‘Don’t write us off yet’
Stuart Mccloskey on why Ulster can still make progress in this year’s Champions Cup
STILL only 28-years-old, Stuart Mccloskey jokes that his relative experience in relation to the rest of Ulster’s backline frequently makes him feel his age.
Surrounded by colleagues fresher to the scene, the Irish international centre is one of only a handful that will take on Gloucester in Kingsholm this afternoon who also played in the 2014/15 and 2016/17 Champions Cup tilts.
Of the past decade of continental campaigns, those two are the only seasons that fizzled out long before the conclusion of the pools thanks to a pair of losses prior to Christmas.
Having dropped the opener to Toulouse despite a spirited showing last weekend, such are the stakes for Dan Mcfarland’s men in the west country, knowing that another defeat today would end their quarter-final ambitions with a pair of January fixtures still to come.
Indeed, some sides beaten in round one already appear to have accepted their fate given selections this weekend, although Gloucester are bringing back some of their more experienced players having rotated heavily first up for last week’s big defeat away to Lyon.
Mccloskey, though, has no similar thoughts of waving any white flags, especially with the next eight best sides who don’t make the quarter-finals dropping down into the second-tier Challenge Cup in this season’s new format.
“I think it would be a bit premature to say we’re completely written off now,” said Mccloksey ahead of today’s clash that Marcell Coetzee and Sam Carter will miss through injury.
“Listen, normally you’d have a fair idea about getting about 18 or 19 points in the Champions Cup and it would be close, but this year who knows.
“We’ll be trying our best to get towards 15 points and see how it goes from there.
“If not we’ll still be fighting to get into the Challenge Cup as well.
“Whatever happens we’ll be looking to win every game and progress as far as we can in whatever tournament we’re playing in.”
While Thursday’s announcement of a new lockdown to begin on Boxing Day through to February means that next month’s return fixture with the Cherry and Whites will be played behind closed doors regardless, Mccloskey is keen to avoid the flatness of a virtual dead-rubber.
“One year I can remember we had Bordeaux and we were playing here (when already knocked out) and we ended up losing that game,” Mccloskey recalled.
“It’s a bit different that there are no fans here now, but when there are fans European games are massive and you always get a full stadium.
“It’s ones you look forward to, hearing that Champions Cup music played before the games, it’s a different vibe.
“We’re not really looking too far ahead other than this week and at least we know now that we’ve got to win three games and probably get two bonus points.”
If Ulster are to get the result required on a ground where they’ve never won in this competition, they are likely to rely on their potent maul once again. The source of two of their tries against Toulouse last week, the set-piece was bolstered by the presence of Mccloskey and Jacob Stockdale adding their bulk to the forward drive.
“I enjoy it,” revealed Mccloskey. “Me and Jacob, we knew if we got close to the line we could put some extra weight in because both of us would be heavy enough big lumps.
“The forwards always say the more weight the better, so it was good.
“I didn’t really have a great idea what was happening in one of them when Rob (Herring) broke away and scored, but yeah it was enjoyable.
“For me it’s not a massive responsibility. I’m not really on the ball, I’m just in there adding a bit of weight and pushing forward. It’s not overly technical for me.
“The forwards have the technical bit of taking the ball, setting it up and stopping it getting sacked so I leave that part to them and then just come in and start pushing.
“It seemed to work, we scored two tries out of it and we maybe could have got another one if their eight hadn’t been so cynical and come around the back.”
Gloucester struggled with a centre turned back-row last weekend with former Les Bleus star Mathieu Bastareaud leading the charge from the base of the scrum.
La Rochelle’s Fijian international Levani Botia is another
who switches between the midfield and the pack.
The idea was once f l oated within Ulster that Mccloskey could make a similar move, his size, carrying ability and breakdown threat all attributes well-suited to the back-row.
“I actually have laughed about turning myself from a centre into a back row option if it ever needed to be done later in my career,” Mccloskey adds.
“It (the breakdown) is something I’ve been trying to add to my game recently.
“My back was giving me issues a few years ago and I did really struggle bending over, but it’s not too bad now, so I try to get in and cause whatever hassle I can there.
“But I think I still have a few years left at 12 for now. I’ll maybe leave it until I’m 32 or 33.”
Meanwhile, the Ulster ‘A’ side drew 19-19 with their Connacht counterparts in Galway yesterday.
Having beaten Leinster and Munster in similar friendlies this season, Ulster were going for a clean sweep but had to come from behind to tie late on thanks to the second of Aaron Sexton’s two scores.