ULSTER CENTRE DARREN Cave says the province’s current wealth of form and personnel is all the sweeter for players like him, players who have experienced the dark days as well as these heady times.
Ulster’ go into the final two rounds of the Heineken Cup pool stage as the current top seeded team with four wins out of four.
There are two difficult challenges ahead, especially the round six trip to face Leicester in Welford Road, a match that will most likely decide who wins the pool.
Rather than feeling daunted, Cave is relishing the prospect. He knows exactly what it feels like to play in a dead rubber this time of year and he’s not willing to go back.
“It’s great. When I first started playing for Ulster we were out of Europe at this stage,” the 26-year-old told Ulster Rugby TV after Friday’s inter-provincial win over Munster.
“And there were no play-offs in the league, so we were probably out of the league as well. Now to be back up to third or fourth and sitting top of our Heineken Cup pool…
I’ve never played in a home quarter-final, so the thought of that is a massive motivator.
“The ball’s in our court to go out there and win those games and make sure that, come the first week of April, we’re playing in front of 18,000 in Ravenhill.”
Listen to Cave’s thoughts on the 29 – 18 win over Munster and watch his finish to a brilliant Ulster try in the video below.
YouTube credit: Ulster RugbyTV
