CRAIG GILROY BELIEVES Les Kiss will need time to stamp his authority at Ulster but has the capacity to guide the province to their first piece of silverware in a decade.
Joe Schmidt’s former right-hand man took over as the Director of Rugby at Ravenhill last month and has been tasked with restoring the province’s former glories.
Kiss, who took temporary charge last summer following the departure of David Humphreys to Gloucester, has suffered two defeats in his first three games.
The most recent, a 8-3 defeat to Leinster last Friday, provided signs of encouragement but the former Australian Rugby League player was quick to stress he needed time to find his feet in the new role.
And Gilroy insists the players and fans must be patient and let the new man in charge settle into the task and shape the squad as he sees fit.
“Les knows all the guys, and all the guys have so much respect for him,” the winger said in Dublin yesterday. “Being with Ireland over the last number of years brings that reputation and it’s massive for us as players and for the fans back home to have Les come into the set-up.
“He’s fitted in so well and brings so much to the team and I honestly think he’ll bring things further. It’s been a frustrating couple of years, we just haven’t finished it off when silverware was there but we are certainly capable of winning – I wouldn’t have stayed on with Ulster if I didn’t think so.
“Everyone knows what Les is about. We have to be 100% patient as he will only take us further. I think the fans see that as well, what a high calibre coach he is.”
Gilroy became the youngest player to win 100 caps for the northern province when he lined-out against Treviso last February and only recently signed a new two-year contract with Ulster and the IRFU.
The six-time capped Irish international believes Ulster have the potential to become a dominant force in the European game now all the pieces are in place.
“We do have a great squad, we do have everything at our feet,” he continued. “A new stadium, amazing facilities and great fans to top it off. It would be nice to put some good performances and have some silverware to show for it.
“It’s still early in the season and there are a lot of games to go yet. I honestly think we’re in a good place. We lost the last two games but it was to quality opposition. We have the strength in the squad to bounce back.”
Gilroy made his Ulster debut in November 2010 and has established himself as a regular at club level but hasn’t yet broken into the Ireland squad on a regular basis.
He was one of the unfortunate players to miss out on Schmidt’s World Cup squad having being included in the extended training panel for the summer and has just six caps to his name.
The 24-year-old, who enjoyed a prolific season in the Pro12 last year, is confident he can force his way back into Schmidt’s plans and believes he’s a better player now than he was when he made his international debut.
“It’s a massive year for me, every year is a big year,” he explained. “I wanted to continue on the form of last season, keep playing well, keep scoring tries and hopefully get an opportunity again for Ireland.
“I think I’m a better player now than I was then. I’m a confident guy and player, I’ve so many caps for Ulster, and it’s a great achievement for me, but I want to have more caps for Ireland.
“I’m looking forward to playing for Ireland again.”
Ulster welcome Edinburgh to the Kingspan Stadium this Friday hoping to end their two-game losing streak after defeats to Saracens and Leinster.
Under Armour athletes Craig Gilroy and Jordi Murphy were on Dublin’s Great South Wall training in Under Armour Storm performance product. Storm’s dynamic water repellent technology means every athlete can always stay dry in any wet weather situation. For more info go to: www.underarmour.eu/en-ie
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