Herring has no interest in self-pity on Ulster’s big return
AS Ulster make their trip down the M1 to the Aviva Stadium this weekend, Rob Herring could be forgiven for thinking it’s been one mightily delayed journey.
While Sunday’s game against Connacht will come in the white of his province, Herring was preparing to be at the same venue in Irish colours when the pause button was pressed on rugby more than five months ago.
Despite the very real possibility of hitting a double century of provincial appearances within the next 12 months, the Cape Town native is well used to biding his time having had to wait for Rory Best’s retirement last autumn to finally make the number two jersey at Kingspan Stadium his own and, having done that, assumed his starting role for Ireland during the Six Nations.
Having gone to the World Cup in October only as an injury replacement and seeing no match action out in Japan, Herring started the first of Andy Farrell’s three games in charge, home wins over Scotland and Wales as well as the dispiriting loss to England last time out, and was holding off the dynamic charge of Leinster’s latest new kid on the block, Ronan Kelleher (right).
Attaining the status he had long sought so soon before the game ground to an unprecedented halt, Herring would have every right to be feeling a particularly acute frustration at the timing, though he believes it is better to keep the ups and downs of professional sport in perspective.
“It was frustrating at the time but, in the bigger scheme of things, there was a lot going on in the world and it is what it is, it had to be cancelled,” said the man who turned 30 during the prolonged break.
“It was unfortunate but you just have to deal with it. We’re getting back to our rugby soon and we’ll get more opportunities to stick our hand up and represent Ireland again.
“I was lucky enough to start three of the games and I felt I’d waited a long time for that, so it’s up to me now to keep that place.
“Obviously what happened last season is a long time ago now so you’ve got to get back and show what you’re worth again.
“In terms of the hookers, I think Ireland has a lot of quality and there’s competition in all the provinces. That just keeps you on your toes.”
Having been with Ulster so long, Belfast naturally feels much like home, but, while waiting for rugby’s return here, it was understandably difficult to be so far from family in South Africa who were enduring their own struggles with strict lockdown measures
With over half of Africa’s Covid-19 cases emanating from the country, bans on gatherings, domestic travel and alcohol sales were only eased yesterday after President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the rate of infection appeared to have finally peaked.
“It’s obviously one of the challenges a few of us have faced, having family and being away from home,” Herring said. “I think it’s a bit more challenging in South Africa at the moment.
“Things like Zoom, Facetime and that has been good to stay in contact, and probably one of the positives for us as a family is that every week we’ve been doing a kind of family quiz.
“We spend a couple of hours chatting to each other and that’s something we would never have done before coronavirus, just staying in contact with them.
“Thankfully everyone has managed to stay safe so far. I think they’ve just got to keep their wits about them back there.”
Here at least, there is now a greater sense of normalcy to the week, one that for the first time in six months will end with Ulster taking the field, albeit in front of no fans, with the 51,000 Aviva to house just 200 key personnel.
And while the tussle may not have much in the way of jeopardy when it comes to the Guinness PRO14 table — Ulster are almost guaranteed second spot in their conference and, indeed, could be home and hosed by the time of kick-off depending on results elsewhere — but in this unprecedented sprint to the finish, momentum will be everything.
Consider that between this weekend and the middle of October, silverware will be handed out in both the league and Europe. With Ulster having earned their knock-out chances thanks to performances that now seem part of a different campaign, what will essentially have all the hallmarks of mini-season will be played out over the course of less than two months.
While only maximum points from Glasgow in two games against Edinburgh would leave Ulster needing a result in either of their own two derbies, once the games of huge significance begin they will come at a relentless pace, with no time to slowly build into the battle-hardened unit we associate with winning teams.
“This isn’t a pre-season game for us and we can’t work our way into it,” said Herring.
“We know if we win this game we’re into a semi-final, so there’s obviously a massive importance on that. We have full confidence in our support staff and the programme we’ve had coming into this block has been brilliant.
“We did a lot of robustness in the down period we had that prepped us for this and, in terms of our staged return, it was really low-key at the start and we’ve been building slowly.
“We’ve managed to get a good bit of contact in the last few weeks and I’m sure we’ll have a bit more leading into the match.
“There’s been a lot of good work put in by all our support staff, the guys around the programme, and I’m pretty confident we’re in a good place to get back into some rugby.
“We’re not training to ease our way into a season, we’re training to start with a bang. It’s a big test, but it’s a good challenge as well. It’s all probably mental at the end of the day.
“Physically, we’ll be in a good place and it’ll be a good test for us to see where we are mentally.
“If we are to be challenging at the end of a season, these are the things we have to get on with.”
FORMER Leinster captain Isa Nacewa believes that Johnny Sexton can extend his career into his 40s on the back of rugby’s enforced lockdown.
Nacewa experienced the benefits of a break from the game in between his two successful spells with Leinster, and he is adamant that Sexton can use the down time to prolong his playing days.
Ahead of Saturday’s planned return to action, Sexton (right) is available for the mouthwatering clash against Munster.
The 35-year-old Leinster and Ireland skipper has his sights on being selected for next summer’s Lions tour and has made no secret of his desire to play into his 40s.
“I think it will have done wonders for guys in the latter stages of their career,” Nacewa said.
“Guys get sabbaticals written into their contracts, some of the big dogs, to manage the body over a four year World Cup period.
“175 days away from the game, you’d be able to get over any niggles that you had. There’d still be enough time there to get gains physically and mentally, even with all the distractions that were going on. It was the perfect time to refresh.
“I can see Johnny playing until he is 42 if he wanted. That’s the seriousness of how long a break this will have done.
“I’ve spoken to players all over the world during this time. A lot of them have said to me ‘I can get another year out of this’ and that’s the way they’ve been thinking.”
Fergus Mcfadden may not feature for Leinster again after the veteran back picked up a calf injury and is facing six weeks out.