NATHAN DOAK STARTED a game at out-half for just the second time in his professional career on Saturday. It almost certainly won’t be the last time he wears the number 10 shirt for Ulster.
22-year-old Doak has been a scrum-half until now, even if he did sometimes play at 10 during his days at Wallace High School.
He has moved to out-half a couple of times during Ulster games and started there against Connacht last season but now the move looks like it could become permanent.
With Billy Burns leaving for Munster this summer, Ulster have decided that Doak could move to out-half. As things stand, the northern province will not be signing a new senior out-half so Doak will compete with 24-year-old Jake Flannery for the number 10 jersey.
It is thought that Ulster also hope to lure current Ireland U20s out-half Jack Murphy – son of interim head coach Richie – north next season. The northern province currently have out-half James Humphreys in their academy.
Many within the Ulster set-up believe Doak has what it takes to become a leader at out-half as they head into a rebuild phase. He is a confident young man, already has a strong understanding of the game, and possesses excellent passing and kicking skills.
It’s believed Ireland boss Andy Farrell supports this move too, seeing Doak as an authoritative personality who could thrive at out-half. Doak has never been involved with Ireland as a scrum-half so might hope to push into international contention as a 10.
First-choice Ulster scrum-half John Cooney is contracted to the province until 2025 and though he turns 34 next month, he remains in excellent physical condition.
The other senior scrum-halves are Dave Shanahan and Conor McKee, and although the latter has not been capped by Ulster, it appears they feel they’re well covered there.
While it had been expected that Doak would shift to out-half after a full pre-season training there this summer, he was moved into the position again for last weekend’s narrow URC defeat away to the Stormers. Burns was ruled out through injury and despite Flannery being available, Doak started at number 10.
Doak made a fine start to the game as Ulster got off to a flyer in Cape Town. It was his assist that put Nick Timoney away for their eighth-minute try.
As highlighted below, Doak is set up behind the first pod of Ulster forwards as they play off a wide ruck. It’s a common position for an out-half to be in.
Second row Kieran Treadwell is in the middle of the three-man pod and has an array of options – carry, tip-on pass, tip-in pass, or sweep pass out the back to Doak.
Doak gives him the call to play out the back.
Doak now has another pod of three Ulster forwards outside him, as highlighted below.
Ideally, there would be an Ulster back set up behind this pod of three forwards, giving another passing option if they wanted to go wider, but the opportunity is already clear.
Stormers hooker Joseph Dweba is exposed in front of Ulster’s 3-pod, with lots of space on either side of him. So in a split second, he and Doak have to make decisions.
We can see Doak assessing the opportunity before passing.
Worried about the space on his inside shoulder, Dweba decides to bite in on Ulster flanker Matty Rea, the forward closest to Doak.
Doak reads the situation perfectly as he fizzes the ball across the face of Dweba for Timoney to break into space on Dweba’s outside shoulder.
It’s a lovely pass from Doak and we can see him celebrating in the background as Timoney heads under the posts.
This is the stuff that Doak seems likely to excel at as an out-half. He is a clever player with good instincts and a desire to play the ball to space.
Watch below as he receives a pass out the back from Stuart McCloskey, then ‘turns the corner’ by straightening up and attacking the inside shoulder of Stormers wing Leolin Zas.
It’s good play from Doak to draw a defender and preserve space on the outside for his backs.
And yet, getting used to being the main hub in phase play attack will take time.
Doak is accustomed to launching each phase with a pass from the base of the ruck but now he will find himself in completely different positions with so many different things to consider.
The out-half generally has to call each play, organise team-mates, plan a couple of phases ahead, scan the frontline defence for space, assess the backfield defence for any kicking opportunities, and provide constant communication. Defenders are keen to physically dominate out-halves, pressure their passing and kicking, and narrow their options.
There’s a hint of indecisiveness from Doak in the instance above as he’s driven backwards. We don’t know what he and others around him are calling here but it’s obviously not a positive phase of attack for Ulster.
Below, Doak’s pass is nearly intercepted.
Doak appeals for a knock-on but the referee decides the ball has come back off Ulster prop Steven Kitshoff and a promising attacking position in the Stormers’ 22 is lost.
Doak is a strong kicker of the ball when he’s at scrum-half and his ability to strike the ball with power and accuracy is one of the reasons Ulster feel he can make it as an out-half.
He had a team-leading 11 kicks against the Stormers and there was variety in his kicking approach.
In the instance above, Ulster are losing ground in the middle third of the pitch and Doak makes a smart decision to go to a contestable kick.
Right wing Rob Baloucoune wins the aerial contest and though he knocks the ball on, it underlines the value of using contestable kicking when the ball-in-hand attack is struggling.
Doak also has an eye for an attacking kick in the opposition half and had a couple of attempts in that regard against the Stormers, although without return.
Above, he spots an empty backfield but the Stormers scrambled just in time to cover.
Below, Doak sees space after Ulster have won a turnover but he can’t get a good kick away under pressure.
Ulster struggled to ‘exit’ well in the second half of this game, spending a huge amount of time in their own half.
It was a total reversal of roles after a first half in which Ulster were camped out in Stormers’ territory for long periods, although without getting enough reward.
In the second half, the Stormers managed to pin Ulster back and the northern province were unhappy with their inability to get out.
Doak kicks under intense pressure here, making a poor connection, and the Stormers get an instant chance to attack again.
Ulster missed the powerful left foot of Jacob Stockdale in positions like this one, while scrum-half Cooney could have helped Doak with a snappier pass here.
In the instance below, Doak doesn’t connect with his kick as he would have hoped.
With more time on the ball, Doak would have expected to get his kick to touch beyond Ulster’s 10-metre line at least and probably into the Stormers’ half.
Doak is also an excellent place-kicker but Cooney continued as the first-choice kicker against the Stormers. Cooney has kicked at a superb 90% success rate this season, while Doak has enjoyed an impressive 85% return. They’re both excellent off the tee.
Another area of adjustment for Doak will be defence.
Scrum-halves generally tend to be out on the edge of the frontline defence or in the backfield, but many out-halves are asked to make tackles in the middle of the pitch, particularly off set-piece. Some teams try to hide their out-halves defensively, keeping them in the five-metre channel on lineouts or the blindside from scrums, but Doak is a game defender and he’s not small at 6ft 1ins and close to 90kg.
Opta’s data says Doak made four tackles and missed four against the Stormers. Defence can be an underappreciated strength for the best out-halves. Johnny Sexton was a brilliant defender, while Jack Crowley impressed in defence in the recent Six Nations. Doak will hope to make it a strength of his as an out-half.
It was telling that Doak played the entire 80 minutes against the Stormers, with Flannery remaining an unused replacement.
Burns missed the game with a shoulder injury and now it remains to be seen what happens for the rest of this season. Doak will need lots more time in the saddle to make a success of a move to out-half but he will back himself to deliver.
