Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
HE’S RARING TO GO
Forgotten man Cooney doesn’t have time for doubts & worries
BY DARREN FULLERTON
OUT of contract in the summer, Nathan Doak playing out of his skin and Leinster lying in wait on his return from a lengthy injury lay-off.
You might think John Cooney would be racked by doubt and stalked by demons heading into today’s Interpro at the RDS in Dublin, but you’d be wrong.
The 31-year-old is “physically up for it”, he’s relishing the added competition Doak has brought for the No9 shirt and he’s unfazed by his contractual situation at the Kingspan.
“It’s never been one of my worries or issues,” said Cooney, whose current deal with Ulster expires at the end of the campaign.
“I played in Connacht for three years and each year I signed one year contracts. I felt it got the best out of me. When your back’s against the wall, you have to perform.
“It’s not something I really worry about. If anything, it’s something that kicks me on to perform better. My goal the last four or five months was to get back fit.”
Cooney is preparing for only his second game in seven months, the bulk of his time on the sidelines the result of a neck injury sustained in a European loss at Leicester in April.
Scans revealed disc damage after he lost “all power down my arm” three days later.
His only outing this season, in an opening day win over Glasgow, was cut short by a hamstring injury, a setback that opened the door for Doak to impress in his absence.
“I think he’s done brilliantly,” said Cooney of the teenage No9. “He’s a quality kicker and he’s got a lot of attributes for a young player that I definitely didn’t have at that age.”
Cooney couldn’t have been handed a tougher game to return in, a potential baptism of fire against the reigning champions and league leaders in their own backyard.
“Leinster are the best team in the league and it’s a big game to get thrown back into, but I feel up for it,” he said.
LEINSTER: O’brien; A Byrne, Henshaw, Frawley, Larmour; R Byrne, Luke Mcgrath (capt); E Byrne, Tracy, Furlong, Molony, Toner; Leavy, Penny, Ruddock
ULSTER: Lowry, Gilroy, Hume, Mccloskey, Mcilroy, Burns, Cooney; Warwick, Herring, Moore, O’connor, Carter, Jones, Timoney, Mccann.