schoolboy Aaron Sexton having to step up into manhood sooner than expected, it appears on the surface that things have changed.

How? McFarland explains.

“Over the summer, Bryn (Cunningham, Ulster Operations Director) was getting information back from them about culture, mapping out what was important to the fellas, and one thing that came back was a really competitive attitude.”

“That married in perfectly with what I’m about — that’s me. We’ve framed that as fight for every inch, so when we look at the matches and analyse them, we look for the behaviours that demonstrate that.

“In the games against Scarlets, Edinburgh and Cheetahs, we’ve had to come from behind on multiple occasions. We’re still growing. I don’t think we’re close to being as good as we can be, so the pressure is to keep on them, to keep getting better. I think we’re certainly making progress.”