LONG-SERVING CENTRE Stuart McCloskey joins Ulster’s 200-cap club this evening as the province host the Stormers as the race to make the top eight becomes ever more tense.
Just over a decade after making his senior debut, McCloskey will, with his sons, lead the team out at the Kingspan Stadium to hit the landmark and become a member of a group including retired players Rory Best, Andrew Trimble and Craig Gilroy and current squad members Rob Herring – who is the province’s most capped player and will reach 249 appearances tonight – Alan O’Connor and Andrew Warwick.
“It’s massive,” admitted Ireland squad member McCloskey ahead of this evening’s must-win clash as Ulster bid for three consecutive victories after narrow results over the Scarlets and Dragons have boosted their hopes of potentially squeezing into the play-offs.
“You look at some of the guys who have done it, they’re all real legends. Like guys I grew up watching and even playing with. Guys that in their own way have left a real stamp on the team and the province.
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“It’s not something I ever thought I would get close to (200 appearances), coming from not really playing any underage provincial rugby or anything like that.
“As it went on it just seemed like something I would inevitably get to if there were few injuries. Thankfully I have got there,” added the 32-year-old.
He could have become more than a one-club man but has stayed and recently signed a contract extension which will keep him in Belfast until 2027 and a likely ending point of his playing career.
“I’ve flirted with going away to other places and done all you have to do to make sure you get good value for yourself,” he stated.
“But I never really wanted to leave. I love the place. Even what you’d say is a tough time like now, the way the results haven’t gone 100% our way this year, I always thought if I went away, I wouldn’t care as much about how the team was doing.
“If I played for somewhere in France and we weren’t going well, I’d go home, and I probably wouldn’t care as much. Which might be nice in a way, though it’s probably not a good thing to say.
“But I do genuinely care how this province does. Every time we don’t do well, and people aren’t happy about how things are going, I feel bad about it in the simplest form.
“I wanted to stay like that, I wanted to stay where I actually cared about what I was doing, especially this latter part of my career.”
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'It's not something I thought I would get close to' - McCloskey on reaching 200 Ulster caps
LONG-SERVING CENTRE Stuart McCloskey joins Ulster’s 200-cap club this evening as the province host the Stormers as the race to make the top eight becomes ever more tense.
Just over a decade after making his senior debut, McCloskey will, with his sons, lead the team out at the Kingspan Stadium to hit the landmark and become a member of a group including retired players Rory Best, Andrew Trimble and Craig Gilroy and current squad members Rob Herring – who is the province’s most capped player and will reach 249 appearances tonight – Alan O’Connor and Andrew Warwick.
“It’s massive,” admitted Ireland squad member McCloskey ahead of this evening’s must-win clash as Ulster bid for three consecutive victories after narrow results over the Scarlets and Dragons have boosted their hopes of potentially squeezing into the play-offs.
“You look at some of the guys who have done it, they’re all real legends. Like guys I grew up watching and even playing with. Guys that in their own way have left a real stamp on the team and the province.
“It’s not something I ever thought I would get close to (200 appearances), coming from not really playing any underage provincial rugby or anything like that.
“As it went on it just seemed like something I would inevitably get to if there were few injuries. Thankfully I have got there,” added the 32-year-old.
He could have become more than a one-club man but has stayed and recently signed a contract extension which will keep him in Belfast until 2027 and a likely ending point of his playing career.
“I’ve flirted with going away to other places and done all you have to do to make sure you get good value for yourself,” he stated.
“But I never really wanted to leave. I love the place. Even what you’d say is a tough time like now, the way the results haven’t gone 100% our way this year, I always thought if I went away, I wouldn’t care as much about how the team was doing.
“If I played for somewhere in France and we weren’t going well, I’d go home, and I probably wouldn’t care as much. Which might be nice in a way, though it’s probably not a good thing to say.
“But I do genuinely care how this province does. Every time we don’t do well, and people aren’t happy about how things are going, I feel bad about it in the simplest form.
“I wanted to stay like that, I wanted to stay where I actually cared about what I was doing, especially this latter part of my career.”
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