Ulster Rugby vs Munster

I’d played in most matches and was enjoying my rugby in a winning, stylish team. “We just came up short, and the players and everyone behind the scenes was ‘down’ about missing out on a final at Kingspan Stadium. We hope to put that right very soon.” Away from Kingspan Stadium he delights in the new arrival and has made new friends easily, and that – he believes – has helped his rugby. “Franco van der Merwe and I like to get out some free Saturdays and go clay pigeon shooting, that’s my idea of a good day out, and Denise has settled in well, likes the life we’re making, and hopefully that will continue – accompanied by a few trophies! Wiehahn enjoys the weekly challenge of, first, earning his place in the team, and then taking on the best players in the Champions Cup and in the PRO12, which he rates highly. “In the league you are coming up against international players and testing yourself, it’s a top competition to rank with the best anywhere. And it’s getting tougher, which is great, the standards are rising and no opposition can be taken for granted,” he says, clearly a player intent on improving his skills and on studying the game and its constant refashioning. As we start a New Year, and explode into the second half of Ulster’s season, Herbst is one of the lynchpins of the squad, and takes an earnest view of that. “As I keep saying, I have a responsibility to the team, to the coaches, to the fans who turn up so loyally and support us, and I have a responsibility to myself. “It is a great life, that of a professional sportsman, and for that privilege there is a very small cost, but it means hard work, learning all the time, being disciplined and being committed to the team and what Ulster means to the supporters.” He wants those butterflies in his stomach to keep fluttering, and if they do he is convinced that it will mean he, and Ulster, are on target to bring home some silverware, and to establish a platform for the longer term.

“AND THAT CROWD, IT WAS SOMETHING ELSE! I JUST WANT TO HAVE MORE NIGHTS AND DAYS LIKE THAT AT HOME, AND INDEED AWAY FROM BELFAST...”

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