Ulster Rugby vs Leinster

STUART McCLOSKEY PLAYING HIS PART

It has been a season of ups and downs for breakthrough centre, Stuart McCloskey. He has just signed a professional contract at the age of 22 and has high hopes of playing his part in the final few weeks of the 2014/15 season.

“This season for me has been about learning to cope with the highs and lows of professional rugby,” says Stuart. “The season started really well, I played a lot more matches than I thought I would, then the injury and a ban halted my momentum, but I am really looking forward to getting stuck back into it before the end of the season.” Having graduated as ‘Player of the Year’ from the Hughes Insurance Ulster Rugby Academy last season, McCloskey quickly made his mark on the senior team with a string of outstanding performances earlier this season: “For me, the transition from the Academy to professional set up has been a smooth one, it was great to get a development contract and now a professional contract this summer. For me the main differences between the two set ups are there are a lot more meetings and a lot more analysis of other teams now. There is not as much of a focus on gym work as there was in the Academy. But a lot more time and effort is spent preparing tactically and also on the pitch. I remember at the beginning last year being in awe of the senior players but now they are more like friends and I definitely look up to guys like Rory and Tommy.” Having suffered ligament, muscle and tendon damage to his elbow against Scarlets in December, Stuart went through surgery and 12 weeks of rehab with the physio team: “To be honest I think my arm is even better now than it was before the injury. At the time it was devastating to be side-lined after playing so much and getting so much experience. It was tough sitting watching the guys for three months but you have to take the rough with the smooth and I am just thankful to be back fit and playing again.” Another blow for Stuart came when he was handed a red card against Edinburgh in February:

“It wasn’t ideal, out injured for 12 weeks, back for two, then out for

another four. The ban came as a bit of a surprise but in rugby now, if anyone goes past the horizontal, it’s a red card. These things happen and you have got to take it in your stride. The incident was unfortunate, Michael and I were trying to do opposite things at the same time and things like that happen when games are on the line.” It’s a crucial few weeks for the squad and Stuart will be competing for a place and preparing hard for this Leinster game just like the rest of the guys… “Our main focus is Leinster, we need to get a win against them to knock them out of the PRO12 and push towards the home playoff. Everyone has been doing a huge amount of preparation over the past few weeks. We have investigated different plays to exploit them, looked at how they played against Toulon last weekend and what their strengths and weaknesses have been over the last few weeks. “In terms of our own squad, yes there is competition in the centre, but each of us offer a different style of rugby. I like to carry the ball more than others so it gives the coaches options and if they want to play a certain style of rugby then different players bring something more suitable to the mix. I think having greater options makes us more competitive and obviously it helps to have that extra bit of cover when players get injured.” “In terms of looking ahead – my goal for the rest of the season is to be named in the squad and to play my part in winning the next few games in our attempt to reach the final. I hope to keep playing well and push for starting positons. In the summer, I hope to get picked for the Emerging Ireland Squad for the IRB Nations Cup.”

STUART McCLOSKEY

40

ULSTER RUGBY

www. ulster rugby.com