Dan’s time was up but Ulster have potential to join the elite
THE writing has been on the wall for a while. All has not been well behind the scenes in Ulster for quite some time and you could sense the pressure mounting on Dan McFarland. So, the Ulster head coach, the longest-serving head coach for the province in the professional era, is out the exit door. Again, this is no big surprise. Something has been rotten in Belfast for quite some time. The alarm bells first starting ringing midway through last season when McFarland’s squad hit a dire run of form, featuring a second-half implosion against Leinster at the RDS, two shellackings on the road at Sale and La Rochelle before a another no-show at against Munster. The ship did steady somewhat but Ulster’s season fizzled out, with Connacht storming Ravenhill with a shock victory in the URC quarter finals.
The grumblings in the stands were growing louder. Not only were the club losing a lot of big games, the style of play — which has become increasingly turgid and conservative — was putting noses out of joint as well.
This season has been more of the same. A promising performance often gets followed up with a flat, listless one. One weekend, we saw Ulster beat Leinster at the RDS with an inspired display, spearheaded by a Billy Burns kicking masterclass. There have been some rough days, however. Another Champions Cup campaign went up in smoke, finishing in the most depressing of fashions with a 47point drubbing by Harlequins at the Stoop.
That game was one of the final coffins in McFarland’s coffin by the sounds of things.
Something clearly had to give. This didn’t feel like a team who were playing for their head coach anymore. It didn’t feel like a squad going in the right direction. Ulster have been less than the sum of their parts for quite some time. It’s a disappointing end for McFarland. The former Connacht prop deserves immense credit for the way he turned things around. He was the IRFU’s top target in 2018 and he was highly rated. Indeed, Scotland were none too pleased with one of their assistant coaches leaving his post and working in the Irish system just 12 months out from a World Cup pool against Joe Schmidt’s side in Japan.
McFarland arrived at an operation at a low ebb. Ulster were a mess, on and off the pitch. A revolving door of coaches and a grim sideshow playing out in the Belfast High Court was the initial setting. McFarland quickly turned things around.
Results improved. The province began making it to Pro14 finals and the knockout stages of Europe. He galvanised the entire operation and also deserves credit for bringing through a raft of talented, home-grown players. The likes of James Hume, Rob Baloucoune, Mike Lowry, Tom Stewart and Tom O’Toole all developed on McFarland’s watch.
There was a time when Ulster were a real rising force during his time in the gig. McFarland signed a contract extension two years ago, which was supposed to keep him on the books until 2025. Fully justified, too.
Ulster were going places and, in many people’s eyes, were about to pass out Munster and become Leinster’s main rivals on this island.
But things have taken a bad turn over a damaging 18 months. Rumours of player unrest behind the scenes have grown louder and louder. A bloated squad and some questionable recruitment hasn’t helped matters.
The optics haven’t been great. It’s not an accident that such a sparse number of Ulster players are getting the call for Ireland duty at the moment. Stellar young talents such as Hume, Lowry and Baloucoune have fallen off Andy Farrell’s radar. And fringe players at other provinces are apparently loath to make the move to Belfast. They aren’t hearing great noises about the environment and many have opted to hedge their bets and remain at home. So, McFarland will be seeking pastures new. He was linked with Leicester Tigers at one stage last season and, despite this disappointing conclusion, he remains a very astute coach and will bounce back.
As for Ulster? Richie Murphy, who has been doing great work with the Ireland U20s, has been named interim coach and it will be interesting to see how he goes in the short-term. Looking at the big picture, Ulster may be eyeing up someone like Dave Rennie, Ian Foster or Jared Payne.
Some big names mentioned there, but the Ulster job remains an attractive one. All the foundations are there: fanbase, modern stadium and training facilities and a prolific academy. Tom Stewart, Dave McCann, Scott Wilson and James McNabney are just some of the homegrown products who have broken into the senior ranks of late. There are plenty of benefactors nearby who are keen to throw a few quid into the operation. Ulster are going back to the drawing board but the next coach in the door has some solid foundations to build upon. McFarland, for all his recent faults, deserves plenty of credit for that.