CONNACHT SCRUM-HALF CAOLIN Blade is grateful to John Cooney for the role he played in helping him develop when he was at the Sportsground but he will be doing everything in his power to cut his impact when they take on Ulster in the URC quarter-final at Kingspan Stadium.
Cooney spent almost three years with Connacht before he departed for Ulster in 2017 and while Blade will want to bring his former teammate’s season to an end in Belfast, he appreciates all that the former Leinster scrum-half, who is four years older, did for him when he was trying to make the breakthrough for his native province.
“John was here when I was coming through. I get on really well with John. He was one of the scrum-halves that really helped me coming through,” said 29-year old Blade.
“He used to help me every day with my passing and that so I have the utmost respect for him. He is an extremely good player and he’s getting better and better.
“I suppose that will be all left until after the game and I’m going to try my best to challenge him as much as I can and see how the game goes.”
A defeat for Connacht this Friday will bring an end to Andy Friend’s five-year term in charge, but Blade is determined to stretch out the campaign a bit further.
Blade has become Connacht’s first-choice scrum-half under Friend and the Monivea native said they want to send the Aussie away on a high.
“The first thing I will say is how much of a gentleman he is and a really sound man.
“The relationship he has with the players and Connacht in general, not just in the rugby community but everyone can see how much him and his wife have had an impact on people around here.
He’s given me huge confidence, he’s built a culture in Connacht to improve every day and express yourself on the pitch.
“I won’t thank him yet cos we’ve another few weeks but he’s been immense,” added Blade.
Connacht lost to Ulster twice this season, on the opening weekend in Belfast and at the Sportsground in December, but they have been on a great run since Christmas and confidence is high as they head to Belfast.
I’m quite aware we’ve lost to Ulster twice this year and we’ve looked a bit into that and areas of the game they have dominated us. If we match them in these areas we’ll be quietly confident going up.
“We turned a corner probably the last time Ulster beat us in December at the Sportsground. We’ve gone on a really good run since.
“Confidence and having a good run coming into this game mean nothing if we don’t produce it again,” added Blade.
