Ulster Rugby vs Bath

JOHN COONEY

Ulster’s on-fire scrum-half, John Cooney is in a good place at the moment. A major contributor to the province’s success this season, he has already hit a tally of 9 tries and 161 points in 14 games. He surpassed the 500-point milestone for Ulster after just two-and-a- half seasons against Munster in the first game of 2020. He is making sure that he gives Ireland Head Coach, Andy Farrell a selection headache ahead of the 2020 Guinness Six Nations campaign as he is called up to the international squad.

you’re a different player than when you are during the week so I’d like an opportunity to show what I can do in a game.” The 29-year-old has played against some of the best scrum-halves in European rugby recently, lining out against Conor Murray, Morgan Parra, Danny Care in the last month alone. The opportunity to get the upper hand against such quality players is a particularly big carrot for Cooney. “I’m a competitor and any time I play number 9, it’s always one of my goals to try and play as well, if not better than the opposing 9. I want to try and get the upper hand in these games. I feel like I could play again a couple of days later, and that helps mentally when you’re feeling good. I’ve enjoyed the competitive aspect of trying to out-do your opposite number.” The scrum-half’s brace of 9 tries this season has been an especially impressive feat in just 14 games. This is partly down to Cooney’s response to a challenge laid down by Assistant Coach, Dwayne Peel.

“I was disappointed in the summer not to get a game for Ireland. I went home and took the positives that I was back in a familiar environment here while also taking a lot from the Irish pre-season, as I felt in really good shape coming back to Ulster. I told myself to come out and play as well as I can and give the coaches no excuse not to pick me. It’s a mantra I’ve had for a couple of seasons.” Although at the time of interview, Cooney didn’t know whether or not he would be selected for the Ireland squad, when asked about how he might deal with the added pressure that Six Nations rugby brings, he was excited about the prospect. “You never know until you’re there but I think I’d relish the opportunity. When I play games, I’m a bit of a different animal than in training. I think it’s difficult to get picked from performance in training; in a game you’ve got more adrenaline and confidence;

14

ulsterrugby.com