Burns is playing it cool ahead of duel with Sexton

Two Irish European Cup-winning fly-halves past and present are casting a long shadow over Billy Burns as he prepares for the biggest game of his career.

Not in an intimidating way, though, as the chance to play against Johnny Sexton is exactly the kind of opportunity which convinced Ulster’s new number 10 to leave David Humphreys’ Gloucester for the bright lights of knockout Champions Cup rugby.

And he believes a game like tomorrow’s sellout quarter-final with Leinster at the Aviva Stadium proves he made the right call.

“I remember when I first started talking to Ulster, the first thought that came into my head was those European knockout games and to be here now, in the business end of the competition, is awesome,” Burns said.

“I came over here to play in the top tier of rugby and to play with quality players and play against quality opposition and I’m hugely excited about that. Obviously, going up against probably the best 10 in the world is an incredible opportunity.

“It justifies coming over here.”

It’s 20 years since David Humphreys, now Director of Rugby at Gloucester, lifted Ulster’s one and only European Cup and it would be fitting for his former out-half to follow in his footsteps.

Burns, 26, can appreciate the symmetry but isn’t foolish enough to start indulging himself, with a clash against the PRO14 and European champions, chasing an unprecedented fifth crown, just over 24 hours away.

“I worked well with David at Gloucester and coming over here he sent me over with his best wishes.

“I know he still keeps a keen eye on how Ulster are getting on. We look on ‘99 and that gives us massive pride to hopefully do something similar but for us, this squad is about getting our own piece of history.

"It’s my first time in knockout rugby in the Champions Cup and I think it’s just the excitement of knowing you’ve just got one shot, to go down there and there’s no replay or anything like that.

It’s winner takes all so it’s just about harnessing that excitement, getting everyone driven towards doing what you can to prepare well and going out on the pitch to do your thing.

Burns arrived as the successor to Paddy Jackson and initially struggled with that expectation.

Ambitious, young, homegrown players Johnny McPhillips and particularly Michael Lowry have pushed him hard and he certainly didn’t have it all his own way those first few months.

His performances have improved, confidence levels are up, and he feels a different player to the one who arrived in Belfast last summer.

“I’ve matured a lot, I understand the game a bit more and that comes from working with a different coach and a different playing group.

“There’s still so many aspects of my game that I feel I need to improve on and as long as I keep that process going, I’ll be happy. It’s just a matter of consistency now.

“I probably thought I was more of a leader until I met Bestie (Rory Best) over here.

“You talk to him and see the different environments he’s been in and the different positions he’s been in in games, and you look at the likes of Johnny Sexton.

“The good fly-halves in the world, they’re cool as they can be and they go out there with a plan and they manage their team. That’s probably the biggest thing for me and playing in occasions like this is only going to benefit me in the long run.”

Burns is Irish-qualified, but save for a polite call from head coach Joe Schmidt to welcome him to the Irish set-up when he arrived, he’s had no contact with the international set-up.

He’s quite content with the stage he’s got right now and visibly pumped at the prospect of playing against Sexton for the first time, even if what we saw during the Six Nations at times was a slightly troubled and out-of-sorts World Player of the Year.

“I’ve been watching a lot of his game over the past few years, and he’s been probably the best fly-half and player in my position,” added Burns.

I try to learn as much as I can from just watching his games. I don’t think it’s for me to say how he played in the Six Nations.

"I know it didn’t go all his way in the Six Nations but there’s no doubt that he’ll be on form this weekend. If he is out of form, and I wouldn’t even say he is to be honest, I’m sure it won’t last for long.”