Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
LA ROCHELLE v ULSTER
Ulster’s ever-dependable forward will keep taking one for the team
HE’S one of the unsung heroes of the Ulster pack but when he eventually leaves Ulster, Robbie Diack hopes he will remembered as someone who put the team first.
The South African will create a bit of history in Sunday’s European Cup clash away to La Rochelle when he wins his 200th cap for Ulster.
He’ll be the first non-irish born player to reach the milestone and the third Ulsterman, behind
Andrew Trimble and Roger
Wilson, to become a double centurion.
“Just to be part of this club is a huge honour anyway and being here for this long, I’ve realised what it means to play for Ulster and what it means to the people in Northern Ireland,” said Diack.
“I’ll never claim to be Northern Irish – but I’ll always claim to be an Ulsterman and that is very special to me.”
When the big games have come around, Diack hasn’t always made the starting team or even the match-day squad.
But he’s always been steady, nearly always injury-free, and has improved steadily in the last few years alternating between the second and back rows.
Plenty of bigger name players have come and gone since Diack arrived in Belfast in 2008, so clearly there must be some secret to his longevity.
When asked about his main attributes, he revealed: “Hopefully the fact I like to be a consistent player, and a player who is always willing to give everything to the team and put the team first.
“It’s helped me of late that I can switch between the back row and second row and I thoroughly enjoy being involved in this team.” Diack, 31, joined Ulster from South African side the Stormers and will be here until June 2019 at least.
He said: “I came on a three-year contract and I never thought that nine years down the line I’d be playing my 200th game in La Rochelle.
“To join the likes of Andrew Trimble and Roger Wilson is a huge honour and something that I and my family are very proud of.”
A lack of silverware, however, is something he admits is “a huge regret”.
“I know when Roger (Wilson) said a couple of years ago that he’d been here for so long and one of his regrets was not winning silverware. I feel the same.
“You just hope that when the time is right we can bring silverware home and I hope that I’m still here to be part of that.”