O’toole urges Ulster to flex their muscles
Prop wants no let-up in the physicality stakes against Munster
IT was around the quarter of an hour mark, last Sunday evening, when things began to go very wrong.
A series of scrums within touching distance of Ulster’s line proved to be anything but ideal viewing and the referee’s mic also made for grim listening as Connacht put the severe squeeze on the Ulster front-row.
After the third scrum implosion, Kyle Mccall was sin-binned, and when Andy Warwick came on, it was obvious that Connacht were scenting a penalty try from the subsequent set-piece.
Over on the tight-head side, Tom O’toole knew this was the moment which could bring definition to everything that followed in the game, both for him and the team.
On his first start of the season — an ankle injury in September’s Guinness PRO14 final had kept him sidelined for over two months and had also robbed him of a potential first Test cap for Ireland — this was personal as another scrum penalty could see him joining Mccall. It was time, now, to stand or fall.
“They had about three or four scrums five metres from our line, so you kind of understand what teams are going to do to you now,” explained the 22-year-old, who will make his 50th appearance for Ulster today when introduced off the bench.
“Ninety-nine per cent of teams are going to try and drive you over or look for a penalty, so it doesn’t take too much to work out what a team are going to do to you.”
He had to stay steady when engaging Denis Buckley and hope that the same was happening with hooker John Andrew and on the far side with Warwick, while also feeling the second-rows locking things out behind them.
And this time it worked. Even though Connacht scored when Jack Carty darted over in the corner, the point had been made that Ulster’s scrum had not disintegrated. Psychologically it was a huge moment, and one that lifted Ulster in the sense that they could physically live with their opponents.
“It was unfortunate that we came under pressure and got a yellow card, but ‘Waz’ (Andy Warwick) came on and did an unbelievable job in the first scrum and had a good understanding of what (Finlay) Bealham was going to do,” said O’toole.
“We ended up holding it out, which was great, and really gave us confidence.”
As for the mechanics of this process, much of what happens in the unlit areas of the front-row remains unknown territory to most, though, as a prop, O’toole is enthusiastic about explaining how he approaches the role.
“There’s only a certain amount you can do on the opposition scrum during the week (in analysis), and once you go out there and experience it you get a different feeling about what tactics they’re using or what their mentality is on that day,” he said.
“In regards to what we do, we have those micro-chats on the field. I would talk to my hooker, my second-row and note foot movement by trying to hit and really build pressure.
“We don’t want anybody’s feet moving from behind us as, ultimately, when people lift their feet that’s when the weight comes off and allows the opposition to get a bit of momentum.
“So it’s really micro-chats during the game that are the key to unlocking how to fix whatever process you’re doing.
“Then you might also change the game plan, depending on what tactics they’re using,” said O’toole, who made his Ulster debut as a 19-year-old in April 2018.
As for today, well, Munster’s scrum is another challenge.
“We’re going to have to back it up again,” said O’toole after the work was put in at the Sportsground.
“Physicality-wise we have to
be there, exactly where we were against Connacht, because we know how confrontational Munster can be.
“We’ll see where we’re at against one of the best teams in the league.”
It’s also about O’toole pushing on to get back to where he was before last September’s injury setback, reclaiming the No.3 shirt from Marty Moore and reminding Andy Farrell that he might be in range for Ireland.
“For me, personally, coming back to play with the guys this season, it’s about finding my role in the team and I want to help everybody around me as much as I can,” added O’toole, who today will play in only his fifth game this season.
“My big job on the field is to make my tackles, carry hard and work at the set-piece. As long as I do that and the team comes out on top, I’ll be happy.
“It’s about me getting back to where I was as quickly as I can and getting back to that form I was in before the PRO14 final against Leinster. I felt I was in a really good space there.
“Hopefully when I start playing good rugby things will just take off from there.”