ULSTER COACH MARK Anscombe says he is certain that John Afoa will return from New Zealand in time for Ulster’s Heineken Cup quarter-final.
The All Black prop has been a central tenet of Ulster’s success since his arrival, but his trek home to New Zealand to be present for the birth of his child caused many Ulster supporters to worry about their chances of beating Saracens in Twickenham this Saturday.
With baby Violet Afoa born during Saturday night’s victory at the RDS, though, Anscombe seemed certain that – barring complications – his regular tight-head would be in harness in London.
“There’s no reason to think he won’t be (back this week). We know his wife, Teresa, is having the baby. So, as soon as that’s done hopefully – no, not hopefully – he will be on the plane.”
However, should jet-lag or the days missing from training make Afoa unfit for the challenge of the Premiership’s most abrasive pack, it seems the northern province have conjured up a ready-made replacement.
Saturday night’s dramatic 18-22 win over Leinster in the RDS was Ricky Lutton’s first ever start for his province.
Despite 27-year-old spending the majority of his adult life as a loose-head, the Belfast Harlequin looked right at home packing down directly opposite Cian Healy – a near certain Lions starter – on his fourth appearance.
“The experience around me really helped.” Lutton said after the final whistle. “I was surrounded by internationals and the weight coming through from our back five was unbelievable, so it made my job a lot easier, I just had to keep square and the boys behind me did the rest.”
At six foot, Lutton is powerfully built, but perhaps he’s an extended pre-season away from filling out towards the bulk expected of a tight-head. But those closest to the Ulster scene credit him with a fierce determination that carries the athletic frame through battles that should be out of his weight category.
“I’ve played a lot of All Ireland Rugby, but I think it’s really helped my grounding.” Lutton adds.
“It’s got me a game at tight-head with Harlequins and with the Ravens so it’s been good stepping stones for me. This, for me, was the big challenge. I knew I was ready for it after having game-time at tight head I served my time and I was ready to give it a crack at the top level.”
World Class
Beaming to the prop’s left, Anscombe said of the rough diamond:
“I thought he did superbly, outstanding. He was against an international, a world class international loose-head prop. He was nervous, but he had the faith and confidence of everyone around him.
“The first scrum was going to be important for him and he acquitted himself superbly and I think his game grew with it and I think his contribution around the park was good too.
“It’s not easy unearthing tight-heads in this country and we’ve got another young man…“, the coach forcibly stopped himself in his tracks for fear that all the praise he wished to heap on Lutton, would be too much.
“He’s still got a long way to go, but this was a great start and he deserved it. I couldn’t be happier for him.”
