Stand Up Magazine - Issue 38 - Ulster Rugby Supporters' Club

In February of this year, Ulster announced that Jonathan Brian Gibbes www.ursc.co - “Jono” , would be joining Ulster this season as Head Coach. To many, this was music to the ears.

Six years coaching at Leinster and three at Clermont had seen three titles in Europe, one in the Celtic League, one T14 in France and a raft of runners-up places. No one could doubt Jono’s coaching pedigree. Indeed, many have talked him up as some sort of rugby messiah for Ulster. At the end of pre-season, Jono spoke to Stand Up to help us get to know a little bit more of this giant New Zealander, and maybe find out what makes him tick. The obvious first question concerns someone living in the sunny south of France, coaching at a successful team, capable of competing on several fronts, with a massive budget and no restrictions by the union on foreign signings. What on earth would possess him to come to Ulster? His answer? “It’s a place I know, and a club I know well from my time at Leinster. I’ve always known it was a tough place for opponents to come and play. I’ve had some good battles in my time at Leinster. I knew it was a club with a proud history, a strong history and a strong character, and knowing Les (Kiss) and the vision he has for this club and where he thinks they can go, that’s kinda what sold it for me”. So if that’s how we got him here, has Ulster Rugby and Ulster in general, lived up to expectations? Jono admits that he’s been “surprised but not disappointed” revealing that “in the six years I was at Leinster, I’ve never actually been to Belfast other than the bus up and the bus back, so I’ve never really had a look round. During the pre- season I’ve had an opportunity to look around the greater area and I’ve been impressed. It’s been a really pleasant surprise, and the nature side of things of the whole province has been a pleasant surprise. Of course Jono isn’t the only new coach and while he has some experience of working with Les Kiss, there are other new partnerships being formed. So has that

On whether national team primacy was in danger of damaging the provinces, Jono was reluctant to criticise the IRFU. While acknowledging the difficulties between provincial and national interests, he pointed out the third part of the equation which is vital to both Ireland and the provinces, stating, “It’s a difficult balance for certain, and looks different depending on the side of the fence you sit on, whether provincial or international. For a rugby player, this would be the best place you’d want to be if you wanted to be a professional player, and international player for a long time. The central contracting system, whilst it has tensions, does at the heart of it, look after its players well.” Drawing on his experience in France (and previously in Dublin) perhaps gives him a different perspective, but he was quick to point out the positives for the Irish players as he added, “In the T14 in France, they have 14 teams and relegation in their league

and they’re not particularly interested in the national team, but here there’s

only 4 provincial teams for the union to work with so their ability to manage those can be quite stressful for

the provinces, but the closeness and the relationship is a real advantage to Irish rugby. I think the player knows he’s going to get well looked

been working? Jono seems comfortable as he explains, “As a coaching team we’re enjoying working together and a real positive is the cohesion between the five of us. That’s important with three new coaches – Les has obviously been in place and Niall’s experience and his perspective, has

really been beneficial for us. His insights that he has been able to offer have been really good. I think the combined effort of the five of us has started well, and the effort by the players has been fantastic, so the first little bit has been positive.”

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