Ulster Rugby vs Ospreys

ROB HERRING NAMED AS ULSTER CAPTAIN DURING WORLD CUP Ulster hooker, Rob Herring, has been named as the province’s captain during the World Cup period.

point mattering between now and May, Herring is determined to get the PRO12 campaign off to a good start, beginning with tonight’s game against Ospreys: “Kingspan Stadium has been a fortress for us over the past few years. We want to give our fans the best possible performance. It’s a massive game for us and we just want to get the win and get the league off to the best possible start. “Over the summer it has been good to see some of the Academy boys coming in and some of the development lads stepping up. We have a real squad mentality now and we know that we can count on them when we need them. To win the league, games like these count. We don’t want

The 25 year-old, who has won 70 caps for Ulster, will deputise for club captain, Rory Best, who will be away with Ireland. Herring has been at Ulster since the summer of 2012. He made his debut against Ospreys in September of that year and in his three seasons at the province has become a senior player within the squad. His excellent form for Ulster saw him called up to the international side and he won his first international cap for Ireland in June 2014, coming off the bench in a tour match against Argentina. Confirming the appointment, Ulster Head Coach, Neil Doak, said: ‘Rob is a quality player who has grown in stature over the past three seasons. His work on the pitch is second to none. He gives everything for Ulster and he will bring that passion and excitement to the captaincy role.” Rob Herring said: “It was a bit of surprise to me. When Neil Doak told me I was in a bit of shock! It is a massive honour to captain Ulster. It’s a privilege to lead the guys out for a game, especially at Kingspan Stadium. I know that the role is only temporary but I will enjoy the increased responsibility. “There are lots of players in our team who have leadership qualities and that makes being captain easier. I am just massively focused on playing well for Ulster, leading by example and getting the season off to a successful start.” Herring missed out on World Cup selection. He is using the disappointment of that to spur him and Ulster on in the coming weeks: “Missing out on the World Cup was a bit of a blow to me. It hasn’t worked out for me this time, but if you want to achieve national honours, you have to be playing well for your

ROB HERRING

to be slipping up and missing out on a PRO12 play off like we did last season. It’s vitally important we learn from that and that starts against Ospreys.”

province and the province needs to be doing well. I am just massively focused on playing well for Ulster and hopefully getting a few good results and getting some momentum for the team.” Last season Ulster narrowly missed out on a home play-off. With every

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