Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Substance and style in Ulster plan under Dan
HARD-NOSED lock Alan O’connor believes Ulster have the ability to mix power with pace under new head coach Dan Mcfarland.
Former Scotland assistant Mcfarland (below) is eager to encourage a faster brand of rugby at the Kingspan Stadium.
But O’connor still believes there’s room for a bit of bump and grind as the Ulster pack prepares for tomorrow’s Guinness Pro14 opener with the Scarlets in Belfast.
“Obviously we want to play a quick brand of rugby,” he said. “We’re not the biggest side, so it’s just one of those things you can focus on.
“Are we looking forward to that? Definitely, but saying that we also want to be a good pack. We want to be a confrontational team and be in people’s faces.
“You have to get a balance of both. You can’t play a quick brand if you’re getting messed about at the breakdown or the contact area, and vice versa. Both mean a lot.”
O’connor is relishing the prospect working under Mcfarland who helped revive Scotland’s fortunes as assistant coach to Gregor Townsend.
The 46-year-old, who was named Jono Gibbes’ replacement in April, has only been in situ for 10 days after lengthy talks to release him from his Scottish contract.
O’connor said: “He’s only been here a week and half so he’ll put his stamp on things over time, minute details like the ball carrier and ruck speed, stuff like that. Hopefully I get to work with Dan more.”
A league opener against a Scarlets side that were Pro14 runners-up last season and reached the Champions Cup semi-finals is a huge ask for Ulster but O’connor is determined to get the campaign off to a positive start with two home games coming up against the Welsh giants and Edinburgh next Friday.
O’connor, who is backing summer arrivals Jordi Murphy and Marty Moore to be “top range” players for Ulster said: “We’ve always started well with our home games. I think we’d be looking to do the same this year.
“They (Scarlets and Edinburgh) are two really good teams.”