IN RECENT YEARS, Ulster’s medical jokers haven’t exactly fared too well medically themselves.
You think back to the likes of Ronald Raaymakers or Tim Boys, both brought over to relieve an injury-stricken squad only to go down with injuries themselves before ever making a senior appearance.
So when winger Henry Speight went down with a knee injury in the 39-39 draw with the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein in September, and then wasn’t to be seen for weeks, there were fears that his brief spell in Belfast would be capped at the four games.
Fortunately, the former Wallaby made a try-scoring return last week against the Dragons and will once again be in the starting line-up for Ulster’s Guinness PRO14 trip to Benetton today (kick-off 3pm Irish time).
Despite missing games, Speight has been as-advertised to begin the season – a strong, powerful runner with a turn of pace to go with it – he has also proved to be a valuable mentor to the likes of Angus Kernohan and Robert Baloucoune. But the 30-year old rather surprisingly admits that being out injured took a toll on him mentally, particularly as he is only with the squad until the end of next month as injury cover for Louis Ludik and Luke Marshall.
“It’s been a long four weeks, especially knowing the status and the length of my stay it was really disappointing to be out for those four weeks, and to come back and play last week, it was pleasing,” confessed Speight.
“It was a very disappointing time, the first two weeks were very hard to show a face around the club knowing that I wouldn’t be training and knowing the guys knew that I was only here for a short time anyway.
“So it was quite embarrassing showing your face and knowing you cannot train or contribute on the field. But then they are a very good group and the medical staff are top notch and they were very good in bringing me back and very, very thankful to them actually.”
While sidelined, Speight managed to occupy himself by stepping up into a leadership role to the young players like Kernohan, Baloucoune and Mike Lowry. The overhaul of Ulster’s squad has left them with a much younger profile this season, so the experience the Fijian-born wing can pass onto his contemporaries is invaluable. And he has thoroughly enjoyed seeing them develop.
“They have really stepped up,” he smiles. “Personally, it was embarrassing to be around when they look at me, knowing that I couldn’t be training. But when it came to the team stuff, the reviews and previews, you try and contribute, particularly with the young players filtering through in the back three.
“So there was a bit of responsibility and to take my thoughts of the injury away and to be kept busy on those ways.
“There’s a 10-year gap between myself and (Robert Baloucoune) who was making his debut. There’s Mike Lowry in the backfield, so the beauty is that in the club and the province is in very good hands with the type of players that are filtering through.
I can really see that right now in Michael Lowry’s try on the weekend. Nothing was on but he showed genuine footwork and brilliance. He made nothing into something even.
“As for Rob, even though his first game was on the weekend he’s been improving week in week out with Ulster A and he’s a genuine player to be reckoned with at this level, and then there’s Aaron Sexton, who has scored seven tries in six games or something, so there’s something that’s growing here in the Academy and that’s something that’s testimony to these players coming through.
“Then you’ve got Adam McBurney and all these young guys who’ve been given their chance. They have really stepped up to the plate. Very exciting players and Michael Lowry is at the top of that at the moment.”
Speight’s return to the line-up coincided with Ulster’s first PRO14 win in four attempts, only their second win in their last six outings, as they downed the Dragons 36-18 in their first bonus point win of the season.
Despite scoring five tries, it wasn’t exactly the performance that a relatively full strength Ulster would have been looking to produce against a fairly inferior Welsh team, with defence coach Jared Payne particularly scathing in post-match.
The former Ireland international condemned it as a ‘massive step backwards’ from their performance against Racing 92 a week previous, a standpoint that Speight understands but didn’t quite agree with.
“I think (Jared) was still a bit upset, disappointed, I guess,” says a diplomatic Speight.
There were passages where we’d play well, score and come back and then we’d get turned over straight from the kick-off. Just those lapses in concentration.
“At times when they did score, it was from very passive defensive work, so it was very disappointing on our part and as a backs unit, we were scored against again from one of our scrums last second.
“All in all it was a good result, we came away with five points but still, I think the positive is that we’ve a lot to work on, coaches coming in upset, and that’s good for next week.”
That continued improvement – a common theme when it comes to Ulster this season as they look to rebuild their squad from within – will be scrutinised with a testing away trip to Benetton without six of their eight internationals.
The Italians will provide a much sterner test to Dan McFarland’s side than they did to Leinster last weekend when the Dubliners tore past them in a facile 31-3 win, likely to control more of the possession than last week.
It offers Ulster the chance to solidify a spot in the top three of Conference B of the PRO14 if they can come away with a very important away win, as well as giving them a little bit of breathing room over the dangerous Italians.
These are the matches, however, that the likes of Speight and Marcell Coetzee have been signed to step up and guide the squad through, and on his first visit to Italy, the wing is excited at the prospect of tackling Benetton.
“It’ll be exciting. It’s going to be my first time there,” says Speight.
“At the weekend, it was a five point, bonus-point win (but) we could have done a lot better as a squad, so it’s just about going down there playing our game, playing how we want to play and being happy with how we played.
“We acknowledge that they’re playing at home this weekend. We’ve got a few internationals away and we’re keen to come away with a win and if we can get a bonus-point, even better.”
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Benetton Rugby
15 Jayden Hayward
14 Ratuva Tavuyara
13 Ignacio Brex
12 Alberto Sgarbi
11 Tommaso Benvenuti
10 Tommaso Allan
9 Dewaldt Duvenage
1 Derrick Appiah
2 Hame Faiva
3 Simone Ferrari
4 Irné Herbst
5 Alessandro Zanni
6 Dean Budd (Captain)
7 Michele Lamaro
8 Marco Barbini
Replacements
16 Tomas Baravalle
17 Alberto De Marchi
18 Marco Riccioni
19 Niccolò Cannone
20 Giovanni Pettinelli
21 Edoardo Gori
22 Antonio Rizzi
23 Angelo Esposito
Ulster:
15. Peter Nelson
14. Robert Baloucoune
13. James Hume
12. Stuart McCloskey
11. Henry Speight
10. Billy Burns
9. Dave Shanahan
1. Eric O’Sullivan
2. Rob Herring
3. Marty Moore
4. Alan O’Connor (captain)
5. Kieran Treadwell
6. Marcell Coetzee
7. Sean Reidy
8. Nick Timoney
Replacements:
16. John Andrew
17. Andy Warwick
18. Tom O’Toole
19. Clive Ross
20. Greg Jones
21. Jonny Stewart
22. Johnny McPhillips
23. Angus Kernohan
Referee: Mike Adamson (SRU)
