Blueprint has been a decade in planning; RUGBY IRISH PROVINCES PREPARE TO GET THEIR CAMPAIGNS UP AND RUNNING.Byline: MICHAEL SCULLY WHEN Ulster won the European Cup for the first and only time, Brian McLaughlin Brian M. McLaughlin is a former American Democratic politician from Flushing, Queens. He was a New York Assemblyman elected in 1992 to represent the 25th district. He was also President of the New York City Central Labor Council (CLC), which is a part of the AFL-CIO. was as far away as you could get. It was a decade ago and McLaughlin was working with Ireland's under-21s at one of the first SANZAR SANZAR South Africa New Zealand Australia Rugby tournaments that northern hemisphere teams were invited to. "We didn't have a particularly good tournament, so thanks for reminding me," he grinned. But the hours put in then with the cream of Ireland's crop could pay dividends now that McLaughlin, after a stint as skills coach with the test squad, is installed as Ulster's new head coach and aiming to reach the knock-out stages for the first time since that European triumph. "It was great for me because, for example, with Paddy Wallace Paddy Wallace (born 27 August 1979) is an Irish rugby union footballer from Belfast where he attended Campbell College. He plays for Ulster. He was a member of the Ireland U19 side including Brian O'Driscoll that lifted the U19 World Cup in 1998. I was in Argentina in 1999, along with people like Nigel Brady Nigel Brady (born 9 October 1979) is an Irish rugby union footballer, Ireland. He plays for Ulster. ," he explained. "And a lot of the guys, like Andrew Trimble Andrew Trimble (born 20 October 1984) is an Irish rugby union footballer from Coleraine, County Londonderry in Northern Ireland. He attended Coleraine Inst, where he competed in the Ulster Schools Cup. and Chris Henry There are two American football players named Chris Henry:
"They responded exceptionally well. We're ticking along nicely and we're very pleased with our form so far. "We'd a bit of blip in our first game in the Magners against the Dragons but we've been playing consistently, we've still got a fair bit to go but we're pleased with where we are and we feel that Friday night will give us an indication of what we need to do." Friday night is Ulster's opening Heineken Cup game of this campaign and they have a home clash against Bath to get them into the competition. As usual, they find themselves in a tough group and the presence of Stade Francais doesn't make their task any easier. Losing Rory Best Rory Best (born 15 August 1982) from Poyntzpass is an Irish rugby union footballer. He plays hooker for Ulster. Rory is the brother of Ireland and Ulster prop Simon Best. He was educated at Portadown College. for the season is a serious obstacle to overcome again. But if Ulster had lost their way and then found it again for a while under Matt Williams Matt Williams can refer to different people:
"From my point of view the Heineken Cup this year, being my first year as a coach - and being my first one with Ulster - certainly it's one I'm really, really looking forward to I can't wait to get started on Friday night," McLaughlin said. "I don't think there's any doubt about the talent that's available. You only have to look at some of the results from last year, particularly in January and that smashing display down in Munster. "But when I first sat down with all of the players we agreed that we had to get more consistent and we're not getting carried away by the way we've started the season. "We know we've got a lot of work still to do but certainly we feel that we've taken a good step forward. "We know in the Heineken Cup we go up another level so we're looking forward to it to see how far we have travelled, how far we have come." Certainly McLaughlin is pleased with the manner in which his players have responded. Some very attack-minded performances in the Magners League have yielded thrilling results and there is a noticeably more adventurous outlook to their game. The players have come on a good way since the end of last season. "They probably had to drag themselves up the hills and along the sand dunes and the beaches," he said. "We changed things, we tried to freshen things up in pre-season. "Johnny Davis and Paul Hadden have done an excellent job there and they've got the guys in good nick. "They're feeling good about their confidence levels and, hopefully, we'll go out on Friday night and we'll be able to show people how far we've travelled." McLaughlin added: "We're trying very hard to play a brand of rugby that the boys enjoy playing but also that our fans enjoy playing and that our fans want to watch. "It's very important that we try and get Ravenhill back up to what it was five, six, seven years ago. "It's very important that we play with that intensity, with that pride and passion because that's what our fans want to see and certainly we'll be trying to do it with pride and passion, yes, but with rugby being the winner hopefully." CAPTION(S): NEW BALL GAME Paddy Wallace prepares for the Heineken Cup yesterday UPBEAT Brian McLaughlin says he has big plans in store as he gets underway in his new role at Ulster |
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