Ulster Rugby vs Dragons

Neil Doak is a confident mood ahead of the start of competitive action in the Guinness PRO12, but he is wary of the threat posed by Kingsley Jones’ Dragons outfit this evening. NEIL DOAK

Ulster had a mixed pre-season in terms of results, following up defeats to Leinster and Exeter Chiefs with a clinical 29-19 win over Northampton Saints last weekend. Reflecting on that great win over their English visitors, Doak said: “It was a good performance. In the first half we were excellent; the physicality was massively improved from the previous week against Exeter. I felt we were a little ill-disciplined in the second half and we allowed them to get into our territory and put us under pressure. “We had some quality players out there, but had some missing as well. Even on the Friday morning we had around 14 internationals training on the back pitch, who weren’t available for one reason or another. Last weekend allowed the young guys to come in and mix with the more experienced players. “We scored a variety of tries which involved a mix of set piece plays, some broken field stuff and even a kick play. If we can maintain that variety and creativity going into this game, we will be hard to handle. “Overall, it was great to get the first win, which leads into the Dragons game and the start of the PRO12 competition. The boys are excited to get this campaign underway.” Ulster’s Head Coach admits he was pleased to see young players like Brett Herron, Robert Lyttle and Jacob Stockdale make such a big contribution in front of 13,500 supporters at Kingspan Stadium: “You can train and train but it’s only when you get the guys out on the pitch that you see how they use their skills and how they cope with the pressure. I think Rob, Jacob, Brett and others showed a huge amount of potential. “It’s great that those younger guys can get that exposure in a less threatening pre-season friendly environment and hopefully they will flourish over the next couple of weeks leading into the PRO12 and over the course of the season.” Stockdale and Herron will start again tonight, and Doak was full of praise for how the latter has adapted to life at Ulster following his move from Bath. “It’s a difficult task coming in to occupy a pivotal position like outhalf as it takes time to settle in to the way we play. When you look at some of

the Bath terminology, it seems quite similar to ours in terms of names, so he just had to quickly transfer that to Ulster. On Friday night he proved he’d done his homework and had a really good understanding. “His kicking out of hand was also really pleasing - we gained really good territory with our kicking game and he was central to that. His performance in the first half put us on the front foot. Tommy (Bowe), Andrew (Trimble) and Craig (Gilroy) are really strong at chasing and re- gathering those high balls and moving forward we need to utilise Brett’s skills.” The immediate task for Herron will be to navigate his way through his competitive debut against a well-drilled Dragons side tonight. Ulster won narrowly in both games last season (12-19 away and 17-15 at home), so Doak is acutely aware of the threat posed. “They are a tough side, very physical. If you under-estimate them or are frivolous with the ball, they have some dangerous runners who can cause damage. Particularly someone like Sarel Pretorius at 9, who is a huge threat around the fringes. Up front, Nic Cudd was one of the top turnover guys in the league last season. There are threats across the board. “We have got to make sure that we don’t give them real opportunities. We have got to do our basics well, carry hard and bring tempo to the game. We want to start the season with a win at home and give the crowd something to shout about.” Last season’s early inconsistency contrived to give Ulster another away semi-final in May, and a defeat at the hands of Leinster. Doak is keen to ensure that his side hit the ground running and build momentum in the opening weeks of the season. “Last year it was difficult enough with the World Cup, a few games on, a few games off, players coming back and forth - it was disjointed. This season with everyone in situ, it is imperative that we go into Europe in a strong position and focus on a top two finish in the PRO12. The home games are a perfect place to start and this Friday night we will be aiming to get the points tally off to a great start,” concluded Doak.

NEIL DOAK

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