Ulster Rugby vs Zebre

THAT LUKE OF RELIEF! He just turned 25 yesterday, he’s an Ireland international, and regarded as one of the finest centres in the PRO12.

only too well. “I have such respect for Rory and what he’s doing. He’s been outstanding for us, but at 22 he feels he needs regular starts and he’ll get that in Scotland and I think he hopes that perhaps he can return here in a few years, an even better and more experienced player. Luke Marshall also brackets Louis Ludik, Tommy Bowe, Craig Gilroy and Andrew Trimble in that group who can bring the very best out of others, and he’s certainly ‘up’ for the challenge of holding on to his midfield place with Ulster, but delighted to that there was more good news on the injury front. “Nobody here ever makes excuses about injuries affecting the team, but Ulster has had an astonishingly long list of absentees this year. Stuart Olding’s return at the turn of the year was really great for him after a very difficult two years, but it was just such a boost for the squad to see him back out there, as sharp and as incisive as ever. “Now we’ve just heard that Tommy Bowe and Iain Henderson could well be back for the later stages of the PRO12, and world-class players like that coming in at such a vital time obviously gives everyone a ‘lift’, not least the supporters who are so important in what we want to achieve,” says Marshall, clearly seeing more than just a shaft of light as the side approaches the last six matches of the ‘regular’ league campaign. Luke Marshall has long been singled out for the top of the game, and six international ‘caps’ attest to his quality and his blazing return to form this season saw him included in Joe Schmidt’s Six Nations squad, and travel as ‘24th man’ to Paris and Twickenham. “For me personally that has been great, to be back in the international set-up. But when you are there, if you believe in yourself, it’s not about being 24th man, it’s about being in the match-day 23, or in the starting fifteen. “But I’m being very honest here, I want to make Ulster the priority just now, make sure I hold down one of those centre berths and perhaps help the team get something tangible from the season. “A top four place is the obvious target, and we know we have to improve – and that we can – and set a target of winning all our remaining games. We’ve been poor defensively, in the last two games

And when it was announced on Wednesday that he’d signed on for another two years at Ulster, Luke Marshall wore a smile which showed he was confident he’d made the best decision about his future. It was an open secret that he’d been attracting attention from some rather distinguished clubs in England and abroad, but despite admitting to having considered every option he’d always felt that his development as a player and his best chances of winning trophies was to remain at Kingspan Stadium. “Yes, in some ways it was a tough decision, I hadn’t had a great season last year for various reasons, and I was in a very competitive position, with Darren Cave, Stuart Olding, Jared Payne and now Stuart McCloskey - all internationals. “I have always been confident in my own ability, but I was also realistic. I wanted regular senior rugby and that was being offered to me elsewhere, but when it came down to it what we have here at Ulster in terms of facilities, the coaching set-up and the depth of the squad and its ambition was where I wanted to be,” says Marshall, who is back to his free-running, try-scoring best. What is impressive about Marshall’s demeanour is that having signed a new contract he was at ease with his motives for staying on, they were about rugby, not the material gains he might have made. “There were lots of thoughts going through my mind, but when I thought of what I had learned – and was still to learn – from a player like Jared, who’s just such a smart, intelligent footballer, I wasn’t willing to walk away from that. “And with Ruan Pienaar in your backline you have a truly world-class operator from whom it’s impossible not to discover new ways of seeing the game and how to adapt. “And Cavey has been such a help to me over the years too, he’s such a good player and has such an astute rugby brain. We all know what a talent Stuart Olding is, and how good it is to have him back, and Stuart McCloskey has deserved all the praise he’s received since he took his chance in the green jersey too!” Winger Rory Scholes’ decision this week to move to Edinburgh next year was one Marshall understood

LUKE MARSHALL

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